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Technique · ~18 min

Sours mastery

Build from citrus and syrup, shake hard, dry-shake for foam, fine-strain up — then diagnose thin, sweet, or lifeless sours in the glass.

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Three template drinks: a sour, an old fashioned, and a highball

5 lessons in this path

Start here · Ingredients

Citrus & syrups

Fresh juice and syrup strength beat swapping the spirit brand when a sour tastes off.

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2. Skill

Shake

Chill, dilute, and aerate — stop when the tin is painfully cold.

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3. Skill

Dry Shake

Foam first, then ice. Skip this and egg sours come out warm and thin-capped.

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4. Skill

Fine Strain

Hawthorne plus mesh so chips don’t keep watering a drink served up.

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5. Palate training

Balance: sweet, sour, strong, weak

Too sweet, too thin, no foam — diagnose in the glass before you rewrite the pour.

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