Spicy Raspberry Whiskey Sour

This Spicy Raspberry Whiskey Sour is slightly sweet, slightly sour, and slightly spicy. It's the perfect Valentine's Day cocktail, but a delicious drink all year round!

I have a thing against raspberry-flavored alcohol. It goes back to my college days and I'm sure I could launch into a whole long story about dorm room parties and hockey games and raspberry vodka, but it's really not important.

The important thing is that more than 15 years after I turned 21 I still can't drink raspberry-flavored alcohol. But fresh raspberries with alcohol? That's a whole different story. In fact, there's really not much I wouldn't love fresh raspberries with.

Oh, and don't even get me started on whiskey sours. For the longest time, I thought they were so gross. But guess why? Because the whiskey sours you get in college are packed with sugar and sickeningly sweet and fake tasting. Homemade whiskey sours are a game changer.

And homemade spicy raspberry whiskey sours are a life changer. This cocktail is changing everything I thought I knew about my drink preferences. And I'm loving every second of it!

Spicy Raspberry Whiskey Sour Recipe

This whiskey sour involves all the elements of a fabulous cocktail: sweet, sour, and spicy. But the best part? It's super easy to make! OK, and the color is pretty fabulous, too.

You'll start by making a raspberry simple syrup. As implied by the name, it's simple to make... Plus, you can can do it in advance and store it in your fridge for a few weeks.

All you do is bring water, sugar, and fresh raspberries to a boil in a saucepan and then lower heat to a simmer and let thicken for about 10 minutes.

Then you'll press the mixture through a fine mesh sieve (pressing down on the raspberries to extract as much juice as possible) and store in a mason jar or other airtight container.

Then you're ready to shake up your spicy raspberry whiskey sour! I simply put all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shook away!

Note that one of the ingredients in this raspberry whiskey sour is an egg white. The purpose of the egg white is to add a nice creaminess and frothy foam to the drink.

Of course, you can leave the egg white out, but it really does help enhance the whiskey sour and I promise that it doesn't alter the taste of the drink at all!

I love adding a little fresh raspberry garnish to these cocktails.

My arrow cocktail picks are so perfect for Valentine's Day, but I most definitely use them all year-round. Mine are from West Elm, but they're no longer available, but here's a similar set.

Like I mentioned, this drink is the perfect flavor combination. The raspberry simple syrup makes the cocktail sweet, but not overly so. The lime juice adds a nice sour kick.

And the jalapeño is just enough to add a little spice, but definitely not in an overpowering way. Even if you're not typically a spicy fan, you'll love this!

And, of course, the color makes it the most perfect Valentine's Day cocktail. If you're not into whiskey, you could always make the raspberry simple syrup and use it in a vodka-based drink. You can even just add it to some seltzer water with some lime juice and jalapeño rounds for a fun nonalcoholic beverage.

I basically want to make these spicy raspberry whiskey sours any time I see fresh raspberries on sale. Which sadly isn't often enough.

But though great for Valentine's Day, they're amazing any time of year. In fact, the red and green make this a wonderful Christmas cocktail and if you put blueberries on the cocktail picks, you can serve these as 4th of July drinks.

Yes, I will use any excuse to make these cocktails! Can you blame me?? I'm just so thankful college didn't totally ruin raspberries in cocktails and whiskey sours for me!

Are there any alcoholic beverages you need to have made over so you can fall in love with them again?

If you're looking for more great Valentine's Day cocktails, try my Strawberry Vanilla Love Potion Cocktail or my Pink Peppercorn Strawberry Sipper. These Rosé Sour Patch Kids also make fun gifts! And this Homemade Starbucks Pink Drink is a delicious non-alcoholic option. I love these Raspberry Champagne Floats from Simple Sips, too!