Each year on August 25th, people across the United States observe National Whiskey Sour Day.
Traditionally garnished with half an orange and a maraschino cherry, a whiskey sour is a mixed drink containing whiskey (often bourbon), lemon juice and sugar. Whiskey sours are shaken then either served straight or over ice.
“Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whiskey is barely enough.” – Mark Twain
An alternative to the traditional whiskey sour is the Boston sour which is made by adding a dash of egg white to the recipe. Another variation is the Ward 8. This beverage has a base of either Bourbon or rye whiskey with both lemon and orange juices and grenadine syrup added for sweetness.
The first mention of a whiskey sour was in an 1870 Wisconsin newspaper.
After opening, a bottle of whiskey will remain good for five years.
An unopened bottle of whiskey can be kept for over 100 years and will still be fit to drink.
Both “Whisky” and “Whiskey” spellings are correct. Whisky is specific to Scotch Whisky, and Whiskey is Irish.
Whiskey is the official state beverage of Alabama.
Legend has it that Jack Daniels ran away at the age of 6 and learned to make whiskey from a Lutheran minister.
Have a whiskey sour with a friend this evening. While you enjoy your cocktail, explore the history of whiskey, its production, and trade. The documentaries Straight Upand Scotch: The Golden Dram will give you a look inside both Bourbon and Scotch.
(Remember always to drink responsibly and never drink and drive.) Use #NationalWhiskeySourDay to post on social media.
Celebrate all your favorite cocktails on March 24th. National Cocktail Day ushers in all the best ways to savor a beverage at the end of a long workday. Whether you like a fruity drink, blended or on the rocks, this day is for you. Mocktail, virgin, or the real thing, celebrate the lemon, lime, bitters, liquors, and liqueurs that make your favorite beverages the best in your bartender book.
It’s probably no surprise that nearly every month on the calendar celebrates a cocktail. The only exception is April, and since it’s National Alcohol Awareness Month, it makes sense to take that month off.
A cocktail contains a spirit or a mix of spirits. While a beer is not considered a cocktail, there are beer cocktails where beer is added to a distilled ingredient. The same applies to wine.
The other months pay homage to histories, ingredients, and the makers of some legendary cocktails. January begins the year dedicating a day to the Bloody Mary, and there’s also a day for her Canadian counterpart, the Bloody Caesar, in May. January also devotes an entire week to Mocktails. In February, you can celebrate the Margarita and Kahlua. March brings us International Whisk(e)y Day, among others. Skipping back to May, you can imbibe in both Palomas and Mimosas for your celebrations.
June and July compete for the most cocktail-related days. From Martinis and Bourbon in June to Pina Coladas and Daiquiris in July, the two months cover the spectrum. There are even a few bottles of wine in between. Not only do they celebrate specific cocktails but they also celebrate the places we enjoy them. National Dive Bar Day in July invites us to celebrate the places that serve our favorite cocktails, even if it’s an ice-cold beer.
The rest of the year covers all our chilled and heated cocktails. By December, we readily reminisce National Repeal Day and the Bartenders who keep that era and the skills alive.
We have only skimmed the surface of the cocktails celebrated on the calendar, so National Cocktail Day allows you to celebrate whichever one you like!
Explore cocktail ingredients or read a bartender’s manual.
Learn the finer elements of mixing cocktails and expand your home bar.
Visit a speakeasy or take a tour of your favorite distillery.
Host a cocktail tasting session. Create a classic menu with a professional bartender who provides history and describes the nuances behind the ingredients.
Attend a cocktail tasting party. You will learn more about how and why ingredients are combined the way they are.
Visit your local bar and pick your bartender’s brain. Some like to share their techniques. Ask them what their favorite cocktail is. And, be sure to tip them well for their advice and service.
Try making a mocktail. Especially on those weeknights when work is busy, and you need to keep up. Many of them infuse nutrients many of us are lacking. Keep these recipes on hand for your friends who are designated drivers, sober for life, supporting a friend, or for any reason.
As always, ANY TIME we are indulging in spirits and alcohol, DON’T drink and drive. Designate a sober driver. Call a taxi, Uber, Lyft, or friend.
When you celebrate, share your favorites by using #NationalCocktailDay on social media.
March 5th is also known as National Absinthe Day. This day is for those who are 21 years or older to celebrate a drink called absinthe.
Often mistaken for a liqueur, it is truly a spirit because it isn’t sweetened. It belongs to the vodkas, gins, and whiskeys when categorizing absinthe.
The spirit is made by infusing wormwood, fennel, anise, and other herbs into alcohol through distillation. Pierre Ordinaire, a French doctor, is credited with the creation of absinthe. He developed and prescribed the elixir in the early 19th century as a cure for many illnesses.
It has a strong licorice flavor to it and has a high alcohol content. The spirit is often served with ice, a sugar cube placed on a slotted spoon over the glass, and water poured over the sugar.
Also known as the Green Fairy, the Green Goddess, or the Green Lady, the drink was popular with artists and writers. It was also once rumored to have hallucinogenic effects. Just as it was gaining popularity, as the century was coming to a close, its reputation took some severe blows.
Many blamed the Green Lady for causing madness, seizures, and low morality, among other ills of society. One of the final blows was a scandal in 1905 involving a French laborer who had spent the day drinking. His drink of choice was absinthe. Later that day, he murdered his children and pregnant wife.
France banned the drink, and other countries soon followed. In the United States and around the world, the ban has since been lifted.
Studies have proven there is nothing hallucinogenic about the drink. Absinthe does have a higher alcohol content than other spirits, so keeping that in mind is important to drink responsibly.
There is a cameo appearance in TNT’s hit series The Alienist season 2. When our lead character Lazlo Crysler seeks a second opinion from another alienist. It caught my attention due to the ritual with sugar cubes as shown in the scene.
This is a gothic crime drama not for the faint of heart or the squeamish. It gives a more detailed account of catching criminals, as both profiling and forensic sciences are being invented. Its popularity has a season 3 renewal in its future, as it paves the way for how we fight modern criminality, as seen on shows like Criminal Minds, and CSI.
NATIONAL ABSINTHE DAY HISTORY
Why March 5th? It’s a nod to Pernod, and the day the approval of their final label for Pernod Fils Absinthe became official in 2013.
