A sour is a traitional family of mixed drinks. Common examples of sours are the Margarita and the Sidecar. Sours belong to one of the old families of original cocktails and are described by Jerry Thomas in his 1862 book, How to Mix Drinks Sours are mixed drinks containing a base liquor (bourbon or some other whiskey in the case of a whiskey sour), lemon or lime juice, and a sweetener (triple sec, simple syrup, grenadine, or pineapple juice are common).