Apricot Whisky Sour
Contributed by on Jun 09, 2015
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Fun fact, back in my formative drinking days, when it was time to call it a night my final round was almost always a Whisky Sour. At the time, I wasn’t drinking at places that made what you would call quality cocktails. These were more the I-can-get many for-very-little establishments. The kind of places where when you ordered a Whisky Sour, what you got was at best some Jack with bottled sweet and sour mix, with an iridescent cherry. I loved it. In fact, I probably still do, in that recapturing my younger days kinda way. However, when I don’t want to recapture my youth, but remember it and upgrade it, that’s when it’s time for an upgraded cocktail. That’s when it’s time for the Apricot Whisky Sour!
It’s summertime and good apricots go with good whisky. That’s a simple fact, no debating it.
Normally, I try to drink seasonally — not because there’s a whole ton of variety in alcohol through the seasons (bourbon in June is either ready or not, most of it is aged anyway), but because going lighter when it’s hotter is nice. That’s what inspired me here.
Well, that and my younger days, of course.
What I wanted for this cocktail was apricots you could taste, appreciate and enjoy for their yummy goodness. Knowing that, going fresh apricots was out of the question. What I needed was apricots cocktail ready. What I needed was apricot fruit spread.
That’s where Just Jan’s Apricot joins the cocktail party. It’s not too sweet (I promise, I only ate a couple of spoonfuls straight while tweaking this cocktail recipe!) and is exactly what I like in a fruit spread: solid fruit flavors, not overly sweetened and funky ingredients added.
With our apricots handled by our buddies over at Just Jan’s, it was a simple matter of getting the proportion of whiskey and (fresh squeezed) lemon juice correct.
After we nailed those, it was a matter of making one (or two, or three), sitting back and remembering longer nights, crazier times and younger days.
Certainly not better cocktails though.
Now, onto the Apricot Whisky Sour!
- 2 oz. whisky
- 1 oz. apricot preserves
- ½ oz. lemon juice
- Apricot slices
- Glass type: Old fashioned
- Open your apricot preserves.
- Have a taste.
- Now put the preserves, whisky and lemon juice in your cocktail shaker with ice.
- Shake.
- Put ice in your old-fashioned glass.
- Pour cocktail into glass.
- Garnish with apricot slice.
- Smile and how amazing apricot works with a whisky sour.
