Brandy Sour
ClassicBrandy, lemon, and bitters. The sour template at its most classic.
Bright, fruity, and smooth. Lemon sharpens the brandy's grape and dried-fruit character, simple syrup rounds the edges, and a few dashes of bitters add spice. Easy to make and very easy to like.
Ingredients
- 2 oz Brandy
- 0.75 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
- 0.5 oz Simple Syrup
- 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
- Lemon wheel · optional garnish
- Maraschino cherry · optional garnish
Method
- 1
Add the brandy, lemon juice, simple syrup, and bitters to a shaker with ice.
- 2
Shake hard until well chilled.
- 3
Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice.
- 4
Garnish with a lemon wheel and a cherry.
The Story
Sours were among the most popular drink families of the 19th century, and the brandy version appears in the earliest American bartending guides. It is the pattern the Whiskey Sour and the Daiquiri later followed: spirit, citrus, sugar. Brandy brings more fruit and softness than whiskey does, so it reads as a rounder, gentler sour.