How to Make an Eastern Whisky Sour Cocktail | TT - London
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Eastern Whisky Sour

By Stephen Thompson

The Eastern Sour is a great all round cocktail, combining the fruity accessibility of tiki cocktails with the grown-up complexity of whiskey, this combination is a match made in heaven.

Ingredients

50ml Bourbon

35ml Orange Juice

25ml Lemon Juice

12.5ml Orgeat

2-3 Dashes Angostura Bitters

Lemon Wheel and Cocktail Cherry to Garnish

Times:

Prep: 2 Minutes

Make: 30 Seconds

Total: 2 Minutes and 30 Seconds

Calories:

213 calories

Allergens:

Contains Nuts

Servings:

Serves 1

Method

Take your Boston glass or small tin and, using your jigger to measure, add the bourbon, orange juice and orgeat to the shaker.

Using your Mexican elbow and your jigger to measure, squeeze 25ml of lemon juice and add it to the shaker.

Add 2-3 dashes of Angostura bitters to the shaker, then fill with cubed ice and seal with the Boston tin or lid.

Shake vigorously for 10-15 seconds, or until your tin is very cold.

Fill your rocks glass with cubed ice, then use your Hawthorne strainer to strain your cocktail into the glass.

Garnish with a lemon wheel and a cocktail cherry.

Serve and enjoy!

History

This tiki spin on a whisky sour was created by tiki-titan and chief instigator of island vibes, Trader Vic himself. Legend has it, the drink was created to celebrate a new branch of Trader Vic’s, which opened in 1975 in Toronto, on the east coast of Canada—hence the name.

The idea to create a special sour for the opening of each new Trader Vic’s location was common practice, with Trader Vic also creating the London Sour (exchanging bourbon for Scotch) for the opening of his London location in 1965, and the Munich Sour (using cognac) for the bar’s Munich launch in 1972.

Whilst its generally agreed that the Eastern Sour was created by Trader Vic for the opening of his Toronto location sometime in the 1950’s, a bar and restaurant located in San Bruno California, called Uncle Tom’s Cabin featured a drink on their menu called the Eastern Sour. Uncle Tom’s Cabin closed in 1949, so if they’re recipe was the same as Trader Vic’s they may have a claim to this drink’s invention.

Legend has it, the drink was created to celebrate a new branch of Trader Vic’s which opened in 1975 in Toronto, on the east coast of Canada—hence the name.