Substitutes:

• Gin: Any type of gin will work for this recipe: feel free to experiment with your favorite bottles! If you don’t have any Gin, vodka can be a good substitute. It will give you a different flavor profile, but it's still delicious (see “Whisky Sour” article for more inspirations and details about the Sour drinks family).
• Lemon Juice: Bottled lemon juice can work in a pinch if fresh lemons aren't available. Just remember that fresh is always best! Otherwise, fresh lime juice is also a good option.
• Simple Syrup: If you're out of simple syrup, you can make your own by dissolving equal parts sugar and water over low heat. Alternatively, agave nectar or honey can be used as natural sweeteners.

• Lemon bitters: you can experiment with any kind of bitters you like (grapefruit works really well too, for example) or simply ditch the bitters altogether.

Making a Pitcher of Gin Sour:

• Scale: To make a pitcher that serves 8, multiply all the ingredients by 8. That would be 16 oz of Gin, 8 oz of lemon juice, and 6 oz of simple syrup.
• Mix: Combine the Gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup in a large pitcher. Add ice and stir well.
• Serve: Strain to remove the ice, serve immediately into ice-filled old fashioned glasses and garnish with lemon zests twists and/or cherries. If you have some leftovers, be sure to keep them in the fridge (make sure no ice cubes are left inside) in an airtight container. Serve immediately.

Making it Non-Alcoholic:

• Gin Substitute: Use a non-alcoholic gin substitute; these are available and reasonably mimic Gin's botanicals. You can also use fruit juices such as apple, pear, or white grape juice.
• Lemon bitters: To get the citrusy touch brought by the Lemon bitter, you can slightly muddle a lemon zest into the shaker/mixing glass before adding the rest of the ingredients. Also, note that 2 dashes of bitters in an otherwise alcohol-free drink won’t raise the overall ABV of the drink. The drink will indeed chemically contain a drop of alcohol, but won’t make you intoxicated at all. Depending on your reason for not drinking alcohol, this can also be a suitable option.
• Proceed As Usual: Use these non-alcoholic substitutes, follow the original steps, and enjoy a non-alcoholic version.

Making it Vegan:

• Simple Syrup: Ensure your simple syrup is made with white, preferably organic sugar. Brown sugar and other sugars are often processed using bone char, which is not vegan. Alternatively, use agave nectar, which is naturally vegan, as a sweetener.
• Egg white: if you want to make your cocktail foamy, you can use ½ ounce of aquafaba (chickpea water) to replace the egg white. Follow all the steps, as aquafaba also needs to be shaken twice to make a proper foam.
• Garnish: Be sure to use vegan-friendly garnishes. Some maraschino cherries are colored with cochineal (a type of insect), so look for brands that don't use animal products.