Tract · Cocktails

Sour · Built in glass · Historical · complexity 2/5

Medford Rum Sour

A Medford rum sour using lemon, sugar, a squirt of Vichy, rum, shaved ice, and fruit.

Served in Fancy sour glass. Ice: Shaved ice.

Family

Variants (5)

How to Mix Drinks: Bar Keepers' Handbook by Winter (1884, p.22) — Bar Keepers' Handbook 1884

5 dashlemon juice — Source says four to five dashes.acid
1 wine glassMedford rum base
0.5 tablespoonsugar base
1 squirtVichy water — syphon Vichydilution
Seasonal fruit — fruit in seasongarnish
  1. Dissolve sugar and lemon juice with Vichy, add Medford rum and shaved ice, stir, strain into a fancy sour glass, and serve with fruit.

Garnish: Seasonal fruit

Ice: Shaved ice

Modern American Drinks by George J. Kappeler (1895, p.106) — George J. Kappeler 1895

0.25 wholeLemon juice (fresh) — juice of one-fourth of a lemonacid
3 dashgum syrup — gum syrupbase
1 jiggerMedford rum base
Seasonal fruit — fruit trimgarnish
  1. Concoct in the same manner as Brandy Sour, substituting Medford rum for brandy.

Garnish: Seasonal fruit

Nose
Rum and lemon lead with a darker, more maritime profile than the brandy form.
Palate
This preserves regional American rum inside the compact sour grammar rather than treating rum sours as a separate tropical genre.
Finish
The finish is short, citric, and rum-led.
Summary
A regional-rum sour from the compact nineteenth-century sour line.

The Complete Buffet Guide by V. B. Lewis (1903, p.71) — V. B. Lewis 1903

3.5 dashLemon juice (fresh) — lemon or lime juiceacid
1 wine-glassMedford rum base
1 teaspoonsugar — powdered sugarbase
1 dashSoda water — Seltzerdilution
Seasonal fruit — fruitgarnish
0.5 glassice — shaved iceother
  1. Add the powdered sugar, lemon or lime juice, a dash of Seltzer, the Medford rum, and enough shaved ice to fill the glass half full.
  2. Stir, strain, dress with fruits, and serve.

Garnish: Fruit

Ice: Shaved ice

Nose
Dry old-style rum and citrus lead the aroma.
Palate
The Medford version matters because it shows the sour family stretching across multiple rum traditions, not just Jamaica.
Finish
The finish is tart, lightly sparkling, and dry-rum-led.
Summary
A New England-rum sour preserving the family's regional breadth.

Jack's Manual by J. A. Grohusko (1910, p.65)

1 lemonlemon juice acid
1 portionMedford rum — Source gives 100% Medford rum.base
1 teaspoonfulsugar base
fruit — seasonal fruitgarnish
ice — cracked iceother
  1. Build the sugar, lemon juice, Medford rum, and cracked ice in a glass.
  2. Stir well with a spoon, strain, dress with fruits in season, and serve.

Garnish: Seasonal fruit

Ice: Cracked ice

The Up-to-Date Bartender's Guide by Harry Montague (1913, p.43)

3 dashlime juice — lime or lemon juiceacid
0.75 bar glassice — shaved icebase
1 jiggerMedford rum base
0.5 jiggerseltzer dilution
1 teaspoonfulsugar — bar sugarsweetener
  1. Fill a large bar glass three-quarters full with shaved ice.
  2. Dissolve the sugar in a little seltzer, add the citrus juice and Medford rum, stir, strain into a sour glass, decorate with fruit, and serve.

Ice: Shaved ice

See also: Jamaica Rum Sour, Medford Rum Punch

The source says to substitute Medford for Jamaica rum and proceed as for the Jamaica Rum Sour.