Classic Amaretto Sour Recipe
The classic Amaretto Sour recipe, a classic cocktail that never goes out of fashion.
This sweet and sour cocktail has the perfect balance of sweetness and sourness with the delicious Amaretto, the classic Italian liqueur, as the flavor base.
This cocktail recipe is considered a classic, tracking down its origins into the 1970s in the US, and even nowadays is a staple that never goes out of fashion.
What Exactly Is Amaretto Liquor?
Amaretto is an Italian liqueur, from Saronno, a small city in the north of Italy.
Made with sour almonds and apricot stones (yes, you’ve read it right!) it’s a sweet & sour liquor with a golden caramel color and a very nutty taste and smell.
There are many brands available, and one of the most well-known is Amaretto DiSaronno.
In my opinion, Amaretto is a very delicious liquor on its own, just on the rocks, but when combined with lemon juice and simple syrup it just becomes a flavor bomb.
What Is a Sour Cocktail?
Amaretto sour is a variation of the Sour family of cocktails.
It is made with a base of liquor (whisky, tequila, gin, etc.) a bitter component (usually lemon or lime juice) and a sweetener (sometimes simple syrup, grenadine, or even triple sec).
Ingredients Needed To Make An Amaretto Sour Cocktail
This cocktail is not only very delicious but also very simple to make, you are only going to need:
Amaretto liqueur — You’ll see me using the Disaronno brand, but feel free to use any other.
Fresh lemon juice — With an emphasis on the fresh! Only freshly squeezed lemon juice will really do.
Simple syrup — A very easy to make, and very versatile cocktail component you can make in a big batch at home and store in the fridge until your next cocktail session.
Orange peel for garnish — You can also use just a slice on the side.
Maraschino cherries or even fresh cherries for garnish — Optional but nice! Maraschino cherries are preserved and sweetened cherries. But if you cannot find them, or don’t like them feel free to use fresh cherries (as I did).
Ice
What Is Simple Syrup And How To Make It
As you’ve seen, simple syrup is one of the key ingredients for this Amaretto Sour cocktail. But do not worry, it is not a complicated or expensive ingredient. In fact, it is something you can easily prepare at home.
Simple syrup is a staple in cocktail making. It’s very easy and inexpensive to make and you can make it in batches and store it in the fridge.
Ingredients to make simple syrup:
— 1 cup sugar (regular white granulated sugar)
— 1 cup Water
Just bring the water to a boil. (You can make it in a kettle or in a small saucepan.) And transfer it into a glass container, mix the sugar in it and stir until it dissolves completely.
You can also get creative and infuse it with flavor using different spices, fruits, or herbs (ginger, cinnamon, orange, jalapeño, vanilla….)
Useful Tools To Make The Amaretto Sour Cocktail
While you can make it without any fancy cocktail equipment, here you have the most useful cocktail tools to have on hand to prepare this cocktail (along with other options in case you don’t have them).
To make an Amaretto Sour, you are going to need:
Cocktail shaker — A good shake is needed to chill, and mix well all the ingredients, but do not worry, in case you do not have a cocktail shaker you can use a Mason Jar with a screw top or any sealed container for that matter.
Jigger — A jigger is an essential cocktail tool used to measure the pour of liquor or other liquid components. A standard jigger is 1.5 oz on its larger size and ¾ oz on the small side. If you don’t have one you can always measure the ingredients using spoons.
A fine mesh strainer — If you are going to use a cocktail shaker (especially the Cobbler type, the one you see me using) you are not going to need a strainer, since you can strain it directly from the top of the cocktail shaker.
However, if you use the “mason jar shaker technique” you’ll need a strainer. It really doesn’t matter if it’s a fancy cocktail strainer or a simple kitchen strainer, as long as it is not too big and has a fine mesh.
Ingredients Needed To Make An Amaretto Sour Cocktail Recipe
2 measures of Amaretto liqueur (about 3 oz)
1 measure of fresh lemon juice (1.5 oz)
1 measure of simple syrup (1.5 oz)
Ice
1 orange peel for garnish (or an orange slice)
1 Maraschino cherry or fresh cherry for garnish.
Instructions
1 — In the cocktail shaker pour the Amaretto, simple syrup, and lemon juice with a few ice cubes.
2 — Close the cocktail shaker and shake well for a minute or so.
3 — Prepare a glass with 2-3 big ice cubes (about ¾ of the glass filled with ice)
4 — Strain into the glass.
5 — Garnish the glass with an orange peel and one cherry.
Instructions For The Orange Peel Garnish
1 — Draw a rectangle into the peel of the orange with the tip of a knife (about 2 inches).
2 — Carefully strip it from the rest of the orange.
3 — On a cutting board, cut a small triangle into each tip.
4 — Make a tiny slit into the center of the orange peel so it can sit in the brim of the glass.
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Don’t forget to share your amaretto sour recipe with us on Instagram using the hashtag #sugarandclothloves. We always love seeing all of your creations! Looking for more quick and delicious recipes? You can find them all right here with a few bites to go along with them!
Amaretto Sour Recipe
Equipment
- Fine mesh strainer
Ingredients
- 3 oz Amaretto liqueur
- 1.5 oz fresh lemon juice
- 1.5 oz simple syrup
- 2-3 ice cubes
- 1 orange peel for garnish or an orange slice
- 1 Maraschino cherry for garnish or fresh cherry
Nutrition
Notes
Instructions
- In the cocktail shaker pour the Amaretto, simple syrup, and lemon juice with a few ice cubes.
- Close the cocktail shaker and shake well for a minute or so.
- Prepare a glass with 2-3 big ice cubes (about ¾ of the glass filled with ice)
- Strain into the glass.
- Garnish the glass with an orange peel and one cherry.
To make the orange peel garnish:
- Draw a rectangle into the peel of the orange with the tip of a knife (about 2 inches).
- Carefully strip it from the rest of the orange.
- On a cutting board, cut a small triangle into each tip.
- Make a tiny slit into the center of the orange peel so it can sit in the brim of the glass.
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