Marmalade Whisky Sour for Christmas Eve

1. Chill two coupes, either in the freezer for 10 minutes or filled with ice and water while you work.
2. Put the marmalade into the shaker first and pour the lemon juice on top of it. The acid starts breaking the set before anything else goes in.
3. Add the whisky, the egg white and the bitters.
4. Seal the shaker and shake hard for 15 seconds with no ice at all. This is the dry shake and it is what builds the foam. Shake with ice first and the drink chills before the protein has whipped, so the head collapses in the glass.
5. Open the shaker, fill it with ice and shake again for 15 seconds, until the outside is too cold to hold comfortably.
6. Double strain into the chilled glasses, through the shaker strainer and a small fine sieve, to catch the peel and any shards of ice.
7. Leave the drinks to stand for 20 seconds so the foam settles into a clean white layer.
8. Twist a strip of orange peel over the surface to release the oil, then drop it in or throw it away.
9. Serve with the ginger shortbread and the melting moments alongside.

Making it for more than two

The base batches, the foam does not. Warm 2 tablespoons of the marmalade with 1 tablespoon of hot water first so it stirs in smoothly, then build the rest in the same proportion, twelve parts whisky to five parts lemon juice, and keep the bottle in the fridge for up to three days. That is about 95ml of base per drink. On the night, pour the base into a shaker with one egg white for every two drinks and shake to order. Do not batch a finished sour with the egg white already in it, because the head falls within minutes and no amount of shaking brings it back.

If some of the table is not drinking, the non-alcoholic Christmas drinks guide and the alcohol free Christmas mojito jug cover them properly rather than handing them a soft drink, and a jar of Sovereign Hill Barley Sugar is a good thing to have on the same tray either way.

Common questions

Can you make a whisky sour without egg white?

You can, in two ways. Aquafaba, the liquid from a tin of chickpeas, foams almost identically: use 30ml in place of the egg white and give the dry shake a few seconds longer. Or leave it out altogether, shake once with ice, strain over a large cube in a rocks glass and accept a leaner, sharper drink with no head on it. Both are worth knowing if you are pouring for someone pregnant, someone immune compromised, or someone who simply does not want raw egg.

Which whisky suits a marmalade sour?

A blended Scotch is the sensible answer. It is soft enough to let the orange lead and it is not the bottle you were saving. An Australian single malt gives you more malt and honey underneath and is worth the upgrade. Bourbon works and pushes the whole thing sweeter, so drop the marmalade to 3 teaspoons if you use it. The one to leave on the shelf is a heavily peated Islay, where the smoke and the Seville bitterness pull against each other and neither wins.

Can this be batched for a crowd?

Yes, in the way described above: batch the whisky, lemon and marmalade, keep it cold, and add the egg white a round at a time. If you would rather not shake anything once guests have arrived, pour the chilled base over ice in a tall glass and top it with soda water. That is a different drink, longer and lighter, but it is the one that lets you talk to people instead of standing at the bench with a shaker.

TRCC Officers' Mess Fine Cut Seville Orange Marmalade is $12.95 for a 310g jar, enough for more than twenty drinks, so most of it will end up on toast. It sits with the rest of The Regimental Condiment Company range on our jams and spreads shelf, and the spirits hampers are where the bottle to go with it lives. Shipping is free Australia-wide on orders over $100, and the Christmas hampers handle the gifting. Enjoy responsibly.