Name: Bourbon Sour
Ingredients: 2 oz Bourbon; 1 oz Lemon Juice; 1/2 tsp Superfine Sugar; Garnish: Cherry and Orange Slice

Why it works: Lemon and orange match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,634 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

Bourbon Sour

Ingredients

2 oz Bourbon
1 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp Superfine Sugar
Garnish: Cherry and Orange Slice

Directions

Shake all the ingredients in a shaker with ice and strain into a whiskey sour glass.
Garnish with the fruits.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

210Calories

3 gProtein

1 gFat

53 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 4 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Cherry	1 cup (138g)	87
Orange	1 medium (131g)	62
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Lemon + orangetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together10,634 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Cherry + orangetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together689 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
Lemon + cherrytop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,301 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Lemon + sugartop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together53,532 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar + orangetop 20% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together19,212 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Lemon and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Bourbon: Provides the spirit base and the main whiskey flavour of the drink.
Lemon juice: Adds acidity that balances the sweetness and brightens the drink.
Superfine sugar: Sweetens the drink and softens the sharpness of the lemon juice.