Honey Lemon Whiskey Sour

Enjoy a honey lemon whiskey sour for happy hour! This recipe modifies the classic whiskey sour by replacing the lime juice with lemon and the sugar with local honey.

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About this Honey Lemon Whiskey Sour recipe

Let’s talk about this honey lemon whiskey sour. It also goes by another name: the Gold Rush cocktail, which doesn’t always have egg white like this recipe does.

Honey and lemon are two of my favorite flavors. They compliment each other so well, whether it’s in a cup of tea or in a cocktail.

Honey is one of my favorite additions to a cocktail. (See also: this honey mint julep. And this honey peach old-fashioned.)

The classic whiskey sour uses whiskey, lemon juice and simple syrup (and sometimes an egg white), so honey makes a great substitute that really brightens the lemon and balances out the strong bourbon.

What is a whiskey sour?

A whiskey sour is a refreshing and balanced cocktail that’s made with whiskey, lemon juice, sugar and egg white. Sometimes it is served with a cocktail cherry on top.

When the ingredients are shaken in a cocktail shaker filled with ice, the act of shaking against the ice helps the egg white to get a frothy texture. When strained into a glass, the egg white foam floats to the top of the drink.

Whiskey sours are easy drinks to make, especially if you have any leftover lemon from other drinks or recipes you make. You can also make sours with other spirits, like a gin sour, tequila sour or pisco sour.

I love drinks with whole eggs or egg whites in them, and I love whiskey and lemon — so this Honey Lemon Whiskey Sour recipe checks all my boxes for a great drink. But if egg white isn’t your thing, you can serve this drink on the rocks without it. Here’s what you need for th

Ingredients

Honey

I almost always have honey on hand, whereas simple syrup is something I usually need to whip up. In those cases, I will often make honey simple syrup, which makes viscous honey much easier to mix into cold liquids.

You can even use this homemade honey whiskey to keep on hand for all your Gold Rush cocktail needs. It’s so much better than store-bought honey whiskey!

Lemon juice

Fresh lemon is key in this recipe. Lemon has a reputation of being sour (obviously) but the bottled concentrate has a more tart and sometimes artificial flavor than fresh lemon juice.

However, if you have to use the bottled stuff, you absolutely can.

Whiskey

Whiskey is the key ingredient in a whiskey sour. Don’t skimp on the good stuff here — always use the best bourbon you can afford.

Bourbon is the most common type of whiskey to use, but you can also use other types like rye whiskey, Irish whiskey or even Scotch.

Egg white

Shaken egg white is what creates the foamy, white layer on top of the cocktail, and provides a silky and smooth texture to the drink. When adding egg white to a Whiskey Sour, it is usually called a Boston Sour.

My grandmother once told me she went on a cruise during which she fell in love with whiskey sours, but she was notoriously an egg hater! I’m certain that the whiskey sours she enjoyed were not Boston Sours.

If you’d rather skip the egg white, you can stop right here. However, I encourage you to give it a try. When using raw eggs in a drink, there are some safety measures to keep in mind.

Are egg whites in drinks safe?

Eggs add a host of excellent qualities to a cocktail. They can add thickness and silkiness, like eggnog. It can add an “eggy” taste, but it’s honestly very subtle.

Of course, there is always a concern that using raw egg or egg whites in a cocktail would be unsafe. Follow these tips for using egg whites in a cocktail safely.

Always purchase pasteurized eggs in the shell — that is the recommendation for any food or drink that includes raw eggs, according to the USDA.

Also, make sure you keep your eggs refrigerated and don’t use any that are already cracked.

How to separate the egg white

I like to use an egg separator tool for removing the yolk. Just rest it over the edge of your cocktail shaker and crack the egg into it, then toss the yolk.

(Or refrigerate it in a covered container for tomorrow’s breakfast!)

How to make this cocktail your own

Typically, whiskey sours are made with whiskey, lemon, sugar (not honey) and an optional egg white — all ingredients that go well together.

You can substitute other base spirits to end up with other drinks, such as rum, tequila, gin and vodka, but some of those combinations are better known by other names:

• A rum sour with lime, for example, is a daiquiri.
• A tequila sour with lime and a little orange liqueur is a margarita.
• A gin sour with honey is a Prohibition-era cocktail called a Bee’s Knees.

And if you’re not a lemon fan, you can sub in other citrus juices too! Grapefruit is always a winner if you like a tart cocktail, or you can add blood orange to a cocktail for a sweet (and colorful) drink.

So, feel free to explore and modify this recipe. Let me know what you end up with! You really can’t go wrong, in my opinion. After all, it’s a whiskey sour.

More whiskey sour recipes

Sweet and colorful, this blood orange whiskey sour is a favorite!

And if you’d rather have something with more of a fruit flavor, I also have a recipe for a blackberry peach whiskey sour.

Cinnamon is also a lovely addition in this aero whiskey sour.