Hemingway Whiskey Sour – New England Style

“Never delay kissing a pretty girl or opening a bottle of whiskey” – Ernest Hemingway

The Whiskey Sour is an incredibly underrated drink. In its original state, made well, is something of pure greatness. Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald guzzled Whiskey Sours endlessly when they were over in Paris in the 1920s, often at the The Dingo Bar. Hemingway talked about the experience in his personal memoir of Paris, A Moveable Feast, and fans now speculate that much of his first novel, The Sun Also Rises was based on the people he met and places he frequented in Paris during that time. When Hemingway first met Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby had just been published, causing reason to celebrate (with plenty of Whiskey Sours) as this established him as a heavyweight up-and-coming writer in the literary world.

This drink is enduring, as are they, and is a tribute to them, as well as of the changing of seasons in New England.

Cheers, and please remember to enjoy responsibly, with a copy of The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway, or, a compiled list of all of Hemingway’s favorite drinks – and believe me, it is comprehensive, just like the man himself: To Have and Have Another: A Hemingway Cocktail Companion.

Maple Syrup Whiskey Sour

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Prep Time:8 minutes mins

Servings: 1 cocktail

Equipment

• 1.5 ounces of Buffalo Trace (or any Boubon)
• 2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup (high quality, real New England style – not Mrs. Butterworth's)
• 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice (buy a fresh lemon and squeeze it yourself)
• Gentlemen's Whiskey Glass
• Lemon Juice Squeezer
• Jigger or Measuring Cup
• Ice
• Peeler
• 3 drops of Angostarana Bitters (Optional)
• Peel from lemon as a garnish (use it to wipe the rim of glass)

Instructions

• Place a Gentlemen's Whiskey glass in the freezer for 5 minutes
• Grab maple syrup and place in freezer for two minutes
  
• Grab Bourbon
  
• Squeeze fresh lemon juice (using lemon squeezer)
  
• Grab some Agonastura Bitters
  
• Combine bourbon, fresh lemon juice, chilled maple syrup, and bitters. Shake in shaker until chilled. Strain into the chilled glass. Add a single square or circular cube (if possible; if not regular ice will suffice). Drizzle a small amount of maple syrup on top, as well as garnish with the peel of the lemon