This homemade sweet and sour mix makes it easy to ditch the bottled versions. Sour mix is traditionally used in margaritas and probably many of your other favorite cocktails. It’s considered a staple every bar should keep on hand.
But instead of the store-bought sour mix, you can make your own with fresh ingredients. This recipe is a simple blend of fresh lemon and lime juice with sugar and water. You can make your own sour mix in about 15 minutes.
This sweet and sour mix is perfect for margarita cocktail recipes. It makes them taste a little brighter and fresher than the store-bought bottles. It’s also great for any sour cocktail, like the Whiskey Sour or Amaretto Sour.
It has a shelf life of about two weeks, and you make it in small batches you can easily use up in that time. You can tweak this recipe to get just the flavor you want.
Try different citrus juices and different ratios of sweet to tart ingredients. Grapefruit juice can be fantastic. Some people even love pineapple, usually with fresh lime. The best homemade sour mix is the one you love the taste of.
There are so many great cocktails you make with sour mix that it’s worth having the best. And that’s the one you make yourself.
DIY Sour Mix on the fly
There’s another option if you don’t want to cook but also don’t want you use store bought sour mix. You can get the taste of fresh sour mix with the following substitution.
Just add roughly equal parts of simple syrup to some fresh lemon juice. Measure out the amount of sour mix the recipe called for, and put the same amount of this in its place.
This will work with any classic cocktails that call for you to use sour mix.
Homemade Sour Mix for Cocktails
This homemade sour mix recipe makes it easy to ditch the bottled versions. It's a simple blend of fresh lemon and lime juice. Basically, you're going to make simple syrup and then add fresh citrus juice to it.
Ingredients
- 1 cup superfine sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 3/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
Instructions
- Put the water and sugar in a saucepan on the stove.
- Bring it to a boil while stirring to dissolve the sugar.
- Once the sugar has dissolved (6-8 minutes), remove the pan from heat and let it cool.
- Strain freshly squeezed fruit juices into a resealable bottle.
- Pour in the water and sugar mixture, which is actually simple syrup.
- Shake to mix.
Notes
Refrigerate and it will keep for a couple of weeks or until it starts to turn cloudy.
