If you love the flavor balance of sweet and sour, then you'll enjoy the classic cocktail, amaretto sour. Every collection of popular mixed drinks should have a little something to please everyone, including an amaretto sour recipe. While the basic formula has only a few ingredients, there are many variations to dress the drink up and change its personality.
Classic Amaretto Sour Recipe
This delightful combination is among the easiest drinks to make.
Ingredients
- Ice
- 1 1/2 ounces amaretto liqueur
- 3 ounces sweet and sour mix
- Splash of lemon-lime soda, such as 7 Up or Sprite
- Maraschino cherry and orange slice for garnish
Directions
- Fill a cocktail shaker half full with ice. Add the amaretto and sweet and sour mix. Shake to chill.
- Pour into a rocks glass half-filled with ice.
- Garnish with the cherry and orange slice.
Amaretto Sour Variations
As with many cocktails, drinkers and bartenders have added ingredients to the original amaretto sour recipe to create different tastes that appeal to assorted palates. All variations follow the same mixing and serving procedures as the original recipe for amaretto sour cocktails.
Amaretto Stone Sour
To turn an amaretto sour into a stone sour, just add a splash of orange juice to the mixture before serving.
Amaretto Wine Sour
Mix 2 ounces amaretto with 1 ounce each of sweet and sour mix and white wine. Either sweet or dry white wine is acceptable.
Amaretto Sour Sour
This mixture will make you pucker. Mix 1 1/2 ounces amaretto with 1 ounce each of limeade and lemonade.
Amaretto Vodka Sour
Stir together 1 ounce vodka and 1 ounce amaretto. Fill the glass with sweet and sour mix.
Special Occasion Amaretto Sour
If the guest of honor at a dinner or cocktail party is a big fan of amaretto sours, serving this fancy version of the drink is sure to impress both the honoree and the gathered friends and family. It includes Prosecco, a dry, white sparkling wine mainly produced in the Veneto region of Italy. This recipe is for one drink, so adjust the quantities to accommodate the number of guests.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup sugar to coat the rim of the glass
- 1 lemon, finely zested with a Microplane zester or comparable tool
- 1 lime, zested like the lemon
- 1/2 lemon, juiced (Save the remaining 1/2 lemon for coating the glass rim)
- 3/4 cup Prosecco
- 2 tablespoons amaretto liqueur
- 2 tablespoons simple syrup
- Ice cubes
- Lemon and lime slice garnishes
Directions
- Stir the water and 1/2 cup sugar together in a small saucepan.
- Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil and constantly stir until the sugar completely dissolves and creates a simple syrup.
- Set the syrup aside to cool.
- In a rimmed saucer or shallow bowl, combine the remaining sugar and zests.
- Rub the rim of a double old-fashioned glass (also called a lowball or rocks glass) with the cut side of the lemon half, being sure to moisten it on both the inside and outside of the glass.
- Invert the glass into the sugar and slowly turn to evenly coat.
- Gently mix the Prosecco, amaretto, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of the prepared simple syrup in a cocktail mixer or pitcher, taking care not to destroy the bubbles in the wine.
- Place a few ice cubes in the bottom of the glass and pour in the drink mixture without disturbing the sugar-coated rim.
- Garnish the drink with the citrus fruit slices.
Bittersweet Amaretto
Amaretto is an almond-flavored liqueur made from the pits of almonds or peaches or a combination to the two. It has added sweeteners to cut the bitterness of the pits, as well as natural or artificial almond extract included for extra flavor. The liqueur's name is a derivative of the Italian word "amaro," which means bitter, and the suffix "etto" indicates a diminished or light touch of bitterness. The words amare and amore, which mean love, are frequently associated with the sweetness of the liqueur. The combination of the two could be construed to reflect the bittersweet aspects of love itself.
Choose Your Favorite Amaretto Sour
With so many ways to prepare an amaretto sour, you'll definitely have fun trying out each of these recipes to decide which one is your ultimate favorite. Just don't try them all at once!
