Daily's Sweet and Sour Cocktail Mix, Non-Alcoholic, 1 Liter

Sweet and sour is the base a working bar keeps within reach: citrus tartness balanced against sugar, pre-blended so you pour from one bottle instead of squeezing lemons and measuring syrup mid-rush. Daily's built its name on well mixers of exactly this kind, and the one liter bottle is sized for a home bar that gets real use rather than one party.

It is the spine of the sour family. Whiskey sours, amaretto sours, Long Island iced tea, and margaritas and daiquiris that want a citrus backbone all start here, usually at roughly equal parts mixer and spirit before you adjust to taste.

Over ice with soda water and a squeeze of lime it makes a tart alcohol-free cooler, and a splash sharpens lemonade or iced tea. Shake it, do not stir it - a hard shake with ice aerates the mix and gives a sour the light foam it is supposed to carry.