No offense to my folks, but I honestly had no idea what my imminent future back at my childhood home in Texas would look like as I hurriedly packed my belongings in order to flee NYC during the height of the pandemic. If COVID-19 wouldn’t kill me and my parents, would we kill each other? The jury was out…

It’s officially been 6+ weeks since I arrived in El Paso and, to be honest, I have no regrets on my decision to temporarily get the f out of Manhattan: my pup has a backyard in which to run, play, and pee - I have a larger kitchen to experiment with new recipes and utilize my culinary school degree - my folks have been utterly awesome - the blaring sunshine has proven to be a healing force - and I’ve gotten to reconnect with some of my childhood best friends.

Speaking of childhood besties, I hadn’t seen Kaykie since 2015. So when she invited me over for a cocktail (or three), I couldn’t respond ‘yes’ quickly enough. “OK Linds, what can I offer you? We have a variety of White Claw, beer, wine, spirits, or my homemade Whiskey Sss.” Before she could utter the word ‘Sours,’ I exclaimed that I wanted a Whiskey Sour. “Great! I’m going to have one, too.” Kaykie then proceeded to tell me that - wait for it - she fricking won a “cocktail-off” among her local group of friends (with this very recipe)! She informed me that, aside from the fact that she makes her own sour mix, her version’s pièce de résistance is the addition of an egg white. “That’s what makes it mysteriously creamy and undeniably smooth.”

Kaykie’s Whiskey Sours are the best homemade cocktails that I’ve tasted and I am so excited to be able to share this recipe with y’all! I cannot wait for you to sample them for yourselves; I just know that you will love them as much as I do!

*Pro tip: Don’t like whiskey? Sub for tequila, rum or gin!

Salud!

Supplies/utensils needed for this recipe:

• Saucepan

• Storage container or pitcher with a lid

• Quart-sized mason jar with a secure lid (or an old jar of the same size with a lid)

• Spoon

• Ice

• Two glasses for serving

Ingredients:

Sweet & sour mix

Makes enough sour mix for 6+ cocktails

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar

• 3/4 cup water

• 1/2 cup pure lime juice (I love this brand)

• 1/2 cup pure lemon juice (ditto the brand, above)

• 1/2 cup orange juice OR grapefruit juice

Cocktail

Makes 2 Whiskey Sours

• 1 cup whiskey (I used Buffalo Trace)

• 1/2 cup homemade sweet & sour mix (recipe above)

• 1/2 cup seltzer (or another sugarless mixer of choice)

• 1 egg white

• 4 Italian maraschino cherries (I prefer the Luxardo brand)

Method:

Sweet & sour mix:

1. Heat and stir sugar and water in a saucepan on the stove until all of the sugar is dissolved, approximately 3-5 minutes. 

2. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

3. Once cooled, add the juices and mix well.

4. Transfer to a storage container with a lid and refrigerate.

Whiskey Sour:

1. In the quart-sized mason jar with a secure lid (or an old jar of the same size with a lid), add 1 cup of whiskey, 1/2 cup of the sweet and sour mix, 1/2 cup seltzer, 1 spoonful of maraschino cherry juice, 1 egg white, plus a handful of ice.

2. Secure the jar by screwing on the lid, and shake really well. Like, shake the living hell out of it!!  The idea is to get the egg white nice and frothy; this is what makes the cocktail creamy and smooth.  This is no time to use a cocktail shaker, folks! They don’t seal well enough and you’ll make a mess!

3. Pour the Whiskey Sours over ice and garnish each glass with 3 cherries.

4. Cheers!

Until we drink again,

The Lunch Belle