What does scurvy and the British Navy have to do with a popular Tequila-based drink in Mexico? Vitamin “Sea” or C ...

A sour is a category of mixed drinks which are known for being … sour! Very simple in their construction they are essentially a base spirit, a portion of tangy citrus and a portion of sweetener. It’s a matter of personal or bartender choice but some sours might include egg white to add a frothy visual element.

So where did it all begin? First documented in print in Jerry Thomas’ 1862 book, The Bartender’s Guide, there are a number of sours documented – notably the brandy sour, whisky sour and a Santa Cruz, or rum, sour.

But it appears that the British Navy and its sailors had enjoyed a precursor of this type of drink for at least a century or two earlier. In the days of discovery and long sea voyages, it was accepted or expected that up to 50% of the crew would die of scurvy. The disease caused weakness, fatigue, hair loss, gum disease, bleeding from the skin and ultimately death. It was only in 1753 that a Scottish surgeon serving in the Royal Navy, James Lind, showed that it could be countered and treated with citrus fruit. It was the lack of vitamin C that caused scurvy. In fact, more sailors succumbed to this disease during the 18^th century than were killed in war!

Difford’s guide describes sours as “basically a scaled-down punch” – with a punch being the earliest form of cocktail. According to this source, the British Navy is the reason for popularising – if not inventing – the sour. And it started with rum which was part of every sailor’s ration because it was so readily available in the Caribbean. Unlike beer, it didn’t go off during long sea voyages – and was thus the official libation of the navy. Sailors would mix lime or lemon juice into their rum ration and called the resulting drink grog. Once they returned home their preference for this form of punch led to the establishment of Punch Houses in London in the 1600s. (And apparently this is where the association or nickname for Britons as being “limeys” came from!)

But the first reference to a sour is in 1856 – as part of a hand-written list of 107 mixed drinks offered at Ackermann’s Saloon in Toronto, Canada. Liquor historian David Wondrich writes in his book, Imbibe, that from the 1860s to the 1960s, the whisky sour “was one of the cardinal points of American drinking”.

The simple triumvirate of spirit, citrus and sweetener – plus ice for dilution, is the base for countless cocktails. Despite the body of knowledge about sours in general, not much is known about the Tequila sour specifically. It is thought to have originated in or around the Mexican city of Cuernavaca during the 1800s – but no-one has any definitive proof of this.

What is known is the predilection of Mexicans for using limes, lemons and the juice as an accompaniment or seasoning for many of their foods – so it would stand to reason that using them in drinks would be a logical progression.

The first documented reference to a Tequila sour specifically, is in the 1948 book by David Embury, The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks. The recipe was given as Tequila, lemon juice and powdered sugar, shaken with ice and then strained and served in a cold glass.