Amaretto Sour Recipe (the Morgenthaler Way, with Rye or Bourbon)

For most of its life the Amaretto Sour was a bad drink: sweet almond liqueur, bottled sour mix, no backbone. On 9 February 2012 Jeffrey Morgenthaler posted a rebuild from Portland under the title 'I Make the Best Amaretto Sour in the World,' and the claim has largely held. His fix was structural. Keep amaretto as both base and sweetener, add a short measure of cask-proof bourbon because amaretto 'isn't strong enough on its own,' use a full ounce of lemon, and build a proper egg-white foam.

Below is Morgenthaler's spec exactly as he published it — it later became the house version at Pepe Le Moko — with his immersion-blender shortcut, how it sits next to the classic rye Whiskey Sour, and, clearly marked as RyeCentral's adaptation, a rye version built on the high-proof bottles in the Bottle Library.

What Morgenthaler Fixed

The old Amaretto Sour had two problems, and they were the same problem: amaretto is a liqueur, so it is sweet and it is low in alcohol, and a sour built on it alone is a dessert with no structure. Morgenthaler's answer was to treat the liqueur as what it is — the sweetener — and to bring in the thing it lacks from outside. Three-quarters of an ounce of cask-proof bourbon supplies the backbone; a full ounce of lemon supplies the acid the liqueur's sugar needs; a single teaspoon of rich syrup tops the sweetness up by a hair; and half an ounce of egg white gives the drink a foam that makes it feel like something made on purpose.

The result is marzipan and almond up front, lemon through the middle, oaky heat underneath and a creamy foam over all of it. PUNCH revisited the spec in 2019, by which time it had become the Pepe Le Moko house version; the recipe below is the one Morgenthaler published in 2012.

Why the Whiskey Has to Be Cask Proof

The bourbon measure is small, so its strength has to be large. Morgenthaler's own line is that amaretto 'isn't strong enough on its own,' and three-quarters of an ounce of a standard-proof whiskey would not change that. He names Booker's, with Old Grand-Dad 114 as the alternative, and puts the sweet spot around 120 proof. At that strength the bourbon does three things at once: it raises the drink to cocktail strength, its heat cuts through the liqueur's sugar, and its oak gives the almond something to sit on. Drop the proof and all three effects fade together.

Amaretto Sour vs the Classic Rye Whiskey Sour

The classic is a whiskey drink sweetened with sugar; the Amaretto Sour is a liqueur drink stiffened with whiskey. That is why the lemon goes up to a full ounce — the liqueur carries far more sugar than ¾ oz of simple syrup — and why the whiskey comes down to ¾ oz but goes up in proof. The egg white, optional in the classic rye Whiskey Sour, is not optional here; without the foam the drink loses the texture that separates it from its sour-mix ancestor. The same logic, applied to the plain whiskey sour, is in Whiskey Sour ratios.

The Rye Version — RyeCentral's Adaptation

This is not Morgenthaler's spec. His drink is built on cask-proof bourbon, and that is the version above. But his reasoning — a small measure of very strong whiskey to give the liqueur backbone — transfers directly to rye, and rye changes the drink in a way worth trying. Keep every measure the same and pour ¾ oz of a rye at or near the proof he wants. Bourbon's caramel sits alongside the almond and makes the drink rounder; rye's black pepper and dryness cut across it, so the finish is shorter and less sweet and the marzipan reads cleaner. If the bourbon version has ever struck you as a shade too plush, this is the fix. Why rye behaves this way in sours generally is the subject of why rye works in a Whiskey Sour.

Choosing the Rye

The target is the 120-proof neighborhood Morgenthaler describes, and the Bottle Library has a rye that lands there almost exactly. Below it, the drink gets progressively softer; at 100 proof it still works but the bourbon original's logic is being stretched.

Full reviews sit behind each bottle in the Bottle Library; the premium rye guide explains why a high-proof bottle at this price point outperforms an older, gentler one in any drink that uses whiskey as a modifier.

Technique: the Blender, the Dry Shake and the Ice

Morgenthaler froths the egg white with an immersion blender before the ice goes in and says it works better than shaking by hand beforehand. If you have no blender, the standard dry shake does the job: Julie Reiner's rule is about ten shakes, roughly ten seconds, without ice, then add ice and shake again. The reverse order — ice first, strain, then shake without ice — produced the firmest, most meringue-like foam in a Tales of the Cocktail test; PUNCH's bartenders note the trade-offs, larger bubbles (Julie Reiner) and a head that settles faster (Ray Keane). Any of the three works here; what matters is that the egg is emulsified before the drink is chilled. The methods are compared step by step in how to shake a Whiskey Sour.

Morgenthaler serves it over fresh ice in an old fashioned glass. PUNCH's Whiskey Sour judges prefer egg-white drinks up, because foam breaks down faster on ice — but Dan Sabo's 2017 winner is served on the rocks in PUNCH's 2024 write-up, so pour it as he wrote it and drink it while the foam is fresh. On safety: the FDA advises pasteurized eggs for any recipe using raw egg, especially for children, older adults, pregnant women and the immunocompromised; aquafaba at about 1 oz per drink, dry shaken 10–12 seconds, is the egg-free alternative. The whole subject is in the egg white guide, and the plain egg-white whiskey sour is the Boston Sour.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is in Jeffrey Morgenthaler's Amaretto Sour?

1½ oz amaretto, ¾ oz cask-proof bourbon, 1 oz fresh lemon juice, 1 teaspoon rich (2:1) simple syrup and ½ oz lightly beaten egg white. Dry shake or blend, shake with cracked ice, strain over fresh ice in an old fashioned glass, garnish with lemon peel and brandied cherries.

Why is there bourbon in an Amaretto Sour?

Because amaretto 'isn't strong enough on its own,' in Morgenthaler's words. Three-quarters of an ounce of cask-proof bourbon — he names Booker's or Old Grand-Dad 114 and puts the sweet spot around 120 proof — raises the drink to cocktail strength and gives the sweet liqueur a backbone.

Can I make an Amaretto Sour with rye?

Yes, as RyeCentral's adaptation rather than Morgenthaler's spec: keep every measure and use ¾ oz of a rye near 120 proof, such as Sazerac Rye Full Proof (125 proof). Rye's pepper and dryness make the drink less plush and the almond cleaner.

Do I need egg white in an Amaretto Sour?

In this spec, yes — ½ oz, lightly beaten — because the foam is part of what rescued the drink. Use pasteurized egg white, or about 1 oz of aquafaba dry shaken 10–12 seconds as an egg-free substitute.

Why does Morgenthaler use an immersion blender?

To froth the egg white before shaking with ice. He finds it emulsifies the egg better than a hand dry shake. A standard dry shake of about ten seconds without ice, then with ice, is the usual alternative.

What is the garnish for an Amaretto Sour?

Lemon peel and brandied cherries, served over fresh ice in an old fashioned glass. The lemon oil lifts the almond; the cherries echo the liqueur's stone-fruit side.