Highland Sour recipe
A smoky, honeyed Scotch sour bridging classic cocktail tradition with rich highland character.
Method: Dry shake and shake with ice, then fine strain ·
Glass: Chilled coupe glass ·
Time: 4 min ·
Difficulty: Intermediate ·
Family: The Sidecar Family
Ingredients
- 2 oz Blended Scotch whisky (Preferably a balanced malt blend)
- 0.75 oz Fresh lemon juice (Bright and freshly squeezed)
- 0.5 oz Honey syrup (2:1 honey to warm water ratio)
- 0.5 oz Egg white (For velvety texture)
How to make a Highland Sour
- Combine the Scotch whisky, fresh lemon juice, honey syrup, and egg white in a shaker without ice.
- Dry shake vigorously for 15 seconds to emulsify the egg white.
- Add ice to the shaker and shake hard for another 12 to 15 seconds until thoroughly chilled.
- Fine strain the mixture into a chilled coupe glass.
- Apply three drops of bitters onto the foam and gently swirl with a pick.
Garnish
Garnish with three drops of Angostura bitters swirled on top of the foam.
Pro tip
Using a split base of blended Scotch and a small splash of peated Islay single malt adds subtle smoke without overwhelming the honeyed sweetness. Always dry shake thoroughly before adding ice to achieve a luxurious micro-foam texture.
History of the Highland Sour
While the precise origin of the Highland Sour remains undocumented in early cocktail manuals, it emerged as a regional interpretation of the classic Whiskey Sour family. Bartenders began replacing American bourbon with Scotch whisky, pairing the malted spirit with honey or local heather syrup to echo traditional Scottish flavor profiles. Although some attribute its modern popularization to contemporary craft cocktail revivals across Edinburgh and London, it represents a natural evolution of sour variations that gained traction during the global cocktail renaissance of the early twenty-first century.
Flavour profile
Smoky, Citrusy, Honeyed, Silky
Variations
- Penicillin Sour — Add a quarter-ounce Islay single malt float and a ginger syrup component for spicy smoke depth.
- Drambuie Highland Sour — Substitute half of the honey syrup with Drambuie herbal liqueur for rich honey-herb complexity.
Practise making the Highland Sour in the free Virtual Bar game.