By Ulysses Vidal

Introduction 

Opa!

You might remember the days of asking for an Amaretto Sour or Lemon Drop in a bar and seeing the bartender pour the booze into a tall glass with ice, grab their soda gun, and simply push a button at which a commercial-grade sour mix would fill the rest of the vessel. You probably saw no problem with this at all. And then you grew up a little and got swept up by the cocktail renaissance, learning that all those Sours you had been drinking throughout the years were woefully subpar. Nowadays, we have been blessed with the reintroduction of freshly squeezed juices. 

And of course, we also have new products constantly hitting the market that allow us to come up with newer variations. That’s why KLEOS Mastiha Spirit is such a fun addition to your own liquor shelf. If we can enjoy, for example, a well-made Amaretto Sour, why can’t we also enjoy a KLEOS Sour? After all, Vogue has even called mastiha “the latest must-try cocktail ingredient.”

Background

What exactly is a Sour and where did it originate? As usual, the origins are a nebulous affair, but this article from Difford’s Guide offers a few insights. The first recipe labeled as such was published in Jerry Thomas’s 1862 bar manual The Bon Vivant’s Companion. That would have been a rather primitive recipe, alien to most of us modern drinkers. The basic formula of a spirit, lemon juice, and simple syrup wouldn’t be published until 1895 in George J. Kappeler’s Modern American Drinks. 

From there, we have witnessed a full explosion of different types. Beyond the obvious ones with the word “sour” in their names, there are plenty more such as the Daiquiri, Clover Club, and Lemon Drop, to name a few. All of these cocktails belong to the Sour family. A Sour made with KLEOS Mastiha Spirit, which the Washington Post describes as, “Fresh and vegetal with a hint of sweet mint,” is yet another variation that is ready to usurp something like the Amaretto Sour.

About Those Egg Whites in Your Sour

You’ve, no doubt, seen bartenders add egg-whites. Some drinks, like the Clover Club and Pisco Sour, specifically call for this. Others, like the Whiskey, Vodka, Amaretto, and Midori Sours are less particular. Ultimately, it really is a matter of preference. Allergies, dietary restrictions, and personal tastes will warrant the exclusion of egg-whites in your Sour; there’s never a need to explain yourself. There are also vegan alternatives ranging from aquafaba, to shelf-ready products like Fee Foam.   

If you’re wondering why egg-whites and their alternatives are even used in the first place, it’s to help emulsify the ingredients and add texture to the final drink. The foamy Sour has an extra dimension to it as a result, and the flavors are more unified since you have chemically forced the ingredients to really bind together. 

Making a Sour with KLEOS Mastiha Spirit can definitely work without any sort of emulsifier, since it already has its own unique texture. Again, personal preference wins out. The herbaceous and Mediterranean flavor profile of KLEOS, which was assigned a score of 90 from Wine Enthusiast, is perfectly fit for your next Sour.

How to Sour with KLEOS Mastiha Spirit

Ready to give a Sour a try with KLEOS? Don’t know where to begin? Well, for starters you can opt for using KLEOS as the only spirit, or you can do a split-base with another spirit. As for simple syrup, you may not need to add any if KLEOS is the only spirit you’re going to use. If doing a split-base, a tiny amount may be necessary. Below is the Lord Byron, which uses equal parts KLEOS and Dry London Gin as the base:

Lord Byron

Ingredients:

• 1 part KLEOS Mastiha Spirit
• 1 part gin (we like Ford’s London Dry)
• 3/4 parts fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 part simple syrup
• 6 cucumber slices

Preparation:

• Shake all ingredients vigorously.
• Strain and serve up into a chilled coupe.
• Garnish with a cucumber peel.

This Sour is named after the English poet, Lord Byron, a total “philhellene” who was obsessed with Greece. This recipe has 132 calories and only 5 grams of sugar!

Some Final Thoughts

By now you’ve seen how the Sour came to proliferate the world of cocktails. Hopefully, you are using fresh-squeezed lemon/lime juices in your Sours and other cocktails you make at home. Despite the seemingly endless names for some of these libations, they inevitably belong to the Sour family. Using emulsifiers like egg-white, aquafaba, or other foaming agents is completely optional but will certainly elevate the experience. Now grab that bottle of KLEOS Mastiha Spirit and make yourself a Sour!