That’s a pretty good supposition. I’ll have to check out Chloe’s article. It does seem to be standard now. Which I’m not wild about. I personally prefer my Whiskey Sours without egg white.
Yes, the D&C book does have a Whiskey Sour recipe and it does have egg white. It certainly has been a widely circulated volume.
I’m too young to have a relevant take on when my personal first Whiskey Sour with egg white was (It was the first one I was taught in 2011…) however I’m fairly sure the “modern” version of this can be traced to Salvatore Calabrese as someone with industry weight and influence behind them.
His 1997 book uses egg white which in his 2002 home bartender’s guide was updated to “egg white powder” (whatever that was…).
He goes back to actual egg white in 2008 although specifies it’s pasteurised.
On the US side, Dale acknowledges the use of egg white in Craft of the Cocktail but discourages the use of it.
I believe the way Europe handles raw eggs compared to the US is quite different hence there’s a lot less worry about the dangers of the ingredient itself.
As for the US and general current movement, I think Dave is bang on the mark with the Death & Co reference. Salvatore seemed a lone warrior on the egg white version for a long time!
[EDIT]
Having just reviewed my copy of “Dicktales”, it seems Dick Bradsell’s old handwritten notes also included 10ml (or 2 barspoons) of egg white in both his Bourbon Sour and New York Sour recipes pointing to a possible London start for this egg white whiskey sour trend.
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When I tended bar in the 90’s, every local gin-mill, ball & beer joint, had the foamer, though I don’t recall anyone using it. It was always an old plastic jar with the label hanging on for dear life as it caught too many splashes from the sinks and pump-washing the glasses on the bristles. Once brought on steady, I threw them out.
As for the egg whites, I would say it was a combination of sources when I got serious. Probably working with Dale in the early 2000’s and absorbing (and bastardizing) the old books.
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Yes, but that’s the mystery. Almost none of the old books said to put an egg white in Whiskey Sours. And Dale himself was largely against it.
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But it seemed retro, and that was what was really important. And besides, they did it in Europe and Death & Co. said it was cool.
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If you’ve ever made a Clover Club, White Lady or a Pisco Sour and are versed in the Mr. Potato Head thing, then I don’t see egg white in a Whiskey Sour as a stretch that requires any particular validation. See also Earl Grey MarTEAni, Angostura Sour, Chamomile Sour, Old Flame, Rattlesnake (a Whiskey Sour with egg white by another name), Silver Lining (basically a Whiskey Sour with egg white, fizzed), … egg white has been fair game in contemporary mixology all along. I still doubt the current popularity of the egg white Whiskey Sour has much to do with books, and more to do with spontaneous imitation. Another factor that hasn’t been mentioned here is YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and the acute focus on visual presentation. An egg white Whiskey Sour is a lot easier to make impressive-looking than basic one.
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Wanted to make sure this important point is not overlooked: US standards require that eggs be heavily washed before sale, which can remove any superficial bacteria from the shell, but this washing thins the “cuticle” of the shell, thus making it more permeable to said bacteria and necessitating refrigeration. Many European countries forbid this washing, and the thicker resultant shell makes refrigeration unnecessary.
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Agreed, it’s hardly a nobel prize level innovation to put egg-white in a Whiskey Sour but I think Robert’s looking for the specifics of that drink as it’s such a stable among non-industry people and egg white seems the de-facto rule as if it’s always been like that.
You are right about all the above mentioned drinks. Definitely a minimal step to “borrow” the egg white when making the standard Whiskey Sour.
Ultimately, it’s a style of service question which boils back to my motivation for asking about glassware on here the other week.
Whiskey Fizzes of the early 1880s contain all the same ingredients, it’s effectively little less than a choice of glassware. Whiskey Sours of the early 1900s encouraged a splash of seltzer but omitted the egg white. 1920s European books, as have been pointed out above, encouraged returning the dash of egg white but it never caught on. (The Vermiere recipe mentioned above is basically a fizz - sugar, citrus, spirit, egg white and splash of soda).
Salvatore Calabrese then published multiple books for both industry and non-industry readers which explicitly stated the egg white to be included. The posthumous book about Dick Bradsell shows he also used egg-white in his early recipes pointing to it having been picked up quite widely in London thanks to these two names.
Although it didn’t catch on in American drinks books by recognised bartenders (Gaz never used egg white and Dale discouraged it) until Death & Co.
Ultimately, it’s a very small step and hardly award winning originality but for the sake of timelines I think we’re looking at something like this.
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I also think it was simple economics. Our signature ‘Peacock’ cocktail included the egg-white enhanced lemon sour mix and was then simply incorporated into the non-menu sour calls, ie. Whiskey Sour, Amaretto Sour, etc. in an effort to expedite the drinks in a timely manner. The drink was delicious and no one complained though it did eventually lead to the ill-advised egg-touched ‘New York Sour’ which muddy’s the red wine float which then had to be walked back.
BTW, Gary’s Whiskey Sour recipe in ‘Joy’ is sans egg as well.
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