After today, you will never buy sour mix again! Making your own homemade sweet and sour mix is easy to do and so worth it. It’s much more delicious than store bought mix and you can whip up a batch in your kitchen with a few ingredients.
When I was younger, an Amaretto Sour was the first cocktail I learned to make at home. I loved it because I couldn’t taste the alcohol.
These days, I enjoy a Whiskey Sour and a New York Sour. Creating your own sour mix is a great refrigerator staple for making quick and easy cocktails at home. You can make so many fun drinks with your homemade sour mix including the famous Green Tea Shot.
Related: Homemade Margarita Mix, Homemade Old Fashioned Mix, Simple Syrup, Mint Simple Syrup, Pisco Sour, and 40 Fun Cocktails to Make At Home.
Ingredients in Homemade Sour Mix:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
How to Make Sour Mix:
To make this citrus simple syrup, begin by juicing lemons and limes. I use a hand juicer. Freshly squeezed juice is worth the effort and makes the most delicious sour mix.
Pour the sugar and water into a sauce pan and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Pour the citrus juice in last. Remove from heat and let it cool completely before decanting. Use a fine mesh strainer to decant it into a bottle.
I used this bottle from Amazon. Add a label if you like—this is especially helpful for guests and parties.
Tips for Making:
- Homemade Sour Mix can be refrigerated for a minimum of two weeks. I normally keep mine for a month or so.
- Choose a cute bottle and add a homemade label.
- Feel free to swap some of the citrus for what you have on hand such as oranges or grapefruits. If you use sweet citrus like oranges, reduce the sugar a bit.
Drinks You Can Make with Homemade Sour Mix:
Other recipes you may like:
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does this syrup last?
This simple syrup should be refrigerated and will last a minimum of two weeks. I often keep mine for a month or more.
Where can I get a bottle like yours?
I found my cute bottle on Amazon. It comes with the gold dispenser on the top. I made my own label using rubber stamps.
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Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup lemon juice (freshly squeezed )
- ½ cup lime juice (freshly squeezed )
Instructions
- To make this citrus simple syrup, begin by juicing lemons and limes. I use a hand juicer.
- Freshly squeezed juice is worth the effort and makes the most delicious sour mix.
- Pour the sugar and water into a sauce pan and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
- Pour the citrus juice in last.
- Remove from heat and let it cool completely before decanting.
- Use a fine mesh strainer to decant it into a bottle. I used this bottle from Amazon. Add a label if you like—this is especially helpful for guests and parties.
Notes
- Homemade Sour Mix can be refrigerated for a minimum of two weeks. I normally keep mine for a month or so.
- Choose a cute bottle and add a homemade label.
- Feel free to swap some of the citrus for what you have on hand such as oranges or grapefruits. If you use sweet citrus like oranges, reduce the sugar a bit.
Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
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Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups fresh lemon and lime juice (strain out the pulp)
Instructions
- First, combine the water and sugar in a small pot and simmer until the sugar completely dissolves. Turn down the heat and add the lemon and lime juice. Remove from heat and let the mixture cook before straining it a final time into an airtight glass container.
- Keeps for a minimum of two weeks in the refrigerator. You do not have to refrigerate more syrups, but I like to when there is a high content of fresh ingredients, so it lasts a little bit longer.
Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
But exactly how do you make a whiskey sour using this concoction??
Perfect ratio of sour and sweet! I made this and actually used a little more lime since I wanted it for margs and it turned out great! I don’t think the recipe says what heat level to use but I just used a low-medium.
Can you make a rich syrup instead of a regular syrup for this recipe?
Yes! Just use half a cup of water instead of a cup.
This has been my “go to” sour mix for quite some time now. I am lucky enough to have a very “productive” Meyer lemon tree and Persian lime tree. I make this “in bulk” keeping some in the fridge and freezing the rest when citrus is in season.
So happy to hear it 😀 Thank you Sandy!
I can always find fun ideas on A Beautiful Mess. Some posts inspire me to improve decor and functionality in my home.
Yum!
Loved your Amaretto Sour story.
Looking forward to sipping a real whiskey sour.
I made my own – will never use store bought stuff again – nice.
….sounds great and going to try this recipe!
Just want to let you know that in your instructions for the lemon sour mix under point 1. I guess it’s supposed to say: “cool” instead of “cook” (Remove from heat and let the mixture “cool” before straining…) Was confused first but guess that’s the solution… 🙂
Thanks for your beautiful website!
I made this recipe for my husband who loves whiskey sours, so so much better then the store bought, he loves it!!!! Thank you
does anyone know the shelf life of this mix? How long it can be stored in the fridge?
Hi Julie,
I would keep it in the fridge up to a month or so (basically the same as store bought sour mix once it was opened).
-Elsie
hi
thanks for the recipe
where can i get this bottle?
thanks
Where did y’all get the bottle for this? I’m looking for a good one to store my sour mix.
………..
Seems like such an easy thing to make! Will keep this in mind
http://www.ameliaholly.blogspot.co.uk
I love this idea. Store bought sour mix tastes so artificial. And if I make my own amaretto, it’ll be all kinds of hand crafted. Brilliant!
This is wonderful! I do enjoy an Amaretto Sour every rare moment here and there, and love that I now can make my own Sour mix!
Amaretto Sour’s were one of the first drink’s I learned to make, too!
Hello! I’m looking for inspiration 🙂 I’m trying to come up with a cocktail for a joint Chinese New Year and Burns Night party……any ideas? 🙂
Yum! Can’t wait to try this out!
I just made this recipe and was a blast (mixed with Pisco). So easy to make and so tasty.
OMG, Love it!! 🙂