Amaretto's almond-and-stone-fruit sweetness steps into the Whiskey Sour frame where the bourbon would be, reined in by bright lemon and lifted by a silky cap of egg-white foam. Shaken until frothy and poured over ice with a cherry, it drinks soft and round, with a dash of Angostura lending just enough backbone to keep it approachable rather than cloying.
Garnish: Maraschino Cherry
Shaken · Rocks · On the Rocks
add
Add the amaretto, lemon juice, egg white, and a dash of aromatic bitters to a shaker.
shake
Dry shake (without ice) for several seconds to emulsify the egg white into a foam.
shake
Add ice and shake again, harder, until well chilled.
strain
Strain into a chilled rocks glass filled with fresh ice.
garnish
Garnish with a cocktail cherry.
The Amaretto Sour began as a promotional recipe rather than a bartender's creation: the importer of Amaretto di Saronno put it before drinkers in 1974, and no individual inventor is on record. It went on to become a fixture of the 1970s and '80s, frequently mixed with sweet commercial sour mix in place of fresh fruit. Later bartenders steered it back toward its sour-family roots, returning to freshly squeezed lemon and adding a dash of bitters for structure.