The first written record of the whiskey sour is from the 1862 book The Bartender's Guide: How to Mix Drinks by Jerry Thomas which has the original recipe as follows:
(Use a small bar-glass.)
Take 1 large tea-spoonful of powdered white sugar dissolved in a little Seltzer or Apollinaris water
The juice of half a small lemon
1 wine-glass of Bourbon or rye whiskey
Fill the glass full of shaved ice, shake up and strain into a claret glass. Ornament with berries.
