New York Sour Recipe

By
Paul Clarke
Paul Clarke blogs about cocktails at The Cocktail Chronicles and writes regularly on spirits and cocktails for Imbibe magazine. He lives in Seattle, where he works as a writer and magazine editor.
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Updated March 26, 2025
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How did New York manage to hang its name on this drink? I have no idea—but before it did, this simple twist on the whiskey sour made the rounds for several decades during the late 19th century under an assortment of names. As cocktail historian David Wondrich wrote in Imbibe!, the drink was also known as a "Continental Sour" and a "Southern Whiskey Sour" during the 1880s, but the "New York Sour" name mostly settled on it by the early 1900s (though I've recently seen this very same drink pop up on bar menus as a "Greenwich Sour").

It's easy to see why there was so much vying for the name: this is an extremely pleasant drink. A base of American whiskey (rye is the desired variety here) is fleshed out with a little fresh lemon juice and smoothed over with a touch of sugar; the crowning touch comes with a float of dry red wine (think Syrah or Malbec, or try whatever dry red you have at hand), which gives a layered, red-headed appearance to the finished drink. And to make this already agreeable drink even better suited for a range of appetites, it can be served over ice in a rocks glass, or straight up in a chilled cocktail glass, depending on your mood.

A whiskey sour is a drink of sublime simplicity, and the New York Sour takes the whole thing one extra step, with the tart bite of the sour goosed up with a crisp snap from the wine, which also lends a complex, dry finish to this most satisfying drink.

Recipe Details

New York Sour Recipe

Prep 5 mins
Active 2 mins
Total 5 mins
Serves 1 serving
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces rye whiskey

  • 3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice

  • 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar (or 1/4 to 1/2 ounce simple syrup), to taste

  • Splash chilled club soda (optional)

  • 1/2 ounce dry red wine

Directions

  1. Add sugar and lemon juice to a cocktail shaker and stir to dissolve (if using simple syrup, skip this step).

  2. Add whiskey to lemon/sugar mixture and fill cocktail shaker with ice.

  3. Shake well for 10 seconds, and strain into either an ice-filled rocks glass or a chilled cocktail glass. Add splash of club soda (optional).

  4. Carefully pour the red wine over the back of a bar spoon so it forms a layer atop the drink.

Special equipment

cocktail shaker, bar spoon, bar strainer

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
170Calories
0gFat
8gCarbs
0gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1
Amount per serving
Calories170
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g0%
Saturated Fat 0g0%
Cholesterol 0mg0%
Sodium 2mg0%
Total Carbohydrate 8g3%
Dietary Fiber 0g0%
Total Sugars 7g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 9mg44%
Calcium 5mg0%
Iron 0mg1%
Potassium 43mg1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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