This week I share a cocktail which can be used to illustrate how tweaking a cocktail can lead a different cocktail being made. Taking a standard whiskey sour and adding red wine, and optionally an egg white, completely changes the characteristics of this completely normal cocktail into something that is both eye-catching and, in my opinion, tastier.
For me the red wine makes the cocktail somewhat like a journey, it is dynamic, it changes while you consume it. The float which diffuses into the whiskey mixture while consuming makes it different from many other layered cocktails that. The main difference is that the other layered cocktails tend to have clear lines where the different liquids are not supposed to mix. Furthermore, the cocktail is also balanced when it comes to flavours, which should always come before the looks of a cocktail according to me. Different wines will give different flavour profiles, personally I prefer fruiter wines for this cocktail, as I feel the fruitiness often plays well against the lemon. By understanding the cocktail and how the wine, in this case, work with the cocktail is a relatively easy way to start to get an understanding on how it is possible to tweak a cocktail.
The egg white in this cocktail, that I think is important, makes for a different texture than if omitted. Without the egg white, I think it lacks as it is only like a lemonade cut with whiskey and wine instead of water. By adding the egg white, shaking the cocktail well and incorporating some of the egg into the liquid the cocktail becomes a much creamier texture. The foam on top makes for an opportunity for those who are more artistic than me to do some artwork that normally wouldn’t be possible. Some don’t like to have raw egg white in their cocktails and in this one it is possible to omit the egg white, unlike a Ramos Gin Fizz. For those who would like the characteristics of the egg white, without using raw egg white, it may be possible to use aquafaba.
My Recipe:
- 2 oz (6 cl) Bourbon
- 1 oz (3 cl) Simple Syrup
- 1 oz (3 cl) Lemon Juice
- 1 egg white (optional)
- 2 oz (6 cl) Red Wine
Pour all ingredients except the red wine into a cocktail shaker. Dry shake (shake without ice), and the add ice and shake with the ice. Strain the cocktail into a double old-fashioned glass with ice. Complete the cocktail by adding a red wine float.
