Cherry Amaretto Sour Cocktail

This Cherry Amaretto Sour Cocktail strikes the ideal balance between the nutty warmth of amaretto and the tart punch of fresh citrus, all rounded out by the dark, fruity sweetness of cherries. It’s a sophisticated twist on a nostalgic favorite that is surprisingly easy to master at home. Shake it up for your next holiday gathering or as a treat after a long week.

Cherry Amaretto Sours taste like the holidays. They are decadent, strong and visually striking. If you love a red Christmas cocktail as much as I do I highly recommend my bourbon forward Merry Manhattan or this tartly spiced Mulled Cranberry Madras Cocktail for your cocktail hour.

Cherry Amaretto Sour

This cherry amaretto sour recipe is a keeper. It’s everything you love about the classic cocktail made with the bonus of sour cherry juice. While sour mix saves time, juicing fresh lemons is highly recommended when crafting cocktails.

Everyone says this is the perfect amaretto sour recipe… you’re sure to love the perfect sweet sour balance and smooth velvety texture. If you can separate eggs and shake a cocktail shaker, you can make this recipe!

For this drink recipe you’ll need a few basic cocktail tools. The first is a dependable cocktail shaker. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it should be big enough to hold two cocktails and ice at once. Most cocktail shakers have a strainer but if you need to strain out finer bits, you’ll need a smaller sieve type strainer.

In addition to a shaker and strainer, you’ll need a jigger or measuring cup, cocktail picks for holding the garnishes, and two cocktail glasses. Rocks glasses are pictured here but you can also use a coupe cocktail glass if you’re feeling fancy.

What is a Sour Cocktail?

Sours are one of the oldest mixed drinks, with some of the earliest written recipes appearing in the mid 19th century. There are three elements that make up a sour, along with an optional fourth (the egg white) for body and texture.

The first element is a strong base liquor like whiskey, bourbon, pisco, rum, brandy or amaretto liqueur. A margarita is essentially a tequila sour while a daiquiri is a rum sour.

The sour element in most recipes is usually fresh lemon or lime juice. However, in this recipe, the sour cherry juice is added along with fresh lemon juice.

Finally, a sweetener such as simple syrup or orgeat is added to balance out the flavours in the cocktail. The quantity added can be tailored to the taste preference of the drinker. Note: there is no added sweetener in this recipe because the amaretto is quite sweet. If you prefer more sweetness, add 1/2 oz at a time tasting in between until it reaches your preferred sweetness level.

Ingredients in a Cherry Amaretto Sour

• Amaretto Liqueur
• Lemon Juice
• Tart Cherry Juice
• Egg White
• Ice
• Fresh Cherries

Amaretto is a sweet Italian liqueur that has a smooth almond flavour with notes of vanilla, caramel and spice. Disaronno amaretto is made from apricot kernels despite its almond-like taste. In this cocktail it provides a rich marzipan-like flavour which is the perfect partner to the sharp citrus and cherry juice.

When it comes to the cherry juice this also plays a part in how sour the cocktail is. I recommend a tart, unsweetened juice for its bright and tangy pure cherry flavour. This along with the fresh lemon juice balances the amaretto perfectly. Avoid sweetened cherry juice or juice blends as these can be overly sweet and less nuanced.

This cocktail is shaken with an egg white which is what gives it its frothy silky smooth top. If you do not want to use raw egg you can use two tablespoons of aquafaba (the liquid from canned chickpeas) for a vegan alternative. It foams beautifully!

How to Make a Cherry Amaretto Sour

Before you start, place the glasses in the freezer to chill them while you shake up the cocktail. Arrange the cherries on two cocktail picks and assemble the rest of the ingredients. You’ll need ice for shaking ONLY.

To begin, measure the amaretto, lemon juice, and cherry juice into a cocktail shaker. Add the egg white.

Dry shake (without ice) vigorously. This whips up the egg white and creates the frothy texture. Next, fill the cocktail shaker with ice and shake again for 20 seconds until well chilled.

Strain into evenly into two chilled rocks glasses then garnish with cherries. Serve immediately. Cheers!

This cocktail recipe is customisable. Thanks to the fresh lemon juice it is sour (as the name suggests!), but you can play around with the amount of lemon juice and make it more or less sour. Add simple syrup to taste if a sweeter drink is preferred.

To make simple syrup: Combine 1/2 cup each of sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until the sugar has dissolved, then let it cool. Simple syrup can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month.

Hi! I’m Bernice Hill, the heart and soul behind Dish ‘n’ the Kitchen. It is my pleasure to share easy to follow recipes that are delicious, nutritious, and approachable for the whole family.

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