For A Whiskey Sour That'll Make Your Face Pucker, Reach For This Tangy Ingredient

If you want to really put the sour in whisky sour, there is one acidic addition you need to try. No, not lemon juice, but pickle juice. It turns out that the briny and slightly spicy juice that pickle spears sit in could be just the thing you've been missing. If you are already partial to drinking straight pickle juice, bringing this liquid gold over into cocktails actually makes a lot of sense (and if you're not already drinking pickle juice then you should, it tastes very good!).

Whiskey sour's roots go back to the 19th century, when sour meant any kind of drink that was made from a spirit plus citrus. Such cocktails were basically designed for long journeys at sea, during which sailors faced the risk of falling sick due to scurvy (vitamin C deficiency). Its historical addition for health reasons aside, citrus is the acid of choice generally speaking, but nowadays you'll find whiskey sours with tamarind , lime , grapefruit, and even kombucha in them. So if you think about it, pickle juice isn't pushing the boat out too far. Pickle juice is especially great because not only will it make the whisky sour more tart due to the obvious acidic element (vinegar), but it often contains salt, mustard seed, and even peppercorn, so it really brings in a strong savory edge. This addition could give you possibly one of the tastiest whisky sours you've ever had.

In order to pull off a good pickle whiskey sour, some recipes call for replacing all of the citrus with pickle juice, whereas others add it alongside the lemon juice. The latter is a quick and interesting way to introduce extra tanginess (as well as saltiness and spice) without totally changing the drink. But if you're a big pickle juice fan, then why not go all the way? Try it out in small doses at first — even a little ¼-ounce of pickle juice will add a whole new dimension of acidic flavor to your whiskey sour.

The type of pickle juice you choose also matters. Bread and butter pickle brine is a little bit softer and sweeter, so it's great for when you're swapping the citrus element entirely with this tart juice. A classic dill pickle juice is going to be stronger and more garlicky, so it's definitely more of a bold choice (and one that would benefit from diluting with lemon juice). Experimenting with different types will let you use your leftover pickle juice in a fun new way until you've found the perfection combination for your whiskey sour. And savory cocktails have definitely become more popular, from bloody Marys to dirty martinis and miso infusions, so this pickle-spiked sour is really just another punchy little twist on the trend.