Irish Sour

Most tiki drinks are made with rum, but whiskey, gin and other spirits are also used depending on what flavor you’re trying to achieve in a drink. One very well known drink that uses whiskey as a base is the Eastern Sour, a twist on a whiskey sour that was created by Trader Vic to commemorate the opening of the Toronto Trader Vic’s, the chain’s first international location. The cocktail has a great name, but the traditional recipe can be a bit boring and we tend to go for other drinks unless we’re really in the mood for whiskey. The basic recipe calls for whiskey (usually bourbon), orange juice, lemon juice and orgeat, which serves as the sweetener and the most clearly tiki element of the drink.

In anticipation of St Patrick’s Day, we decided to put an Irish twist on the Eastern Sour and created our own Irish Sour. This variation has more complexity and a more refreshing finish than the original, as we used Irish whisky and added pineapple juice in with the citrus The pineapple adds a little extra sweetness to this sour and highlights the floral notes in the orgeat. It also gives the drink a little extra froth that makes it look creamy. You can taste a bit of the honey and spice from the Jameson through the fruit, giving the drink a really nice finish. We will note that we used Giffard’s orgeat in this drink and recommend using a sweet, potent orgeat for the best results. If your orgeat doesn’t seem sweet enough, add a 1/4 ounce of simple syrup into your cocktail, as well.

This is going to be one of our new St Patrick’s Day cocktails going forward. It may not be green, but there is enough Irish in it to make it an excellent holiday option!

Irish Sour
2 oz Jameson Irish Whiskey
1 oz pineapple juice
1 oz orange juice
3/4 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz orgeat

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass and fill with ice. Shake vigorously until cold, then strain into a double old fashioned glass filled with ice cubes. Garnish with a slice of orange.

Serves 1.