Clarified Amaretto Sour Showdown–Chocolate vs Almond vs Coconut Milk!

Hi, Friends of Cocktails! Forget everything you know about the Amaretto Sour. Today we’re reinventing this modern classic cocktail in three different ways. So I’ll clarify it with chocolate, coconut and almond milk, to see which one works best. But I’m not stopping at just clarified cocktails–that wouldn’t really do justice to the Amaretto Sour–so stick around for a mind-blowing way to bring this drink to a new level. 

We actually covered the original Amaretto Sour on the channel before. We mainly focused on how Jeffrey Morgenthaler tweaked the recipe, and we even heard from the man himself, plus I made my own version of the cocktail, which you can check out here. But for today’s variations we’ll need a base made with amaretto, high proof bourbon, lemon juice, simple syrup, and saline solution of course.

We’re of course skipping the egg white at this stage since we’re clarifying, but again, wait for the end to see how we’ll replace that. So let’s dive in and push the boundaries of mixology, it’s Cocktail Time!

Clarified Amaretto Sour 

● 405mL · 13.5oz Amaretto

● 270mL · 9oz Four Roses Single Barrel

● 202.5mL · 6.75oz Lemon Juice

● 67.5mL · 2.25oz Simple Syrup

● 18 drops 20% Saline Solution

For clarifying

● 90mL · 3oz Chocolate, Coconut or Almond Milk

So into a large container I’m adding the amaretto, bourbon, lemon juice, simple syrup, and saline solution. Now we’ll split into 3 different sections for our three milk options, which we’ll heat up first to make for a better clarification. 

So simply pour our batched Amaretto Sours over the warmed milk, and you’ll see as the curds start to form. I’ll let this sit for about 10 minutes, then it’s time to slowly filter it through a cloth filter. Don’t worry if the initial drops are cloudy at first. Once the curds form a natural filter and the cocktail runs clear, simply return any cloudy portions gently back into the filter to ensure perfect clarity of the Amaretto Sour. 

Let’s give these a taste as they are, before we go a step further and bring them a bit closer to what you imagine when you hear Amaretto Sour. For this we’ll add 3.5oz or 105mL of each over a clear ice sphere, stir to chill and dilute, then we can find out which one is the best.

To clarify the cocktails we’ll use one flavored milk and two flavored milk alternatives - chocolate milk should pair nicely with almonds and bourbon, similarly to the cacao-butter washed bourbon I used for my Amaretto Sour, coconut milk for a tropical twist with a different style of nuttiness, and almond milk to intensify the original nuttiness of Amaretto.

The chocolate milk version is smooth and creamy with gentle hints of cacao, while still letting Amaretto be the star of the show. Chocolate milk pairs nicely with almonds and bourbon, making for a great flavor pairing like we saw in my version of the Amaretto Sour.

The coconut milk makes for a fun and tropical twist on what you expect from an Amaretto Sour, making for additional nuttiness. Finally, as for the almond milk, it’s rich, and nutty with enhanced almond flavors, while it’s still a light version of the classic.

While these are fun and beautifully clear ways to change the Amaretto Sour, I think it’s just not the same without that frothy crown on top. But here’s the kicker: thanks to the proteins we added with milk clarification we can mimic the texture typically achieved with egg whites. Here’s how.

Frothy Clarified Amaretto Sour

● 105mL · 3.5oz Clarified Amaretto Sour

● Optional Cherry Garnish

We’ll pour each clarified cocktail into a shaker and instead of a dry shake I’ll froth each cocktail briefly with a milk frother. Once it’s nicely foamed up it’s time to add ice and shake hard. As always when you want to keep out any small bit of ice, double strain the cocktail into a nice glass, this time I’m using chilled Nick & Nora glasses.

For garnish you can go with a skewered cherry again, or even skip the garnish to keep the focus on the beautiful, impressive foam that was achieved without egg whites or any added foamers. If we compare the three, the chocolate milk creates the richest foam—it’s incredibly robust and creamy. 

The coconut milk delivers a lighter foam that’s less dense, but still smooth and enjoyable, and finally, almond milk gives us a stable foam, beautifully balanced, smooth, and elegant. So there you have it–no need to waste eggs for frothy Sours. For other egg-white alternatives you can check out the posts on Super Foam and Super Syrup, or my e-book on all Super Ingredients, available on Patreon. Until next time, cheers, Friends of Cocktails!