Amaretto Sour Recipe (With a Bourbon Boost)

Before you start

The amaretto sour has a reputation as a syrupy bar-rail drink, and the version made with bottled sour mix earns it. Built properly, it is a sour like any other: a sweet base, fresh lemon and a little dilution. The trouble is that amaretto is already a sweet liqueur at a modest strength, so on its own it gives the drink sugar but very little backbone.

This build follows the now widely copied approach of splitting the base between amaretto and a smaller pour of high-proof bourbon. The bourbon adds oak, spice and alcoholic structure, which lets you cut the added sugar to a single teaspoon of rich syrup. An egg white gives the drink a dense, creamy cap; use a pasteurized egg or carton whites. Taste before you shake, because amaretto brands differ a lot in sweetness.

Ingredients

• 45 ml (1½ oz) amaretto — almond-apricot kernel liqueur, about 24 to 28% ABV
• 22 ml (¾ oz) cask-strength or bottled-in-bond bourbon — 50% ABV or higher
• 30 ml (1 oz) fresh lemon juice — strained
• 5 ml (1 tsp) rich simple syrup (2:1) — sugar to water by weight
• 15 ml (½ oz) pasteurized egg white — about half a large egg white, or carton whites
• 1 cup (about 150 g) ice cubes — for shaking
• 1 strip lemon peel — plus a cocktail cherry, optional

Method

1. Put a rocks glass in the freezer or fill it with ice water so it is cold by the time the drink is ready.
2. Measure the amaretto, bourbon, lemon juice, rich syrup and egg white into the small half of the shaker. Dip a straw or spoon in and taste: it should be tart first, then nutty and sweet.
3. Seal the shaker without ice and shake hard for 15 seconds. This dry shake whips the egg white into a loose foam while nothing is diluting it.
4. Open the shaker carefully, since built-up pressure can pop the seal. Add ice to fill the large tin about two-thirds full and seal again.
5. Shake hard for another 10 to 12 seconds, until the tin is frosted and very cold.
6. Empty the serving glass and add fresh ice cubes or one large cube. Double-strain the drink into it through the Hawthorne and fine strainers, letting the foam settle on top for a few seconds.
7. Twist the lemon peel over the foam to release its oils, then use it as the garnish, with a cherry on a pick if you like.

Tips for success

• If your amaretto is on the sweet side, skip the syrup entirely and taste. The bourbon and lemon should still carry the drink.
• Reverse dry shaking (shake with ice first, strain, then shake again without ice) gives an even thicker foam if your foam keeps collapsing.
• Use fresh egg white or carton white at room temperature for the best foam; very cold whites whip less readily.
• Squeeze lemons the same day. Lemon juice turns dull and slightly bitter after several hours.

Substitutions

Cask-strength bourbon

A regular 40 to 45% bourbon works but makes a softer, sweeter drink. Increase it to 30 ml and keep the lemon the same.

Egg white

Use 22 ml (¾ oz) aquafaba (chickpea cooking liquid) for a vegan foam. It whips well but has a faint savory note, so the lemon peel matters more.

Rich syrup

Use 7 ml (about 1½ tsp) of 1:1 simple syrup. Demerara syrup adds a caramel edge that suits the bourbon.

Amaretto

Other almond liqueurs vary from bitter-almond sharp to marzipan sweet. Adjust the syrup after tasting rather than following the spec blindly.

Variations

No-egg amaretto sour

Leave out the egg white and serve over crushed ice with a lemon wheel. Shake with ice only, for about 10 seconds.

Bitters-topped

Drip 3 drops of Angostura on the foam and drag a toothpick through them for a pattern and a spiced aroma.

Troubleshooting

The drink tastes like candy

The amaretto is doing all the work. Drop the syrup, add 5 ml more lemon, and check that the bourbon is high proof.

No foam, or foam disappears quickly

The dry shake was too short or the egg white was too small. Shake a full 15 seconds without ice, or try a reverse dry shake. Any trace of oil or yolk in the tin also kills foam.

Wet-dog smell from the foam

Egg white can smell eggy on its own. Express a lemon peel over the top or add 2 dashes of aromatic bitters on the foam.

Storage

Serve immediately; the foam starts to separate within a few minutes. Keep leftover egg white in a covered container in the fridge and use it within 2 days, or freeze it. Rich syrup keeps refrigerated for about a month.

Safety notes

Contains raw egg white: use pasteurized shell eggs or pasteurized carton whites, as the FDA advises for drinks served with uncooked egg. The drink holds roughly 1.5 U.S. standard drinks (about 14 g of alcohol each). Adults of legal drinking age only; never drive after drinking.