Put on your fancy pants and amp up this year's holiday cocktail scene with the best Vodka Sour recipe to hit the internet, foamy egg whites and all. This Vodka Sour cocktail takes the muscle out of egg white foam and requires minimal shaking thanks to one little secret we are willing to share.
Thanks to the egg whites, the foam on top makes for an impressive presentation and a light and airy touch. It's the perfect counterbalance to the acidity of fresh lemon juice. Speaking of the lemon juice, lemons just so happen to be a winter crop, making this drink perfect for the holiday season, yet so refreshing... a year-round cocktail!
A Vodka Sour is sweet, tart, and just the right amount of boozy. This recipe takes only 5 minutes to make and doesn't call for any hard-to-find ingredients. Like your cocktails sweet and sour, like we do? You'll definitely want to give out Classic Margarita and Pomegranate Martini a try next!
WHAT YOU'LL NEED FOR A VODKA SOUR
- Vodka | Any goody, quality vodka is great for mixing up a vodka sour. One thing I will note is if you can chill your vodka in advance, you can avoid having to go from a dry shake to having to add ice to your shaker and shake again. We'll touch more on that below.
- Simple Syrup | Simple syrup is a mix of water and sugar brought together over heat and cooled. It is used to add sweetness to cocktails. You can easily make it yourself using our Homemade Simple Syrup recipe. You can also find it at your local liquor store and at most grocery stores; it will likely be in the wine and beer section.
- Lemon | Some recipes call for lemon or lime juice, or maybe even a combination of lemon, lime, and orange. While you can get as crazy with the citrus as you'd like, we keep it classic and simple. The only citrus you need for this classic cocktail is lemon, and you won't miss anything. However, it is important to note that only freshly squeezed lemon juice will do. None of the bottled stuff!
- Egg Whites | Egg whites add volume and texture to cocktails, as well as a subtle richness, which reduces the pucker effect from the lemon juice. If the thought of raw eggs in your cocktail is a little much for you, feel free to leave them out.
- Bitters | Angostura bitters are often used to balance out the sweetness in a cocktail, bringing a well-rounded complexity to the flavor profile of your Vodka Sour.
HOW TO MAKE A VODKA SOUR
To kick off your Vodka Sour, add vodka, freshly squeezed lemon juice, simple syrup, and an egg white to a cocktail shaker.
To get your egg white frothy fast, we like to bring in a little trick we picked up from some bartender friends in the form of a shaker ball. Crafty bar pros use the shaker ball to get the egg whites frothy and voluminous in a rush, and after attempting it just once at home, we'll never add egg whites to a cocktail without it! It really, really works.
You can dry shake (which means to shake without ice) with no shaker ball, it'll just take a bit longer to get a good froth going. With the shaker ball, 20 seconds is all you need.
Cap your shaker and shake for about 20 seconds. If you had a chance to chill your vodka in advance, once you see that your egg white is foamy, you can pour your Vodka Sour right into your glass. Add a dash of bitters and enjoy.
If your vodka had not been previously chilled, at this point, you'd need to fill the shaker with ice cubes and shake for an additional 20 or so seconds.
HOW TO MAKE SIMPLE SYRUP
Simple syrup is called that for a reason! It is so easy to make, that it's a little difficult to justify buying it premade. So, should you choose to make your simple syrup yourself, this is how you go about it:
Add equal parts granulated sugar and water to a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Boil until all of the sugar has dissolved, remove it from the heat, and allow it to cool completely before adding to your Vodka Sour.
QUICK VARIATIONS
You can easily transform this simple vodka sour into multiple other cocktails!
For a cherry vodka sour, add a ½ ounce of grenadine to the mix. For a whisky sour, sub whiskey in for vodka, and to make a gin sour, sub in gin!
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Vodka Sours are the perfect drink to amp up your cocktail game this holiday season. Sweet, tart, and boozy, these are bound to impress!
- 2 ounces vodka (preferably chilled)
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 ounce simple syrup
- 1 egg white
- Angostura bitters
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Add the vodka, lemon juice, simple syrup, and egg white to a shaker and add the shaker ball.
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Shake for 20 seconds. If you are not using chilled vodka, remove the shaker ball, add ice, and shake for about 20 seconds more.
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Strain the cocktail (if using ice) into a coupe or rocks glass, top with a dash of bitters, serve, and enjoy.
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