Amaretto Sour

Disaronno Originale is our choice for the amaretto. Its distinctive almond-like aroma, sweetness and stone-fruit character provide the foundation of the cocktail.

Choose a balanced bourbon whiskey with enough vanilla, oak and caramel character to support the amaretto without overpowering it.

Use freshly squeezed lemon juice. The acidity is what transforms the sweet liqueur into a properly balanced sour.

For the foam, we use Fee Brothers Fee Foam. Use 3 dashes per cocktail for a smooth texture and stable foamy head. Fee Foam contains no egg or egg products and is designed specifically to add foam to shaken drinks. Fee Brothers

A small amount of cane sugar syrup can be added if a slightly sweeter drink is preferred, while aromatic bitters add extra spice and complexity.

The main challenge with an Amaretto Sour is controlling sweetness.

Amaretto contains considerably more sugar than base spirits such as whiskey, gin or tequila. Too much additional syrup can quickly make the cocktail heavy.

Our standard balance is:

50 ml Amaretto + 20 ml bourbon + 30 ml lemon + 5 ml sugar syrup

The 5 ml syrup is optional. Leaving it out creates a slightly sharper and drier version.

The Amaretto should remain the dominant flavour, while bourbon provides structure and fresh lemon keeps the drink bright.

The first impression should be sweet almond and marzipan, followed by fresh citrus and a slightly drier whiskey finish.

Amaretto is an Italian liqueur style closely associated with Saronno in Lombardy.

Its characteristic flavour is reminiscent of almonds and marzipan, although different producers use different ingredients and recipes to achieve that distinctive profile.

The Amaretto Sour became particularly popular during the second half of the 20th century, when sweet liqueur-based cocktails became increasingly common.

Many early versions were simply Amaretto mixed with lemon juice or commercial sour mix.

Modern versions generally aim for a better balance between sweetness and acidity. Adding a small amount of bourbon gives the drink more structure while allowing the distinctive Amaretto character to remain at the centre of the cocktail.

Add all the liquid ingredients and 3 dashes of Fee Brothers Fee Foam directly to the shaker.

Shake first without ice for around 10 seconds. This helps aerate the drink and starts building the foam.

Add ice and shake firmly for another 10–12 seconds until the cocktail is thoroughly chilled.

Double straining keeps small ice fragments out of the finished drink and leaves a smoother, cleaner layer of foam on top.

Fee Brothers itself recommends adding Fee Foam before shaking, and its published cocktail recipes use both direct wet shaking and dry-shake techniques. For this sour, the dry shake followed by an ice shake gives you the more deliberate, consistent foam presentation you want on the Drinkero page.