| Cocktail | |
|---|---|
 A modern amaretto sour with an egg white foam | |
| Type | Cocktail |
| Served | On the rocks: poured over ice |
| Standard garnish | Cherry, orange or lemon wedge |
| Standard drinkware |  |
| Commonly used ingredients | |
| Preparation | Mix and serve over ice |
An amaretto sour is a cocktail using amaretto liqueur. It is a type of sour, a mixed drink made with a base spirit, citrus juice, and a sweetener. [1] The drink is the most popular cocktail use for amaretto. [2]
As described in Sardi's Bar Guide (1988), an amaretto sour can be made with one part amaretto liqueur to two parts sour mix. The drink is mixed, served over ice, and garnished with a cherry and an orange or lemon wedge. [3]
Modern recipes may include two parts amaretto, one part lemon juice, and one egg white. The drink is shaken for five seconds without ice (a "dry shake"), shaken with ice for 15 seconds, and strained into a chilled old fashioned glass filled with ice. Cocktail cherries and Angostura bitters are added as a garnish. [1]
The cocktail was introduced to the public in 1974, devised by the importer of Amaretto di Saronno as a simple mix of two parts amaretto liqueur to one part lemon juice. It became a popular cocktail in the 1980s; most bartenders at the time substituted commercial sour mix for the lemon juice. The drink was popular as a one-dimensional easy-drinking cocktail, flavored mostly by the base spirit used. [3]
Most recipes seen on modern cocktail menus include whipped egg white, bourbon, and lemon juice, to improve on its flavor. [3] Imbibe attributes this change to bartender Jeffrey Morgenthaler, who published a new version of the drink in 2012 using cask-strength bourbon, rich simple syrup, and egg white. [1] [4] [5]
A Manhattan is a cocktail made with whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters. While rye is the traditional whiskey of choice, other commonly used whiskies include Canadian whisky, bourbon, blended whiskey, and Tennessee whiskey. The cocktail is usually stirred then strained into a cocktail glass and garnished traditionally with a maraschino cherry. A Manhattan may also be served on the rocks in a lowball glass.
The old fashioned is a cocktail made by muddling sugar with bitters and water, adding whiskey, and garnishing with orange slice or zest and a cocktail cherry. It is traditionally served in an old fashioned glass, which predated the cocktail.
The piña colada is a cocktail made with rum, cream of coconut or coconut milk, and pineapple juice, usually served either blended or shaken with ice. It may be garnished with either a pineapple wedge, maraschino cherry, or both. There are two versions of the drink, both originating in Puerto Rico.
A margarita is a cocktail consisting of tequila, orange liqueur, and lime juice often served with salt on the rim of the glass. The drink is served shaken with ice, blended with ice, or without ice. The drink is generally served in a stepped-diameter variant of a cocktail glass or champagne coupe called a margarita glass.
The sidecar is any cocktail traditionally made with cognac, orange liqueur, plus lemon juice. In its ingredients, the drink is perhaps most closely related to the older brandy crusta, which differs both in presentation and in proportions of its components.
The Singapore Sling is a gin-based sling cocktail from Singapore. This long drink was developed sometime before 1915 by bartender Ngiam Tong Boon, who was working at the Long Bar in Raffles Hotel, Singapore. It was initially called the gin sling – a sling was originally a North American drink composed of spirit and water, sweetened and flavored.
The term punch refers to a wide assortment of drinks, both non-alcoholic and alcoholic, generally containing fruits or fruit juice. The drink was introduced from the Indian subcontinent to England by employees of the East India Company in the late 17th century. Punch is usually served at parties in large, wide bowls, known as punch bowls.
Amaretto is a sweet Italian liqueur that originated in Saronno. Depending on the brand, it may be made from apricot kernels, bitter almonds, peach stones, or almonds, all of which are natural sources of the benzaldehyde that provides the almond-like flavour of the liqueur. It generally contains 21 to 28 percent alcohol by volume.
A Stinger is a duo cocktail made by adding crème de menthe to brandy. The cocktail's origins can be traced to the United States in the 1890s, and the beverage remained widely popular in America until the 1970s. It was seen as a drink of the upper class, and has had a somewhat wide cultural impact.
A sour is a traditional family of mixed drinks. Sours belong to one of the old families of original cocktails and are described by Jerry Thomas in his 1862 book How to Mix Drinks.
A shooter, or shot, is a small serving of spirits or a mixed drink, typically consumed quickly, often in a single gulp. It is common to serve a shooter as a "side" to a larger drink.
The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks is a book about cocktails by David A. Embury, first published in 1948. The book is noteworthy for its witty, highly opinionated and conversational tone, as well as its categorization of cocktails into two main types: aromatic and sour; its categorization of ingredients into three categories: the base, modifying agents, and special flavorings and coloring agents; and its 1:2:8 ratio for sour type cocktails.
A "fizz" is a mixed drink variation on the older sours family of cocktail. Its defining features are an acidic juice and carbonated water.
The Pink Lady is a classic gin-based cocktail with a long history. Its pink color is due to adding grenadine.
A lemon drop is a vodka-based cocktail that has a lemony, sweet and sour flavor, prepared using lemon juice, triple sec and simple syrup. It has been described as a variant of, or as "a take on", the Vodka Martini, but is in actual fact a closer to a White Lady variant. It is typically prepared and served straight up – chilled with ice and strained.
A whiskey cocktail is a cocktail that includes whiskey. Although whiskey is often served neat or on the rocks, it is used in many classic cocktails such as the Old Fashioned, Manhattan, and Julep. Some specifically call for Scotch whisky or bourbon whiskey.
Jeffrey Morgenthaler is an American bartender and author. He worked for about a decade at Clyde Common and Pépé Le Moko in Portland, Oregon, until their closure in 2022, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He opened a new bar, Pacific Standard, in June 2022.
