Classic cocktail · Guided recipe

Gin Sour

Every sour on this site runs on the same arithmetic: 60 ml of spirit, 22 of lemon, 15 of syrup. Learn it here, where gin leaves nothing to hide behind, and you can rebuild half the classic canon from memory.

Preparation~2 minEasyStrengthStrongabout 25% ABVMethodShaken7 guided stepsIngredients3Coupe or martini glass

Sour

In the glassGin · Fresh lemon juice · Simple syrup

See exact amounts

Make it with guidanceOne clear action at a time, with timers built in.

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What goes in

Ingredients

An empty clear coupe glass with a shallow rounded bowl and slender stem. — Serving glassCoupe glass

Set up before you pour

Use a coupe glass.

The stem keeps your hand away from a cold drink, while the rounded bowl makes an up serve easy to sip.

Standard size: 200 ml6¾ oz
Ice & serve: Chill it first; serve without ice.
If you don’t own one: Use a small martini glass or stemmed dessert glass.

Tools to set out

cocktail shaker
strainer (or a small sieve)
jigger or measuring spoon

Compare all glass types

Scale to your coupe or martini glassWe’ll remember this glass size.

Gin60 ml
Fresh lemon juice22 ml
Simple syrup15 ml

Start making

From bottle to glass

Method

01
Measure into the shaker
Pour 60 ml gin into your shaker
- Gin
02
Measure into the shaker
Add 22 ml fresh lemon juice
- Fresh lemon juice
03
Measure into the shaker
Add 15 ml simple syrup
- Simple syrup
04
Ice the shaker
Fill the shaker with ice
Why it mattersFill it right up — more ice chills faster with less watering down.
05
Seal and shake
Seal and shake hard
Why it mattersCold hands mean it’s working. Shake until the tin frosts over.
06
Strain cleanly
Strain into a chilled glass — no ice
Why it mattersPour through the strainer so the spent shaker ice stays behind.
07
Finish the drink
Finish it — add a lemon slice and a cocktail cherry

Know your drink

About the Gin Sour

A gin highball, dry Martini and ruby bitter gin cocktail in a botanical bar.

The ratio underneath everything

Spirit, citrus, sugar. That skeleton gives you the Daiquiri with rum, the Sidecar with brandy and orange liqueur standing in for the sugar, the Margarita with tequila, the Whiskey Sour with bourbon. Change one part and a different famous drink falls out. Bartenders learn the proportion once and then spend years arguing about the third decimal place.

Two-to-one-to-one is the other common way to write it, and it makes a sweeter, rounder drink than what's here. This page runs a little drier, which is where most bars have landed since the 1990s. Move it in either direction depending on your lemons and your sweet tooth. Neither version is wrong.

Common questions

Gin Sour FAQ

Is bottled lemon juice really that bad?

Yes, and this is the drink that proves it. With three ingredients there is nothing to hide behind, and the cooked, faintly metallic note in bottled juice lands in the middle of the glass. Squeezing takes thirty seconds and the juice keeps a few hours cold.

Should there be egg white in it?

Optional, and it changes the drink rather than improving it. One white per two drinks buys foam and a softer mouthfeel at the cost of some sharpness. Shake once without ice, then again with. Left out, the lemon reads brighter and cleaner.

Which gin holds up in a sour?

A juniper-forward London dry at 44 percent or above. Lower-proof gins get buried under the lemon and the softer contemporary styles go vague. Plymouth is a good middle. If your gin leans floral, pull the syrup back a few milliliters so the perfume doesn't turn candied.

How do I fix one that's too tart?

Add syrup 3 ml at a time, not 15. Lemons swing a long way in acidity across the year, so any printed ratio is a starting point. If it tastes tart and thin at once, the problem is dilution rather than sugar, and more shaking will help.

What ingredients are in a Gin Sour?

A classic Gin Sour calls for 60 ml (2 oz) Gin, 22 ml (0.75 oz) Fresh lemon juice, 15 ml (0.5 oz) Simple syrup. That single-serve spec scales cleanly — the recipe above converts it to oz and multiplies it for 2–4 drinks.

How strong is a Gin Sour?

A standard Gin Sour is roughly 25% ABV once mixed (before ice melt softens it further). That makes it spirit-forward — closer to a Martini than to a beer, so sip it slowly.

Is a Gin Sour shaken or stirred?

A Gin Sour is shaken — the rule of thumb is to shake anything with citrus juice. About 13 seconds with plenty of ice chills and dilutes it correctly.

Sharpen the technique