Sour PowerHomemade sour mix adds fresh flavor to cocktails

Overly sweet commercial sour mixes took off in the 1950s, giving classic drinks like whiskey sours a bad name. But to make excellent sours—spirits spiked with citrus juice and sugar—all it takes is a fresh mix. SAVEUR contributing editor David Wondrich begins his aromatic all-lemon sour mix with an oleo-saccharin, a traditional muddle of citrus peel and sugar, then finishes it with fresh lemon juice, resulting in cocktails with intense lemon flavors. Other drinks, like juicy, exuberant Hawaiian cocktails, require a mellower mix. To prepare the variation from the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort, stir a half cup superfine sugar with a half cup boiling water in a one-quart heatproof jar until the sugar dissolves; let cool. Stir in one and a half cups fresh lime juice and a half cup fresh lemon juice. Refrigerate for up to two weeks.

Sour mix
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Drinks

Sour Power

Homemade sour mix adds fresh flavor to cocktails

By Leila Clifford


Published on October 29, 2013

Overly sweet commercial sour mixes took off in the 1950s, giving classic drinks like whiskey sours a bad name. But to make excellent sours—spirits spiked with citrus juice and sugar—all it takes is a fresh mix. SAVEUR contributing editor David Wondrich begins his aromatic all-lemon sour mix with an oleo-saccharin, a traditional muddle of citrus peel and sugar, then finishes it with fresh lemon juice, resulting in cocktails with intense lemon flavors. Other drinks, like juicy, exuberant Hawaiian cocktails, require a mellower mix. To prepare the variation from the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort, stir a half cup superfine sugar with a half cup boiling water in a one-quart heatproof jar until the sugar dissolves; let cool. Stir in one and a half cups fresh lime juice and a half cup fresh lemon juice. Refrigerate for up to two weeks.

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