Camomile Sour

There's nothing better than a happy accident, and this variant of the whiskey sour was discovered by mistake when we were playing around with tea infusions.

We made camomile bourbon a while back, and, for some reason, decided to use it in a Camomile Manhattan. Look, we were young, experimenting, and a little obsessed with Manhattans.

Anyway, some months later, having run out of regular bourbon (shock-horror indeed), we tried the camomile-infused version in a Whiskey Sour. What a revelation.

It turns out that the light floral notes of camomile-infused bourbon play exceptionally well with the citrus of a classic whiskey sour, making a refreshing modern twist on the recipe that Jerry Thomas used in 1862 - a teaspoon of sugar, a little water, the juice of half a lemon and a wineglass of whiskey.

In fact the lemon and the camomile work so well together we almost despair a little that we didn't think of this in the first place. But better late than never, eh?

Camomile Sour

50ml camomile-infused bourbon
25ml fresh lemon juice
12.5ml sugar syrup (1:1)
25ml fresh egg white (optional)
1 dash Angostura bitters

Shake all ingredients with cubed ice. If using the egg white, strain back into the shaker and 'dry shake' again without ice, for texture. Strain into a chilled rocks glass and garnish with a handful of camomile flowers.

Looking for inspired twists on old recipes?

Contact us now to talk about crafty cocktail ideas to refresh the classics.