Sunday, I decided to stick it to Big Brother by mixing up a classic Whiskey Sour. The recipe in my favorite bar book called for two ounces of blended whiskey and another two ounces of lemon juice, which I found absurd. So I busted out American Bar, amusingly written by a German, Charles Schumann.

Mr. Schumann’s Whiskey Sour recipe had far more sensible proportions, so I mixed one up - except I substituted Rye for Bourbon. The results were all right, but far too sweet, with the sugar overpowering the lemon. For the second round, I omitted an extraneous bar spoon of sugar and came up with the following:

• 1.5 ounces Rye;
• 0.75 ounces lemon juice; and
• 0.25 ounces simple syrup.

Shake vigorously in an iced cocktail shaker and serve in a sour glass*.

Much better. Alert drunks will note that this recipe is similar to the Frisco - which uses Benedictine as a sweetener instead of simple syrup and features slightly more whiskey.

A classic cocktail worth trying, the Whiskey Sour is recommended. However, I likely will not mix them on a regular basis, as I have several other favorites.