New York Sour
Also known as Continental Sour, Claret Snap
A whiskey sour with a float of red wine on top: 1880s Chicago, renamed for New York.
The drink appears in 1880s Chicago as the Continental Sour, built on rye or bourbon with lemon, sugar and a float of claret; some bars called it the Claret Snap. By the 1930s the same combination was being printed as the New York Sour, and that is the name that stuck. The wine float is the point: it sits above the sour, and the drink changes as you work down through it.
- Mid-century manuals often dropped the wine float; the modern revival put it back.
- Continental Sour
- Claret Snap
- Bourbon New York Sour
“A dry red keeps the drink from turning sweet; the float is easiest poured over the back of a spoon.”
Ingredients
- Rye whiskey60 ml
- Lemon juice22.5 ml
- Simple syrup22.5 ml
- Egg white15 ml
- Dry red wine15 ml
Method
Dry-shake the whiskey, lemon, syrup and egg white, shake again with ice, strain over a large cube and float the red wine on top.
Rocks glass · one large cube · wine float