Industry Sour Recipe
Equal parts Fernet-Branca, green Chartreuse, lime and simple syrup — two of the bar world's most intense bottles tamed into a bracing, minty-herbal sour.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Coupe glass
- ABV: 19%
- Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
- Fernet-Branca30 ml (1 oz)
- Green Chartreuse30 ml (1 oz)
- Simple syrup30 ml (1 oz)
- Fresh lime juice30 ml (1 oz)
How to Make It
- Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice.
- Shake hard until well chilled.
- Double-strain into a chilled coupe.
- Float a dehydrated lime wheel on top.
Garnish
Dehydrated lime wheel
What it tastes like
It has a bitter backbone, the citrus acidity leads, it has a green, botanical backdrop and it is layered, giving you something different each sip.
The technique
Shaking. Anything with juice, syrup, egg white or cream gets shaken: the shaker chills the drink and adds roughly 20% water, and that water is what takes the edge off. Twelve to fifteen seconds, until the tin frosts over. Under-shaking leaves the drink harsh because it never got enough dilution.
Glass and ice
A stemmed, shallow coupe. The stem keeps your hand's warmth away from the drink, and the wide bowl carries the aroma to your nose. Served without ice.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Green Chartreuse
- The 55% liqueur French monks make from 130 plants. Nothing really tastes like it and nothing really replaces it; yellow Chartreuse is sweeter and 40%.
- Simple syrup
- One part sugar to one part water, stirred until it dissolves — no need to boil it. Keeps a month in the fridge. No syrup? Use the same amount of honey, loosened with a little water.
- Fresh lime juice
- Freshly squeezed lime. Bottled lime tastes cooked and flat; one lime gives about 30 ml. If you have none, half lemon and half grapefruit juice comes closest.
The Story
Created by bartender Ted Kilgore in St. Louis around 2011, and named for the two liqueurs bartenders famously pour for each other after a shift.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Industry Sour mixed?
- It is shaken and served in a coupe.
- How strong is a Industry Sour?
- Roughly 19% ABV as served — in fortified-wine territory — plan it as a single drink.
- Can a Industry Sour be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Industry Sour hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.