Latest Drink Recipe
No, really. I’m serious. In case you think I’m joking, or that you read that wrong, let me go on the record right now:
I make the best Amaretto Sour you’ve ever had in your life. No ifs, ands or buts about it, my Amaretto Sour dominates and crushes all others out there. And now, I’m going to share my secrets with you.
There are two things that impede all other Amaretto Sours from challenging mine. First off, the obvious: they’re too sweet. One does not simply use an everyday sour recipe to make a world-class Amaretto Sour, it must be adjusted for this particular liqueur.
Second, and this is a big one: amaretto isn’t strong enough on its own to stand up to a bunch of other ingredients. It’s weak. It needs help. And for this, I enlist the assistance of an old friend. One that knows amaretto’s strengths and weaknesses. Or, mainly, its weaknesses. One that works with amaretto, to complete it like Jerry Maguire completes Rene Zellwiger’s character, whatever her name was. And that, my friends, is cask-proof bourbon.
Behold, the recipe:
Amaretto Sour
Makes 1 Awesome Drink
1½ oz amaretto (I love the Lazzaroni amaretto, but DiSaronno works well here, too)
¾ oz cask-proof bourbon (I use Booker’s, from the Jim Beam distillery)
1 oz lemon juice
1 tsp. 2:1 simple syrup
½ oz egg white, beaten
Dry shake ingredients to combine, then shake well with cracked ice. Strain over fresh ice in an old fashioned glass. Garnish with lemon peel and brandied cherries, if desired. Serve and grin like an idiot as your friends freak out.
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About Me
My name is Jeff Morgenthaler and I'm the bar manager at Clyde Common in Portland, Oregon.
I've been tending bar since 1996 and writing about it since 2004. I started tending bar while getting my degree in Interior Architecture, and slowly I came to the conclusion that bartending was what I really loved, and that I might as well drop everything and focus on being a professional bartender. Over the years I have strived, both behind the bar and with this website, to elevate the experience of having a drink from something mundane to something more culinary.
The writing I do here is intended as a work in progress. My recipes are like my opinions: they are constantly being revised and refined as I work them through my mind and my fingers. Comments and participation are encouraged, so please don't feel the need to tread lightly here.
02 Sep 2011 at 11:15 AM 1. Rick D
A tasty, complex drink with ingredients that I don’t have to go to a specialty store in Nepal for. Nice work, Jeffrey!
02 Sep 2011 at 12:31 PM 2. Rocky
Have you tried the Damon Boelte’s Alpine Sour?
02 Sep 2011 at 12:49 PM 3. AJR
This looks great Jeffrey. Can’t wait to try this out in our bar. Cheers from a fan in DC!
03 Sep 2011 at 8:26 AM 4. venice blue
Gotta try this one- looks delicious!
After a long night in trenches, my comrades and I mix up a batch of fernet, fresh lemon and simple syrup- with tiniest bit of canton in there- shaken hard, then strained. Serve it with a twist of orange if you have any left- lol!
We always called it the San Francisco treat… Makes your feet stop aching almost instantly ; )
I am an avid lurked- absolutely love your stuff.
04 Sep 2011 at 7:34 AM 5. Sarah
A fellow bartender once told me that heavily bitter and sour cocktails intrigue him because by the end of the night they’re all he can taste well enough to appreciate. :-)
04 Sep 2011 at 9:16 AM 6. Tiare
This is right up my alley is all i say. I`m gonna try it. Thanks! i`m drooling already..
05 Sep 2011 at 2:46 PM 7. Jaded
Is there a published recipe for Elena’s Virtue?
05 Sep 2011 at 2:49 PM 8. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Jaded – it’s linked above, you just have to scroll down, it’s buried in the page on Andrew’s blog.
06 Sep 2011 at 1:08 AM 9. Adam
Looks great Jeffrey cant wait to try it.
06 Sep 2011 at 11:56 AM 10. Kennedy @ That's the Spirit
Sounds and looks god J. Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to trying one. Or more :)
10 Sep 2011 at 6:13 PM 11. Jon Santer
Who’s taking your photos these days? Good looking bro.
10 Sep 2011 at 7:45 PM 12. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Thanks, Jonny! All photos taken by myself. Jeffrey Morgenthaler, 2011.
13 Sep 2011 at 8:31 PM 13. Rowen
Man, I loved this when I had it at the restaurant. Favorite on the list.
27 Sep 2011 at 7:38 PM 14. Federico Cuco
I’ll definitely try and offer to my customers the first week of October, when my crusade for clarito ends.
You know that Argentines are lovers of Fernet Branca.
And I relly like this kind of drink.
Thanks for always bringing us delicious cocktails.
Best Regards from the far South
Fede Cuco
28 Sep 2011 at 11:11 PM 15. Adrian Zywno
Sounds Great! Am I picking up any reference to The Clash from its name, and the discarded one alike?
22 Dec 2011 at 7:05 PM 16. Matthias Galvin
Jeff,
Nice cocktail. It will certainly go into my summer repertoire (and maybe an upcoming night when I crank the heat too high).
Just one question: Because it’s damn near impossible to squeeze your own pineapple juice, what would you recommend for it? I’d used old Dole pineapple juice on times I’ve made a Singapore Sling, but I find the proportion usually needs to be halved, otherwise the drink comes out too sweet.
What’s your pineapple drink of choice?
10 Jan 2012 at 6:39 PM 17. Nicie Nice
The Kingston Rum Punch at Rum Bar @ The Breadfruit. The key here is hand-squeezed pineapple juice. Rum Bar isn’t about expediency, it’s about experience.
Ingredients:
1 oz. Wray & Nephew White Over-proof Rum
1 ½ oz. Fresh Squeezed Orange juice
1 ½ oz. hand squeezed Pineapple juice
½ oz. lime juice
½ oz. homemade grenadine (pomegranate juice, simple syrup and turbinado sugar)
¼ oz. passion fruit
Float of Meyers Original Dark Rum
Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice. Punch the air with love and pour results into high ball glass. Top off with Meyers Dark as a floater to finish. Garnish glass with a fresh slice of pineapple.
http://www.thebreadfruit.com
15 Jan 2012 at 1:13 AM 18. Barguy
When I first saw the list of ingredients, I remarked: Drambuie & pineapple juice do not belong in the same mixing glass.
I was wrong….
It took a few sips to decide if I liked this cocktail. It starts off in one direction & ends up somewhere completely unexpected.
I’ve made this drink for a lot of customers & everyone wants another.
Good show Morgenthaler!
26 Jan 2012 at 3:30 PM 19. Nate
Served this last night and everyone who tried it was immensely impressed. I think the ingredients seem a little unfamiliar or daunting to many, but the adventurous were definitely rewarded. Thanks for the recipe!