● Medium 6 min
Vanilla Apple Sour
An autumn sour with whiskey, apple and BrandBar vanilla syrup.
Quick answer: 50 ml whiskey • 25 ml apple juice
Recipes
Whiskey cocktails
Whiskey and bourbon cocktail recipes: Old Fashioned, Whiskey Sour, Manhattan, Penicillin. Ratios, technique and how to pick a bottle for each drink.
BrandBar Editorial Team
Content prepared and tested by BrandBar's professional bartending team.
Whiskey cocktails fall into two schools. The first is strong and barely diluted: Old Fashioned, Manhattan, Sazerac. The whiskey is fully audible here, so the bottle should be one you would drink neat. The second is sour: Whiskey Sour, Penicillin, New York Sour, where lemon juice and sugar soften the base and a cheaper blend is perfectly appropriate.
Bourbon brings sweet corn-and-vanilla notes and works best in a Sour or an Old Fashioned. Rye is drier and spicier — the classic choice for a Manhattan. A blended Scotch fits almost anywhere, while peated single malt belongs only in drinks where the smoke is written into the recipe.
Buy whiskey13 recipes with whiskey
Frequently asked questions
Which whiskey should I use for cocktails?
For an Old Fashioned or Manhattan, bourbon or rye: both are dense enough to be heard without dilution. For a Sour an ordinary blend is fine, since lemon and sugar rebuild the profile anyway.
How does an Old Fashioned differ from a Manhattan?
An Old Fashioned is whiskey, sugar and bitters stirred with ice in the glass itself. A Manhattan replaces the sugar with sweet vermouth, is stirred and served straight up in a cocktail glass.
Can I make cocktails with peated whisky?
Yes, but sparingly — the smoke dominates everything else. The classic correct use is a Penicillin, where peated single malt is floated in a thin layer on top and the base is built on a softer blend.
Other bases
GinRumVodkaTequilaCognac & brandyLiqueursBitters & infusionsAbsinthe & sambucaAperitifsSparkling & wineCoffeeLemonadesAlcohol-free
All recipesDidn't find your favourite cocktail?
Build your own recipe in the constructor — layer by layer.
Open the constructor