The Amaretto Sour is one of my favorite sour cocktails. A delightful combination of sweet and sour. Truly recommended!
Instructions
- Start by separating the egg white from the yolk of a raw egg. Collect the egg white in a small bowl or dish
- Use a shaker with ice
- Add 45 ml of amaretto to it
- Squeeze the juice of half a lemon using a citrus juicer
- Add the egg white
- Shake vigorously until a frost layer forms on the shaker
- Pour the mixture with the ice into a nice tumbler glass up to the rim
- Garnish with a beautiful red cocktail cherry on top
Tip: Use egg white if you want to create a sour with a white collar. Start with a dry shake and then add ice. This will give your sour a firm and creamy collar.
What does an Amaretto Sour taste like?
The Amaretto Sour has a beautifully balanced taste of sweet and sour. On one hand, there’s the sweet, mildly bitter almond flavor of the Amaretto liqueur. On the other hand, there’s the sourness of fresh lemon (please don’t use lemon juice from a bottle). Many recipes suggest adding sugar, but I don’t find it necessary since Amaretto is already sweet on its own.
Amaretto is derived from the Italian word “amaro,” which means bitter. So Amaretto is a little bitter. It’s a liqueur with a sweet, mildly bitter almond flavor.
De Kuyper’s Amaretto
An example of an authentic Amaretto based on almonds is De Kuyper’s Amaretto. This liqueur is a fine blend of almond, vanilla, lime oil, caramel, and supported with a hint of cognac. Almond dominates the flavor profile. Delicious for use in cocktails.
Can I also use Disaronno?
Many people mention Disaronno in the same breath as Amaretto. But officially, Disaronno is not an Amaretto. Amaretto is an almond liqueur and Disaronno is a liqueur made not from almonds, but from peach pits. You might be thinking, “So what?” It’s just so you know whether you’re drinking an Amaretto Sour or a Di Saronno Sour 😉
With or without egg white?
Personally, I have a strong preference for egg white in sours. This gives your sour a nice soft white collar. Do you prefer not to use egg white in your cocktail? Then you can also make the Amaretto Sour perfectly fine without it. You can make it with just Amaretto and lemon juice. If you want a nice white collar but don’t want to use egg white, aquafaba (chickpea liquid) is a good vegan alternative for this.
Instead of egg white from a fresh egg, you can also buy egg white in a bottle.
Dry shake technique
It’s a bit technical, but to make a really tasty sour, you first shake without ice, and then again with ice. When you shake without ice (dry shake), your cocktail gets a nicer, fuller foam collar. Then you add ice to your shaker and shake again with the ice to cool the cocktail. Pour it out into a nice tumbler glass with ice afterward.
Whiskey Sour
Prefer whiskey instead? Then check out our recipe for the Whiskey Sour!
