Whiskey Daisy Cocktail Recipe

1. Gather the ingredients.

2. Pour the liquors, juice, and syrup into a cocktail shaker. Add ice.

3. Shake vigorously.

4. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and top with a splash of soda water.

More Tips for Making a Great Whiskey Daisy

Top-shelf and fresh ingredients are going to make a better whiskey daisy, and it is important to keep this in mind with every decision you make on the ingredients. Though don't let that scare you from trying this iconic drink, it's not hard to make good choices here.

The whiskey is probably the most complicated and we have already discussed that rye whiskey or bourbon will be great choices. Within those styles, opt for a premium brand because this is the base of the drink and will guide the entire flavor profile.

For the orange liqueur, one with a brandy base, such as Grand Marnier, adds depth to the drink and makes it more interesting than a daisy made with triple sec or curaçao.

Fresh lemon juice and homemade simple syrup should be requirements. The bottled (easy-squeeze) lemon juices are simply too tart and will throw off the drink's balance.

Homemade syrup is recommended for another reason: it's cheaper. Plain and simple, once you learn how easy and inexpensive it is to make your own simple syrup, you will never purchase a bottle at the liquor store again.

In this recipe, it is not as important to be picky about the soda. A splash is all that is needed and is there to add a little sparkle so feel free to use any soda. Just make sure it's fresh and still has great carbonation otherwise you are just adding more water to the daisy and that is pointless.

More About the Daisy Family of Cocktails

As mentioned above, the daisy is a style of cocktail and even though the base distilled spirit is swapped from one recipe to another, it does have common characteristics.

Almost every daisy will require an orange liqueur, a citrus juice (either lemon or lime), simple syrup, and a splash of club soda.

You can use this universal formula to interpret almost any daisy recipe, so when someone asks for a gin daisy or a brandy daisy you have a general idea of how to make it. That said, the popular brandy daisy does include rum as well, but you get the idea.