Amaretto Stone Sour
Dry shake ∙ 5 min ∙ 10.4% ABV ∙
The Amaretto Stone Sour shakes amaretto with lemon and orange juice and a splash of egg white, served up in a coupe. Nutty sweetness leads the profile, tightened by a complex, layered citrus tartness, and rounded out by a smooth, silky finish.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake all ingredients with ice: Lemon peel 1 pcAmaretto liqueur 50 mlLemon juice 20 mlOrange juice 20 mlEgg white 15 mlAngostura aromatic bitters 2 dashesSaline solution 2 dashes
- Strain back into the shaker
- Dry shake (without ice) to emulsify and fine strain into the chilled glass
- Garnish with an orange twist
Tips
- Shake hard with ice first for a full 15 seconds to chill and dilute the sweet amaretto, then strain the liquid back into the empty shaker.
- Dry shake that chilled mix for another 15 seconds without ice; this second, ice-free pass is what whips the egg white into a stable foam.
- Fine-strain into the chilled coupe to leave behind any ice shards and pulp from the fresh lemon and orange juice for a silky, clean surface.
- Express the orange twist over the foam right before serving and rest it on the rim so its oils sit on top rather than sinking into the egg foam.
History
The Amaretto Stone Sour is a variation on the Amaretto Sour, a drink introduced to the public in the 1970s and devised by the American importer of Amaretto di Saronno as a simple mix of two parts amaretto liqueur to one part lemon juice. The Amaretto Sour became widely popular in the 1980s, when bartenders commonly substituted commercial sour mix for fresh lemon juice, and it was later revived in the 2010s cocktail renaissance with fresher, more balanced builds. The earliest documented reference to the Amaretto Stone Sour itself appears in a 1982 newspaper advertisement for the Diamond Supper Club in Menomonie, Wisconsin; it was later included among seven Stone Sour variations in Vincent Sardi Jr. and George Shea's 1988 Sardi's Bar Guide. The Stone Sour variant follows the same basic sour template but adds orange juice alongside the sour mix, giving it a brighter, more citrus-forward profile than the original.
FAQ
What is an Amaretto Stone Sour made of?
Amaretto liqueur, fresh lemon juice, fresh orange juice, and pasteurised egg white, double shaken and served up in a coupe with an orange twist. This build also carries a couple of dashes each of aromatic bitters and saline solution to round out the sweetness.
What is the difference between an Amaretto Sour and an Amaretto Stone Sour?
The main difference is the juice: a classic Amaretto Sour is built on lemon juice alone, while this Stone Sour version splits the citrus between lemon and orange juice for a rounder, less sharply tart profile. Both are shaken amaretto-based sours, but the added orange juice and egg white here give a softer, more layered finish.
How do I make an Amaretto Stone Sour?
Combine amaretto liqueur, fresh lemon and orange juice, and pasteurised egg white, then double shake — with ice first to chill, then strained back into the empty shaker and shaken again without ice to emulsify the egg white. Fine-strain into a chilled coupe and garnish with an orange twist.
What glass is an Amaretto Stone Sour served in?
A coupe glass, served up with no ice, garnished with an orange twist.
Can you get drunk off an Amaretto Stone Sour?
Yes, though it is a relatively light drink at around 10.4% ABV, roughly a third the strength of a neat spirit pour. It takes several to feel a strong effect, but the amaretto and citrus make it easy to underestimate how much you are drinking.
