Irish Whiskey Sour

It changes the drink more than a blend upgrade would. Pot still brings a thick, slightly oily body and a green-apple note that survives 22 ml of lemon. Jameson and its cousins go softer and sweeter. Both work; the pot still version simply tastes like more of something.

Not by default, though it suits this whiskey. Half an egg white, or 15 ml from a carton, gives a foam collar and rounds off the lemon's edges. Shake once without ice to build the foam, then again with ice. Leave it out if you want the drink bright and quick.

Probably. Irish whiskey is usually triple distilled and light on oak tannin, so there is no rye burn and no peat to explain away. Serve it over plenty of ice and let it dilute a little. If they still find it strong, take the whiskey down to 45 ml.

It will, though you are making a different drink. Lime is sharper and more floral, and it pushes Irish whiskey toward daiquiri territory rather than sour territory. Cut it to 20 ml and add a couple of dashes of Angostura to put some spine back in.

A classic Irish Whiskey Sour calls for 60 ml (2 oz) Irish whiskey, 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.

A standard Irish Whiskey 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.

An Irish Whiskey 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.