A vegan alternative to the sweet-tart gin sour, made with gin, lemon, bitters, and a vegan foamer. This drink is ideal for people who want a sour but don't want the raw egg!
To make gin sour into a botanical cocktail, try replacing plain simple syrup with my lavender syrup or rosemary syrup.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Gin: I prefer a dry gin here. The difference is that a regular gin is usually sweetened in some way after distillation, and London dry gin isn't, so it's more herbal and contains no artificial flavours.
- Lemon: fresh lemon juice is going to taste much better than bottled.
- Foamer: you can use a store-bought foam alternative like the one pictured, aquafaba, or sub egg white for an ovo-vegetarian drink.
How to Make a Gin Sour
Step 1: add the ingredients to a shaker.
Step 2: shake vigorously for 30 seconds.
Step 3: add ice and shake again until it feels very cold.
Step 4: strain the cocktail into a coupe glass and serve immediately, topped with bitters.
Top Tips
- Mixing will depend on the foamer: if you're using aquafaba, you'll skip the first shake and go right in with ice. For a store-bought foamer or egg white, do a dry shake before adding ice.
- Change the syrup recipe: if you are using the rosemary or lavender syrup recipe, make them as instructed but double the sugar. You want a rich simple syrup for sours to prevent a watery taste.
- Skip the raw egg: a gin sour is usually made with raw egg white. If that doesn't bother you, go ahead and use it! If you're leery about consuming raw egg, use one of the vegan alternatives.
FAQ
What's a Boston shaker?
It's simply a type of shaker. I prefer it because it's easier to clean and the largest type of shaker, so it's particularly good for drinks that need to foam, like a sour.
Why do I do a dry shake?
Any recipe that contains egg white needs a very good shake before adding ice or it won't foam – that's why you can skip the step if using aquafaba.
What is the difference between gin fizz and gin sour?
A gin fizz contains sparkling water (the fizz bit), and a gin sour doesn't.
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Recipe
Gin Sour
Equipment
- Shaker
- Ounce measure
Ingredients
- 2 ounces gin
- 1 ounce lemon juice freshly squeezed
- ½ ounce simple syrup
- ½ ounce vegan foamer or aquafaba*
- Lemon to garnish
- Dash angostura bitters
Instructions
- Add the gin, lemon juice, simple syrup and egg white to a cocktail shaker and shake well. This is called a dry shake (no ice). Skip this step if using aquafaba.2 ounces gin, 1 ounce lemon juice, ½ ounce simple syrup, ½ ounce vegan foamer or aquafaba*
- Add the ice and shake again until you feel the shaker is very cold.
- Strain into a coupe glass.
- Garnish with a lemon twist a few drops of Angostura bitters, and serve immediately.Lemon to garnish, Dash angostura bitters