Sour
2 : ¾ : ¾ — spirit : citrus : sweet.
Shake hard with plenty of ice for 10–12 seconds, until the tin frosts, then strain into a chilled coupe and serve up. Citrus is the reason it is shaken: shaking aerates and dilutes in one go, which is what turns juice and sugar into something silky rather than syrupy.
- Lemon or lime, always fresh — bottled juice tastes flat in a sour.
- A liqueur can stand in for part of the sweet (a Cosmopolitan uses orange liqueur and a mix); pull the syrup back by the same amount.
- Too sharp: add ¼ oz sweet. Too sweet: add ¼ oz citrus.
