Amaretto Sour

The Amaretto Sour is a delightful cocktail that combines the sweet, almond-flavored liqueur, amaretto, with fresh lemon juice for a refreshing tartness.

5 min
Medium
Old-fashioned glass
6 ingredients

Hero bottle: Amaretto →

Ingredients

Amaretto2 oz
Lemon juice1 oz
Angostura bitters1 dash
Egg white½ oz
Lemon1 slice
Maraschino cherry1

Method

Add the amaretto, lemon juice, bitters and egg white to a shaker with ice.
Shake hard for 15 seconds.
Strain back into the shaker, discard the ice and shake again without ice.
Strain into an old-fashioned glass filled with ice.
Garnish with the lemon slice and cherry.

Pin it

What you need

Nothing fancy. Here is what to look for. We earn a small cut if you buy through these links, at no cost to you.

A shaker that seals

Two weighted tins beat three-piece shakers. They chill faster and never jam.

See on Amazon ↗

Rocks glasses

A heavy base and 8 to 10 oz, with room for one big ice cube.

See on Amazon ↗

Aromatic bitters

One small bottle lasts for years and improves almost every stirred drink.

See on Amazon ↗

The hero bottle

Few liqueurs capture the essence of Italian craftsmanship quite like amaretto. This amber-hued spirit, with its distinctive almond-like sweetness and subtle bitter undertones, has become a cornerstone ingredient in bars worldwide.

See 40 Amaretto drinks

Where it comes from

Few cocktails have experienced such a dramatic reputation reversal as the Amaretto Sour. Once relegated to the realm of cloyingly sweet 1970s relics, this Italian-American hybrid staged one of the most impressive comebacks in modern mixology. The transformation didn't happen by accident — it took Portland bartender Jeffrey Morgenthaler to rescue the amaretto sour from obscurity and prove that with the right technique and proportions it deserves a place among the classics.

The Amaretto Sour emerged during the 1970s cocktail renaissance, when sweet, approachable drinks dominated bar menus across America. The original recipe was deceptively simple: amaretto liqueur, sour mix, and a cherry garnish. Its widespread use of artificial sour mix — a neon-yellow concoction of corn syrup, citric acid, and preservatives — turned what could have been a balanced cocktail into a tooth-achingly sweet disappointment. By the early 2000s, ordering an Amaretto Sour at a quality cocktail bar would likely earn a judgmental look.

In 2012, Morgenthaler published his reimagined recipe while head bartender at Portland's acclaimed Clyde Common. His version added cask-proof bourbon for depth, replaced sour mix with fresh lemon juice and rich simple syrup, and incorporated egg white for silky texture. The result was a revelation — proof that the core concept was sound but the execution had been fundamentally flawed. Morgenthaler's version sparked a renaissance for the drink; bartenders who had previously dismissed it began experimenting with their own riffs, and today the upgraded Amaretto Sour appears on cocktail menus worldwide.

Tips from the bar

Use cask-proof (100+ proof) bourbon — Wild Turkey 101, Old Forester 100, or Elijah Craig Barrel Proof. Lower-proof bourbon gets lost in the mix and fails to provide the drying counterbalance the amaretto needs.
Always dry-shake first: combine all ingredients including egg white in an empty shaker, shake vigorously for 15–20 seconds without ice, then add ice and shake again. This builds the foam.
Measure precisely — the sweet-tart balance is fragile. Start with the Morgenthaler ratios (1.5 oz amaretto : 0.75 oz bourbon : 1 oz lemon : 1 tsp rich syrup) before adjusting.
Express a lemon peel over the foam before garnishing; the citrus oils add aromatic brightness that lifts the whole drink.
Use Luxardo or Amarena cherries, never bright-red maraschino. Their complex, brandied character echoes the amaretto's almond notes rather than competing with them.

Twists worth trying

Amaretto Stone Sour: Add 1 oz fresh orange juice to the Morgenthaler recipe for a fruitier, more citrus-forward variation. Reduce simple syrup by half to compensate for the orange juice's natural sugar. The stone sour family adds another citrus dimension without changing the core technique.
Smoky Amaretto Sour: Replace bourbon with 0.5 oz mezcal or Islay Scotch for a dramatically different character. The smoke plays beautifully against the sweet almond and tart lemon. Use sparingly — go to 0.5 oz of a smoky spirit to avoid overwhelming the amaretto.
Spiced Amaretto Sour: Substitute spiced rum (Plantation Stiggins' Fancy or Chairman's Reserve) for the bourbon. The baking spices complement amaretto's almond character differently than whiskey, creating an almost holiday-cookie flavor profile excellent for fall and winter.
Amaretto Sour Spritz: Build over ice in a highball glass and top with 2–3 oz of prosecco or champagne. Reduce egg white to avoid foam overflow. This lighter, effervescent version works as an aperitif and is faster to prepare for groups.