New York Sour Recipe: The Whiskey Sour with a Red Wine Float

A New York Sour is a Whiskey Sour with a layer of dry red wine floated on top. The wine never gets shaken in; it is poured slowly over the back of a spoon so it sits as a dark band above the pale sour, and the first sip takes tannin and red fruit before the lemon and rye arrive underneath. It is the best-looking drink in the sour family, one of the oldest, and despite the name it was born in Chicago.

Below is the spec, how to pour the float and which wine to use, the 1883 record and the drink's half-dozen earlier names, how it compares with the classic rye Whiskey Sour, and which ryes stand up to a glass of red.

What a New York Sour Is

The spec above is PUNCH's: 2 oz rye or bourbon, 1 oz lemon, 1 oz 1:1 simple syrup, shaken, strained over ice into a rocks glass, then ¼ oz of red wine floated on top. Difford's version is the same idea built differently: bourbon, 1 oz lemon, ½ oz rich 2:1 syrup in place of 1 oz simple, a dash of Angostura, an optional ½ oz of egg white, reverse dry-shaken, strained into an ice-filled old-fashioned glass, then a ½ oz float of chilled claret and a lemon zest twist. PUNCH lists no garnish at all; the wine is the garnish.

Note the ratio. PUNCH writes the New York Sour at 2 : 1 : 1 rather than the 2 : ¾ : ¾ of its plain Whiskey Sour, so the sour underneath is a little bigger and a little sweeter — sensible, since a tannic red is about to land on it. If you prefer the leaner ratio, use it; the float works either way. Whiskey Sour ratios walks through the trade-offs.

How to Float the Wine

A float is a pour you cannot rush. Build the sour in the glass first, then turn a bar spoon bowl-down and hold it just above the surface, touching the inside of the glass. Pour the wine in a thin stream onto the back of the spoon so it spreads across the top instead of punching through. Go slowly; ¼ oz takes a few seconds. Done right, you get a clean dark band with a soft gradient where the two meet, and the drink stays layered until the first stir.

Which wine? The sources call for a dry red — Difford's says chilled claret — and the drink wants tannin and fruit rather than oak or sweetness. Chill it; a cold float sits more cleanly on a cold drink. PUNCH's quarter-ounce gives a thin, elegant band; Difford's half-ounce makes the wine a real flavor component. Use a bottle you would drink on its own.

The 1883 Record and the Drink's Many Names

The red-wine float is one of the few sour variations with a dated 19th-century record. On 4 December 1883 the Washington Star's "Life In Chicago" column quoted an unnamed Chicago bartender, described as an "Artist," saying: "Men who drink our sours expect a claret at every bar." The drink went under several names before New York claimed it — Chicago Sour, Claret Snap, Continental Sour (in George Kappeler's Modern American Drinks, 1895 and 1906, and in Robert Vermeire's 1922 book), Southern Whiskey Sour, Brunswick Sour. Barry Popik's earliest dated citation for "Continental Sour" is the Boston Herald of 10 December 1933; per Difford's, the name New York Sour first appears in print in the 1934 Mr. Boston Bartender's Guide.

Egg white is a modern addition. Difford's notes that egg and wine were used separately until the late-1990s and 2000s revival; the egg-plus-wine version is sometimes called a Greenwich Sour and credited to Employees Only in New York. The rest of the family tree is in the Whiskey Sour history hub.

New York Sour vs the Classic Rye Whiskey Sour

Structurally the New York Sour is the classic rye Whiskey Sour with one thing added and nothing taken away. Where the classic is built for balance, the float makes the drink change as you go: the top of the glass is wine-led, the bottom is a plain sour, and the middle is the point. With egg white it turns richer and softer; without, it stays bright and quick. For the egg version, the Boston Sour page covers the dry shake.

Choosing the Rye

A red-wine float adds tannin, acidity and dark fruit on top of a sour that already carries a full ounce of lemon. Bourbon's sweetness can get lost in that; rye's pepper and dryness hold a line through it. Proof matters too — the drink is bigger than the classic and served on ice, so a 100-proof bottle keeps the whiskey present to the last sip.

Rittenhouse Bottled-in-Bond Rye (100 proof, guide price $26.99, RyeCentral Consensus Score 4.0/5 · Strong confidence) is the standard: cinnamon and citrus in the profile, and enough weight to sit under a tannic red. Wild Turkey 101 Rye (101 proof, $29.99) brings more oak and pepper, a good match for a bigger float. For a softer version, Sazerac Rye (90 proof) keeps the drink gentle and fruit-led. If you'd rather the rye lead the wine than follow it, Knob Creek Single Barrel Select Rye (115 proof) has the black pepper and orange peel to do it. The Bottle Library ranks the full shortlist.

Serving Notes

Serve it on the rocks, as every source does; the float needs a flat surface and a steady glass. A large clear cube keeps the band intact longer than cracked ice — see how to make clear ice. PUNCH lists no garnish, and a cherry sinking through the wine spoils the picture; Difford's expressed lemon twist is the one addition that earns its place. More in Whiskey Sour garnish.

Every other riff in the family — honey, mint, grapefruit, Angostura by the ounce — is in Whiskey Sour variations and the Recipe Room.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a New York Sour?

A Whiskey Sour with dry red wine floated on top: 2 oz rye or bourbon, 1 oz fresh lemon juice, 1 oz simple syrup, shaken and strained over ice, with ¼ oz (Difford's: ½ oz) of red wine floated over the back of a bar spoon.

What red wine goes in a New York Sour?

A dry red. Difford's specifies chilled claret; the drink wants tannin and fruit rather than oak or sweetness. Chill the wine so it floats cleanly, and use a bottle you would drink on its own.

How do you float red wine on a Whiskey Sour?

Hold a bar spoon upside down just above the surface of the finished drink and pour the wine slowly over its back so it spreads across the top instead of sinking. Go slowly; a quarter-ounce takes a few seconds.

Where does the New York Sour come from?

Chicago. A Chicago bartender quoted in the Washington Star on 4 December 1883 said drinkers of his sours "expect a claret at every bar." It was the Continental, Chicago or Southern Whiskey Sour before the New York Sour name appeared in the 1934 Mr. Boston Bartender's Guide.

Does a New York Sour have egg white?

Not in PUNCH's spec; Difford's makes ½ oz optional. Egg and wine were used separately until the modern revival; the egg-plus-wine version is sometimes called a Greenwich Sour, credited to Employees Only.

Rye or bourbon in a New York Sour?

PUNCH allows either. Rye's dryness and pepper hold up better under a tannic red wine float, and a 100-proof rye stays present in a drink served on ice.