It can be made as a shot or mixed drink, either choice with a base spirit (whiskey or bourbon), citrus juice (lemon juice or sweet & sour mix), and a sweetener (Simple Sugar).

With a few bar spoons of full-bodied red wine floated on top, it is usually referred to as a New York sour.

The International Bartenders Association recipe includes a garnish of half an orange slice and a maraschino cherry.

The oldest historical mention of a whiskey sour was published in the Wisconsin newspaper, Waukesha Plain Dealer, in 1870.

[2][3] In 1962, the Universidad del Cuyo published a story, citing the Peruvian newspaper El Comercio de Iquique, which indicated that Elliott Stubb created the "whisky sour" in Iquique in 1872, using Limón de Pica for the citrus.