This simple mezcal sour made without egg white is the perfect silky smooth sipping cocktail no matter the season.
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The only thing we might love more than cooking is crafting unique cocktails with the spirits and flavors we enjoy most. This fun mezcal sour combines one of our favorite spirits with the bright sweet and sour notes of lemon and honey for a sophisticated yet surprisingly simple cocktail. No matter the season, this mezcal sour is the perfect smooth sipping cocktail for any occasion.
What Ingredients Are In A Mezcal Sour?
A sour is a cocktail consisting of a spirit, an acid, and a sweetener. Sour cocktails are generally made with 2 parts spirit, 1 part sour, and 1 part sweet. Some sours also include egg white to give the classic foamy top – but our mezcal sour is made without egg white for a no-fuss (and vegan friendly) cocktail!
You’ll need these ingredients to make this mezcal sour cocktail:
- 2 ounces mezcal espadin
- 1 ounce lemon juice
- ½ ounce honey syrup
- 1 dash Angostura bitters
Much like tequila, mezcal comes in a few varieties which all have their own distinct flavor profile. Check out our Pineapple Mezcal Old Fashioned recipe for why we love the espadin variety of mezcal.
The honey syrup has such a rich flavor that we recommend going a little lighter on this sweetener compared to the typical ratio for sour cocktails. At half an ounce, the honey syrup provides plenty of sweetness to balance the sour lemon juice and the smoky mezcal.
If you’re wondering what honey syrup is made of, the answer is super simple: honey and water. All it takes to make honey syrup is 1 part water and 2 parts honey! Just heat the water in the microwave and then mix in the honey until fully combined. Homemade honey syrup lasts for up to 1 month in the fridge, so you can enjoy this mezcal sour cocktail over and over again 🙂
How To Make A Simple Mezcal Sour
Once you’ve mixed the honey syrup, this simple mezcal cocktail comes together quickly and easily in just a few minutes. Here’s how to make a mezcal sour with lemon and honey:
- Fill a shaker with ice cubes and add mezcal, lemon juice, honey syrup, and bitters.
- Shake until chilled, approximately 10 seconds. With practice you will hear the change as the ice breaks down which indicates the drink is thoroughly chilled. You can learn more about this in this awesome mixology MasterClass (which has helped us level up our cocktail game immensely!).
- Double strain the cocktail into a whiskey glass. Since the process of shaking chills the drink, you don’t need to serve this mezcal cocktail over ice. All you need is a nice glass and this silky mezcal sour for a wonderful sipping experience.
How Do You Double Strain A Drink?
Double straining is a technique often used when a cocktail is shaken and served without ice. There are two reasons why you may want to serve a drink without ice:
- To ensure the drink does not get watered down after the shaking process.
- To let the cocktail warm up as you sip it to highlight different flavors. As the drink warms up, the smoky mezcal becomes more potent.
All you need to double strain a drink is either a julep strainer or a Hawthorne strainer, along with a fine mesh sieve strainer. Put your julep or Hawthorne strainer into the shaker to trap the large pieces of ice that remain, and pour it through the sieve strainer into your glass. Once you experience sipping on a silky smooth cocktail, you’ll be double straining all of your cocktails served up.
This sour is one of the best mezcal cocktails for sipping no matter the season, with its citrusy summer notes, smoky fall and winter mezcal, and sweet springtime honey. Try the recipe below and let us know how much you love this mezcal sour in the comments!
Love this recipe? You may enjoy these recipes, too:
- Pineapple Mezcal Old Fashioned
- Rosemary Vodka Lemonade
- Strawberry Jalapeno Mojitos
- Blood Orange Vodka Soda
To browse more of our latest recipes and seasonal dishes, visit our homepage here.
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Mezcal Sour
Equipment
- Julep strainer
- Whiskey glass
Ingredients
Mezcal Sour
- 2 fl oz mezcal espadin
- 1 fl oz lemon juice
- ½ fl oz honey syrup see ingredients below
- 1 dash Angostura bitters
Honey Syrup
- ⅔ cup honey
- ⅓ cup warm water
Instructions
- First, prepare the honey syrup. Add warm water to a small jar first, then add the honey. Stir quickly until fully combined, then set aside and let cool to room temperature.
- Next, fill the shaker with ice cubes. Add mezcal, lemon juice, honey syrup, and bitters, then shake until chilled.
- Double strain the cocktail into a whiskey glass. Place the fine mesh strainer over the top of the glass and use the julep strainer inside the shaker, so that the cocktail passes through the julep strainer first, then the fine mesh strainer. This helps filter out any small shards of ice for a perfectly smooth and silky drink.
- Serve immediately. Cheers!
Notes
Nutrition
If you have any questions regarding the information presented in this post, please refer to our Nutrition Disclaimer here.
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