An improvised recipe to make your own isolation whisky sour
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The situation has drastically escalated since my last article only a fortnight ago and before going into any whisky chat I would like to send my thoughts to everyone affected and especially thank all those who are working in vital roles across the country.
I’m currently taking the governments advice, the bar is closed and I’m self-isolating which has given me much more time at home than usual.
I’m not saying sitting in the house is difficult with today’s technology but it is a change. The first few days were concerning and odd, followed by boredom and I’m currently in the decorating the house stage of insanity.
This article is, however, whisky-related and as much as I would like to talk you through my recent read “10 steps to painting walls like a DIY pro” I will resist, for now.
I’m sure most of you have a bottle of whisky of sorts, so I want to talk you through an easy to make whisky sour that you can make at home with limited resources. Before we start, we are going to need to make sugar syrup – simply fill half a mug of plain white sugar and fill up with boiling water and stir until the sugar has dissolved. There you have it, prep is done.
Most people don’t have cocktail equipment in their house so we will improvise. To replace the bar measure, grab a shot glass, egg cup or mouthwash lid. The exact volume isn’t important we just want to measure in “parts” so as long as you use the same item for all the pouring you will be on your way to a tasty drink!
Shaker replacements could be an old milk carton, thermal flask or a protein shaker. Finally, we need a strainer, so just grab your standard kitchen sieve which will do the exact same job.
For the ingredients you’ll need two parts whisky, one part lemon juice, half part sugar syrup, one egg white and two dashes of Angostura bitters (great if you have but not essential).
- You want to separate the egg white from the yolk. If you’ve never done this, crack the egg in half over a bowl and pass the yolk from shell to shell and the white will separate into the bowl below.
- Add all the ingredients into your shaker and shake hard without ice. This is called a “dry shake” which allows the egg to whip up and emulsify. You want it to look foamy.
- Add lots of ice, the more the better and shake again. This is the “wet shake” which will chill your drink.
- Taste. If it's too sweet add more lemon, too sour add more sugar syrup.
- Pour your cocktail through the sieve into your glass of choice. The sieve will catch the smashed pieces of ice which you don’t want as they will dilute your drink in the glass.
It might seem strange adding an egg to a cocktail but hopefully you’ve achieved that foamy head on the drink which gives a lovely velvety texture.
For the perfect eye-rolling serve in your isolation household, add a couple of dashes of bitters on the top, dress up as a cocktail server and drop in the line “shaken, not stirred”.
- Matt MacPherson is the owner and founder of The Malt Room in Inverness.
