The New York Sour: The Cocktail Recipe of Your Dreams

My apologies to those of you who were waiting with baited breath for this New York Sour post last night.  In the middle of our dinner prep, we were hit with a power outage that lasted for a good five hours.  While I could have posted from my phone or iPad, I am not the type of blogger who likes to write using her thumbs, so instead I spent the evening with my neighbors on their back porch before making my way to bed when it got dark, candlestick in hand.  There was something absolutely delightful about it all, really.  There was nothing to do but be.  (Why do we need a power outage to remind us of how great that is?)

Anyway.  On to the New York Sour...

There are few cocktails that do it for me like the NYS.  It has a bit of everything: a sweetness on the lips, a gentle tartness on the tongue, then a slow, warm burn down the throat.  It is a cocktail that has never disappointed any guest I have served it to--and I've served it to guests with very dissimilar drinking habits.

Not only that, but it is one sexy drink.  I mean, LOOK at her!

Yow-zaaaah! How do you say 'no' to that???

I first read of this cocktail in Bon Appétit's April 2013 issue.  BA suggests different whiskies and wines when making it.  All variations are delicious, but I'm going to share my own newly crafted recipe here with the hopes that in trying it, you will find a cocktail love you can't let go of...

The ingredients and amounts are super simple to remember.  And no special tools are needed--just a cocktail shaker, a double old-fashioned glass, and a standard silverware tablespoon.  Remember, 2-1-1.

The Sour Ingredients:

• 2 oz. rye whiskey (I use Sazerac)
• 1 oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice from 1 juicy lemon (do NOT use bottled juice)
• 1 oz. brown sugar simple syrup** (see my super secret recipe below)

The Float:

• 1/2 - 1 oz. of malbec wine

Place one giant cube of ice or 4-5 regular ice cubes in a double old-fashioned glass.  Pour the sour ingredients into the cocktail shaker.  Fill the shaker with ice, cover, then shake vigorously for 30 seconds.  The shaker should be frosty cold and your bicep bulging when you are done counting and shaking.  Strain the sour mixture into the glass over the ice.  Now, take the tablespoon and turn it upside down so that you are staring at the bottom of the spoon.  Place the tip of the spoon bowl onto the ice and rest the handle of the spoon on the edge of the glass.  Very slowly pour the wine over the back of the spoon, allowing it to flow gently down over the hump of the bowl and onto the ice.  You will see the wine slowly spread itself out in a layer over the top of the sour.  (God, don't you love the science of cocktail making? Beautiful! Just wait and see!)

BA also recommends using bourbon to make a NYS, as well as a shiraz for the float.  Both options are very, very good, so if these are the ingredients you have on hand, by all means, use them.  I just like rye and malbec the best.

Now, as promised, here is how I make the brown sugar simple syrup, the quick and easy way:

**For 1 oz. of simple syrup:
Mix 2 tablespoon of brown sugar and 2 tablespoon of water in a small dish.  Microwave on high for 15 seconds.  Remove from the microwave and stir until the sugar has dissolved completely and there is no sediment on the bottom.  Let the mixture cool to room temperature before using (to avoid melting your shaker ice too much and over diluting your cocktail).  It should be clear if all the sugar has completely dissolved.

There you have it: the recipe for one of the best frickin' cocktails you will ever make.  The only other thing I can think to give you is a demonstration on how to do the float.

Hmmmm.

Get ready for Video #2 of the How the Hell Do I??? series!