Craft The Best Whiskey Sour With These 10 Bottles

Classic yet coy, whiskey sours are a timeless drink that deserve more attention.

Given August 25th is national whiskey sour day , there's no better time to shine a light on the four-ingredient cocktail that is boozy but balanced. This is a drink that already offers full flavor and texture as whiskey mingles with lemon juice, simple syrup and egg white but there's actually another way to add layers it.

"Since a whiskey sour is a very simple drink, the choice of spirit is really the determining factor in where you want the cocktail to go," says Christian Shaum, sommelier of Asador Bastian in Chicago. A single malt, for instance, provides a rounder, more mellow drinking experience than a bold and biting rye whiskey—and bourbon brings a subtle sweetness with baking spice.

While the base spirit is undeniably important, regardless of your preference, Shaum says perhaps the most important way to perfect a whiskey sour's taste and profile is how you shake the drink. It should be shaken with ice for about nine seconds, he advises, then double strained back into the tin. Either shake it in the tin without ice or use a milk frother. "This aerates it and creates the perfect fluffy texture," says Shaum.

Once you've perfected the technique, you're cleared to experiment with different whiskies to see which profile you prefer. Below, bartenders share 10 of their favorites.

Willett Family Estate 4 Year Bourbon

When Shaum shakes up a whiskey sour, he likes to use a 100-proof whiskey or higher. This small batch label comes in at 125 proof, but the bourbon profile provides a drink with caramel undertones. This profile means you need to adjust the recipe a bit: "use less simple syrup and more bitters than normal to better balance the bourbon's natural sweetness."

Jack Daniel's Gentleman Jack

This smooth Tennessee whiskey is rich, rounded and slightly sweet to make your whiskey sour "feel like an elevated classic rather than a super spirit-forward drink," explains Stirling Copland, general manager at Sadie's NYC . "Its mellow profile blends well with the tart citrus [of the lemon] and creates a smoother, more balanced version of this cocktail." Pro tip: always use fresh lemon juice and add a splash extra when using Gentleman Jack as it helps cut through the spirit's natural richness.

The Balvenie DoubleWood 12

Despite using a 100-proof Kentucky straight bourbon at The Patterson House in Nashville, when beverage director Alex McCutchen pours up a whiskey sour at home, he personally prefers using a scotch, specifically The Balvenie DoubleWood. This Speyside scotch is aged for 12 years in ex-bourbon oak casks then finished for nine months in Oloroso sherry casks. "The resulting sour has notes of orange, honey, raisin—all underscored with malt," explains McCutchen. "It's my absolute favorite of all time."

Eagle Rare Bourbon

This 90-proof, 10-year bourbon whiskey "brings a richness with subtle dark fruit notes which makes the cocktail less sharp," says Gia St. George, assistant director of beverage development and training at Fontainebleau Las Vegas . It also "adds a premium oak maturity that rounds out acidity while increasing perceived complexity and length of flavor."

Johnnie Walker Black Cask

Aged in white oak bourbon barrels, Johnnie Walker Black Cask is the brand's first permanent release in over 15 years. According to Ginn Choe , bar manager at The Club 3 on Bobby's Triple Threat, the scotch makes for the perfect whiskey sour base with a mellow sweetness, featuring creamy vanilla notes. "It brings a beautiful layer of smoky complexity, complemented by the rich, toasty marshmallow notes drawn out by the bourbon barrel," says Choe.

Sazerac Rye

At 90-proof, this rye "packs a little punch," says Derrick Koch, bartender at Trino Chicago . This base reminds you it's a spirit-forward drink, while allowing it to stand up to the definitive ingredients. Koch advises using a piloncillo sugar syrup to "give it a touch more richness and depth that you just don't get from simple syrup."

Rabbit Hole Heigold

"I love a split base between bourbon and rye in many of my citrus whiskey drinks," says Tim Sweeney, bar manager at Pebble Bar in NYC. Even though no individual whiskey can officially be considered both a rye and a bourbon, Rabbit Hole Heigold comes close. "It is a high-rye bourbon, meaning that while it is by all definitions a bourbon, it has a much higher rye content than most bourbons, so you still get the best of both worlds in your sour—the spice kick and that caramel corn flavor as well," says Sweeney.

Four Roses Small Batch

When Bowen Kirwood, bar director at Tin's , first began bartending, Four Roses bourbon was the baseline for the majority of whiskey sours. Now, Kirwood reaches for Four Roses Small Batch as the more "premium version" that offers some unique characteristics to the cocktail. "It has delicious flavors of ripened red berries and dried spices," says Kirwood. Plus, being aged between six to seven years, "you get a good amount of oak flavor from the barrel without being too tannic."

Buffalo Trace

This icon is a go-to for Amir Babayoff, beverage director at Ophelia in New York. "It has enough character to stand up to fresh lemon and sugar without getting lost in the cocktail," says Babayoff. He particularly appreciates the whiskey's combination of sweetness, spice and texture. "You get those brown-sugar, vanilla and toffee notes, with some darker fruit and oak underneath," says Babayoff. "It has enough weight to make the cocktail feel substantial, but it doesn't make the drink overly boozy or aggressive."

Knob Creek

The slightly higher proof of Knob Creek (100-proof) gives the whiskey more backbone to stand up to the acid of the lemon juice, after dilution, explains Matthew Rankin, bar manager at Winnie's Jazz Club . "The bourbon's sweetness integrates well with other ingredients, and the vanilla, caramel, and oak really accentuate the drink's overall flavor."

This article was originally published on Forbes.com