Drink · 4 min · 1 coupe
Tequila sour
The sour template with agave underneath it. Reposado gives you something closer to a whiskey sour; blanco keeps it sharp.
The sheet · 1 coupe · 4 min
easyWhy tonight. The sour template with agave underneath it. Reposado gives you something closer to a whiskey sour; blanco keeps it sharp.
What it needs
Nothing confirmed on your shelf yet — this list is the whole ask.
- tequila
- lemon
- simple syrup
Method
- 2 oz blanco tequila, ¾ oz lemon, ¾ oz simple syrup, shaken hard.
- Lemon rather than lime is the point of difference — lime makes it a margarita's cousin, lemon lets the agave show.
- Strain up. Salt on half the rim if you want it to behave like a margarita after all.
- A dash of bitters keeps it from reading as sweet, which is the usual complaint.
An educational pour, not a reprint of a licensed spec. No allergen or alcohol-safety claim.
Cook or pour it, then edit the shelf if you emptied a bottle or used the last of something.
Why each of these is on the list
What the ingredients are actually doing
- tequila
- Agave, which brings a vegetal, peppery edge no other spirit has.
- lemon
- Acid you add at the end, not the start.
- simple syrup
- Sugar already dissolved, which is the only form of sugar that works in a cold drink.
Missing one of them? The substitutions are written against those jobs rather than against a chart, so they say what each replacement costs this dish in particular.
Cooks from the same box
If you bought for this, you can already make these
Shares lemon, simple syrup
Amaretto sour
Amaretto, lemon and egg white. Amaretto is very sweet on its own, so this needs more lemon than a standard sour.
Shares lemon, simple syrup
Aperol sour
Aperol carries its own bitterness, so this needs less sugar than a standard sour. Egg white makes it look like sunset.
Shares lemon, simple syrup
Brandy sour
The sour template on cognac, which is rounder and more fruit-driven than whiskey. It takes less sugar than you expect.
Shares lemon, simple syrup
Rye sour
A whiskey sour with the sweetness pulled back by the grain. Rye and lemon are sharper together than bourbon and lemon ever are.
Next
Cook it, then tell the shelf what you used.
The ranking is only as honest as the shelf behind it. Empty the cream, and everything that leaned on cream should stop being offered.