Amaretto Sour
An Amaretto Sour made the way Jeffrey Morgenthaler published it in 2012 is 45ml amaretto, 22.5ml cask-strength bourbon, 30ml fresh lemon juice, 5ml rich sugar syrup and an optional 15ml egg white. It is shaken without ice, then with it, and strained onto a single large ice cube in a rocks glass, then finished with a lemon peel and a cherry. The bourbon is why it works. Amaretto is sweet and only 24 to 28% ABV, too light to carry a sour alone; Morgenthaler’s point was that it needs help. A small measure of cask-strength bourbon adds strength, oak and spice while the almond stays in front. Amaretto is traditionally flavoured with apricot kernels, but some bottles use almonds; anyone with a nut allergy should read the label. The egg white is raw egg. A glass holds about 2.6 UK units, taking the cask-strength bourbon at 60% ABV and the amaretto at 28%.
Glassware: Rocks Glass
Garnish: Maraschino cherry and Lemon peel
Ingredients
45ml
Bottled at 24 to 28% ABV as a rule, and traditionally flavoured with apricot kernels; a few brands use almonds instead. Pick one with some bitterness at the finish, since it is most of the drink. Check the label for nut or egg allergies.
22.5ml
Bourbon bottled at barrel strength, often around 60% ABV or more. It adds alcohol, oak and spice in a small measure. With only a 40% bourbon, use about 35ml.
30ml
Squeezed the same day. At 30ml it is a full sour’s worth of acid, and it needs to be: amaretto is sweeter than any base spirit.
5ml
Sugar and warm water at two to one, stirred until clear and cooled. Five millilitres is a seasoning; the amaretto supplies most of the sweetness.
15ml
Optional. Roughly the white of half a medium egg, for a soft foam that carries the almond scent. Raw. Following the FSA, British Lion-mark eggs are safe raw, including for vulnerable groups and in pregnancy; pasteurised carton white is the alternative. Eating out, where the mark cannot be checked, the FSA advises vulnerable people to have their eggs thoroughly cooked. Contains egg: leave it out, or use aquafaba, for anyone allergic.
Instructions
Squeeze the lemon juice the same day.
Add the amaretto, bourbon, lemon juice, rich sugar syrup and egg white, if using, to a shaker without ice.
If using the egg white, dry shake for 10 to 15 seconds.
Add cubed ice and shake hard for 10 to 12 seconds.
Double strain over one large cube in a rocks glass.
Express a strip of lemon peel over the drink, then add it with a cherry on a pick.
Our version
Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s 2012 measures: 45ml amaretto, 22.5ml cask-proof bourbon, 30ml lemon, 5ml two-to-one syrup and 15ml egg white. Ours treats the egg white as optional and serves the drink on one large cube.
Source: our own specification. Last checked 9 October 2026.
Expert Tip
Use cask-strength bourbon if you can. At 22.5ml and around 60% ABV it adds the alcohol and spice amaretto lacks without adding much volume. Without it, about 35ml of a 40% bourbon carries the same alcohol, though the drink comes out longer and a little softer. With the egg white, give everything 10 to 15 seconds in the shaker with no ice, so the white can whip, then a hard 10 to 12 seconds with ice. Strain through a fine sieve onto a large cube. Taste before adding more syrup. The amaretto already brings plenty of sugar; 5ml of rich syrup only rounds off the lemon.
Behind the Amaretto Sour
Flavour Profile
The Fix for a Sweet Drink
The Amaretto Sour most bars poured for decades was amaretto with sour mix: sugar against sugar, with a little artificial citrus. Its reputation came from that version.
Jeffrey Morgenthaler, a bartender in Portland, Oregon, published a rebuild in February 2012. He kept the amaretto in charge and changed two things: fresh lemon in place of the mix, and a measure of cask-strength bourbon, because amaretto, as he put it, is too weak to stand up on its own.
What the Bourbon Does
Amaretto sits at 24 to 28% ABV and is heavy with sugar. Shaken with 30ml of lemon and diluted by ice, it turns thin. Cask-strength bourbon, often around 60% ABV, puts the alcohol back in a small volume: 22.5ml adds backbone, oak and vanilla without crowding the almond.
A 40% bourbon can do the same job at about 35ml. The drink is then longer and a touch softer, and still far better than amaretto and lemon alone.
The Amaretto Sour with and without bourbon, and the Whiskey Sour
Amaretto Sour (ours, after Morgenthaler)
- Base
- 45ml amaretto, 22.5ml cask-strength bourbon
- Lemon
- 30ml
- Sweetener
- 5ml rich syrup
- Egg white
- 15ml, optional
- UK units
- 2.6
Amaretto Sour without bourbon
- Base
- 45ml amaretto
- Lemon
- 30ml
- Sweetener
- 5ml rich syrup
- Egg white
- 15ml, optional
- UK units
- 1.3
Whiskey Sour (IBA)
- Base
- 45ml bourbon
- Lemon
- 25ml
- Sweetener
- 20ml sugar syrup
- Egg white
- 15ml, optional
- UK units
- 1.8
| Drink | Base | Lemon | Sweetener | Egg white | UK units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amaretto Sour (ours, after Morgenthaler) | 45ml amaretto, 22.5ml cask-strength bourbon | 30ml | 5ml rich syrup | 15ml, optional | 2.6 |
| Amaretto Sour without bourbon | 45ml amaretto | 30ml | 5ml rich syrup | 15ml, optional | 1.3 |
| Whiskey Sour (IBA) | 45ml bourbon | 25ml | 20ml sugar syrup | 15ml, optional | 1.8 |
Take the bourbon out and the drink keeps its sweetness while losing half its alcohol, which is why it tastes thin. The Whiskey Sour shows the opposite balance: a full spirit base and plain syrup.
Where the Almond Comes From
Amaretto is an Italian liqueur that tastes of almond. Its traditional flavouring is apricot kernels, which give the almond note through benzaldehyde, the compound behind maraschino too. Some producers use almonds, or both.
For anyone with a nut allergy that difference matters, and calling it amaretto does not settle the question. Read the label of the bottle you are using.
The Egg White
You can leave the egg white out. Given 10 to 15 seconds in the shaker before the ice goes in, then a hard shake with ice, it sets into a soft head that keeps the almond scent over the glass and takes the edge off the lemon.
Skip it and the drink turns sharper and thinner, though still balanced. It is raw egg, so skip it for anyone who avoids egg.
How Strong It Is
Taking the amaretto at 28% ABV and the bourbon at 60%, an Amaretto Sour holds about 2.6 UK units, against 1.8 for an IBA Whiskey Sour. Sugar and foam hide most of that.
Make it at home
The Spirit
AmarettoAmaretto is an almond-flavoured Italian liqueur, at about 21 to 28% ABV, and many bottles are flavoured with apricot kernels rather than almonds. Disaronno says its bottle is free of nut allergens, but some brands are made with almonds and one with egg-white biscuits, so with an allergy the label decides. It leads the Amaretto Sour and half of the French Connection.
Master the Techniques
More to explore
Frequently Asked Questions
What is in an Amaretto Sour?
Does an Amaretto Sour contain nuts?
How strong is an Amaretto Sour?
Why put bourbon in an Amaretto Sour?
Is the egg white necessary in an Amaretto Sour?
What if I do not have cask-strength bourbon?
Which amaretto should I use?
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Where this one sits
Recipe by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 12 October 2026