Ina Garten's Drink Order When Trying New Cocktail Bars

Ina Garten knows as much about drinks as she does meals — and has, of course, her own personal preferences when it comes to cocktails. For instance, she likes to add vodka to pomegranate spritzers, and watermelon to mojitos. When she's the one ordering a drink, however, she typically prefers to keep things simple. Garten's go-to order when trying out a new bar is a classic cocktail and a bar mainstay — a whiskey sour. Garten shared in a 2016 interview with Punch the she uses the cocktail to compare different bars.

Garten — who can't stand making single-serving cocktails – seeks out whiskey sours not only because she likes them, but because she also believes they indicate a bar's prowess. She told Punch that she and her husband orchestrated a bar crawl with friends in Paris, some decade ago. At every stop on that French bar crawl, they ordered a whiskey sour, which she used to gauge just how well she liked each stop. 

Indeed, a whiskey sour is the perfect drink to order at a new bar, as it's a classic cocktail that most places will serve. Yet it's also one that requires a delicate touch and skill, so as to gauge a bar's prowess. As for what, exactly, goes into the drink? A whiskey sour keeps things simple with just a few ingredients, best combined with enough finesse to impress the Barefoot Contessa herself.

A whiskey sour makes good on its name, incorporating its trademark alcohol with a sour — and frothy — twist. Tasting Table's whiskey sour recipe utilizes a simple syrup, made of sugar and water. That syrup is then turned into a froth, shaken with an egg white, two ounces of whiskey, and lemon. Orange peels and maraschino cherries finish off the drink.

Ina Garten, however, makes her whiskey sour a little differently. According to her Food Network recipe, Garten utilizes a combination of both lemon and lime juice, upping the drink's sour ingredients. As such, a whiskey sour — although simple in nature — leaves enough room for variations. It therefore allows different mixologists to put their own spin on the drink, distinguishing their own with subtle, but significant, differences. It's no wonder, then, that the cocktail is Garten's go-to order for comparing new bars ... and deciding which ones warrant ordering another cocktail.