Barrel Aged Williams Sour
The Barrel Aged Williams Sour is the kind of German answer to the world-famous Whisky Sour. The base spirit for our drink was a pear brandy, aged in ex-Buffalo Trace Bourbon Barrels. It's refreshing, citrusy, and of course, it comes with flavors of pear.
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ingredients
- 40ml (poire williams)
- 20ml Graham’s Blend Nº5 White Port (white port)
- 30ml Lemon Juice Fresh (citrus juice)
- 20ml Simple Syrup (sugar syrup)
- 30ml Egg White Pasteurized (egg white)
glassware:
Rocks
technique:
blend / wet-shake / strain
garnish:
1x lemon twist
mixing instructions
- Combine all ingredients in the shaker tin or spindle mixer tin.
- Dry blend the ingredients in the blender for about 10 seconds.
- If you used the spindle mixer tin, pour the liquid into a shaker.
- Add ice cubes.
- Shake for about 15 seconds.
- Strain the mixed liquid into the chilled serving glass filled with ice cubes.
- Add your garnish.
- Prepare your Mise en Place.
- Prepare your bottle setup.
- Chill the serving glass with either crushed ice or ice cubes. Or place it in a fridge or freezer.
- Prepare your garnish.
- Add all the ingredients (except the egg white !) into the spindle mixer tin. Or, if you have, add the ingredients to the taller part of the Tin-in-Tin shaker.
- Add the egg white into the mixer tin.
- Set the speed of the spindle mixer to the lowest setting. Othwerwise it might spill over very quick!
- Dry blend the ingredients in the blender for about 10 seconds. If you want to dry shake instead, do it for roughly 20 seconds.
- Take the chilled glass out of the fridge/freezer. If you used ice to chill the serving glass, remove everything from the glass.
- Add around 4 to 5 ice cubes into the serving glass.
- Strain into the serving glass.
- Add your garnish.
- Clean up your working station.
how to garnish
- 1x lemon twist, Press the oils out of the lemon peel by squeezing the zest over the serving glass. Drop the garnish into the drink.
mixing tips
General
- Start with the cheapest ingredients (the syrup) first.
- Add the egg white always, at least, into your shaker. Otherwise, it might curdle too quickly and will not give the frothy foam by the end.
Glassware
- A chilled glass keeps your drink longer and more enjoyable. Your used ice will melt slower, and the taste will stay longer.
Alcoholic Ingredients
- It's good to check if the used Port Wine is in good condition. If it is a White Port, make sure to keep it refrigerated. It will stay longer fresh.
flavour and texture
Aroma:
citrus, pear, sandalwood
Flavour:
citrus, pear
Texture:
clean, lively, powerful
editor recipe notes
The Barrel Aged Williams Sour is an extraordinary drink. And it’s like the German way of making sour cocktails with fruit brandy.
We used the pear brandy from our small ex “Buffalo Trace Bourbon” barrels. It might be too powerful and overwhelming if we had added 60ml instead of 40ml pear brandy. We stored the pear brandy for about three months, and it was enough time to get some of the woody flavor and some color into the brandy. We also used some White Port because it makes the drink a little crisper.
If you want to use fruit brandy in a Sour cocktail, we recommend giving it some rest in a barrel. It will remove some of the fruity flavors and give it more depth through the wood.