The Godfather Sour

The amaretto sour gets a bad rap as an overly sweet drink. But there are novel ways to balance out the basic traditional build of liqueur plus syrup plus lemon while unlocking the beauty of amaretto, the almondy Italian liqueur that stars in this cocktail. 

The most important intervention: adding a heftier spirit to both stiffen up and dry things out. Even the strongest amarettos are just 30% ABV—not much oomph to carry a shaken cocktail alone. Newer interpretations of the amaretto sour—most notably bartender Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s breakthrough recipe, which helped revive interest in the drink—call for bourbon; here we opt for a smoky-smooth scotch, like Johnnie Walker Black. Amaretto and scotch have hung together before: These ingredients are already well acquainted by way of the simple two-ingredient Godfather cocktail, a drink that coincided with the release of the film series. The whisky helps to give the drink more body, nicely cutting through the toasted-almond qualities of the liqueur. 

As with our take on the classic amaretto sour, this recipe adds fragrant citrus to the drink by skipping sour mix and using a combination of fresh lemon juice and lemon and orange peels, which are tossed into the shaker tin in a technique called a regal shake. A touch of rich simple syrup (made by dissolving 2 parts sugar in 1 part hot water—let cool before using) rounds out the tartness of the cocktail. 

Be sure to shake this drink in two stages—first, without ice to emulsify the egg white and start building up the foam, and second, with ice to chill and dilute properly. The egg white softens the sharpness of the fresh lemon and makes the drink smooth and slightly creamy, but raw egg is not recommended for various groups including those with weakened immune systems.