Top Shelf: Simple Steps to a Pike Creek Whisky Sour

Whether you’re up at the cottage or relaxing in the city, weekends are a great time to host family and friends.

While it may seem easier to uncork a bottle of wine or crack open a can of craft beer, serving a deliciously refreshing classic cocktail is well worth the extra elbow grease.  A long-time favourite is the Pike Creek whisky sour – it has the perfect balance of sweet and sour that can appeal to anyone from your Cousin Dave to your friend Pearl.

Named after an area in Windsor, Ontario, Pike Creek is a 100% corn whisky that is first aged in used Canadian whisky barrels to amplify the grain’s sweet, creamy characteristic, and then blended with whisky aged in wine casks to bring out fruity tasting notes. This full-bodied Canadian whisky is the perfect hero ingredient in this sipping sour.

This particular recipe requires an egg white, which not only provides the aesthetic froth to the sour, but also the functional purpose of adding texture to the drink. During maturation, oak casks impart tannins to the whisky that then react to the proteins in your mouth creating that recognizable puckering sensation on your palate. When egg whites are used in cocktails, the egg white acts like a protein substitute creating a more enjoyable experience for your taste buds.

The start to any cocktail adventure deserves the right tools and quality ingredients.

The Tricks of the Trade

• 1 Boston Shaker (includes 1 Boston tin and 1 Boston glass)
• 1 classic type of glassware for vintage style cocktails, like a coupe or a rocks glass
• Hawthorne strainer
• Tea strainer (also referred to as a fine mesh strainer)
• Vegetable peeler

The Fixings

• 1 ½ ounces of Pike Creek Canadian Whisky
• 1 egg white
• ½ ounce of simple syrup
• 1 ounce of freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Fresh lemon

The Prep

• Put your glass in the refrigerator to chill.

Make your own Simple Syrup

• 1 part water
• 1 part sugar

1. Combine ingredients into a small saucepan
2. Bring to a boil
3. Stir until sugar dissolves
4. Allow to cool

The Main Event

1. In your shaking tin, add one egg white.
2. Dry shake* to emulsify the egg white.
3. Add the simple syrup, lemon juice and Pike Creek® Canadian whisky.
4. Dry shake your mix again.
5. Fill your shaking tin with ice.
6. Shake for 10 seconds to chill the mix and provide dilution.
7. In a chilled glass, strain the mix through your Hawthorne strainer** and use your other hand to hold a mesh strainer above the glass.
8. Drag the peeler down the lemon from top to bottom, ensuring as little pith as possible on the zest.
9. Quickly bend the zest lengthwise, peel side outward, over the drink to release the aromatic oils.
10. Fold the zest into a twist and place in drink.

_{*Insider Note: Dry Shake means to shake the liquid ingredients in a cocktail shaker without ice.
**Insider Note: A Hawthorne strainer is used with mixing tins, while Julep strainers are used with mixing glasses.
Insider tip: Fresh is best.}

Please enjoy our products responsibly.
For more information visit, www.pikecreek.ca