Name: Smoked New York Sour
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 2 ounces rye; 1 ounce egg white; ½ ounce recipe; ½ ounce lemon juice; ½ ounce dry red wine

Why This Recipe Works

Cocktails have families, and little changes—riffs, as you might hear a bartender say—beget entirely new cocktails. The New York sour is a prime example; it’s simply a whiskey sour transformed by the addition of a red wine float. This seemingly minor change reshapes the drink—the wine’s tannins intertwine with the whiskey and citrus, adding unexpected body to the cocktail and steering the flavor away from the familiar sweet-tart balance of a classic sour. Here, we introduce smoke to complement the spice of the rye, and this additional step leads to yet another new drinking experience.

Before You Begin

Use a medium-bodied wine, such as a Côtes du Rhône or Pinot Noir, for this cocktail. We developed this recipe using hickory and applewood as our smoking material, but feel free to experiment with other varieties of wood shavings.

Instructions

Add 2 ounces rye, 1 ounce egg white, ½ ounce simple syrup, and ½ ounce lemon juice to cocktail shaker and vigorously shake until mixture is foamy, about 45 seconds.

Fill shaker with ice, then shake mixture until just combined and chilled, about 5 seconds. Strain cocktail into chilled rocks glass half-filled with ice or containing 1 large ice cube. Arrange cocktail spoon concave side down near surface of ice. Gently pour ½ ounce dry red wine onto back of spoon and into cocktail.

To smoke cocktail, place small saucer or lid over glass. Following manufacturer’s instructions, turn on portable smoke infuser and ignite desired smoking material. Once smoke begins exiting hose, partially lift saucer, place tip of hose in opening, and fill glass with smoke. Quickly remove hose and replace saucer. Turn off smoker and extinguish smoking material. Let smoke infuse cocktail for 15 seconds, then remove saucer. Serve.