Sours belong to one of the old families of original cocktails and are described by Jerry Thomas in his 1862 book How to Mix Drinks.

The gin sour is a traditional mixed cocktail that predates Prohibition in the United States.

It was popular during the 1940s, and Kevin Starr includes it in "an array of drinks (the gin sour, the whiskey sour, the gin Rickey, the Tom Collins, the pink lady, the old fashioned) that now seem period pieces, evocative of another era".

[1] The classic pisco sour recipe contains pisco brandy (usually an un-aged grape brandy from Perú), fresh lime juice, fresh lemon juice, simple syrup, egg white, and bitters.

[3] It is shaken, strained, and served straight in a cocktail glass then garnished with the bitters (cinnamon can be used).