An Amaretto Sour Please

I wasn’t always the craft cocktail enthusiast that you see today. Before this, there were the college years. The idea of mindful drinking had no place in my rebellious spirit. It was experimentation over experiences. Peer pressure was the game and I enjoyed it. It was college after all and wasn’t that what it was meant to be?

I look back at these mishaps on the way to finding my identity fondly.

I created a cocktail for the tastings which pretty much sums up my bad drinking experiences during college. I understand that bad is relative. At the time, ordering an amaretto sour in DC nightclubs felt very adult to me. Drinking a bottle of Tanqueray straight from the bottle however…well, maybe bad isn’t so relative after all.

So fair warning, you’re going to look at this recipe and go, but where’s the amaretto. I went with hazlenut liqueur because I found this one while in Frankfurt, Germany. The smell was heavenly. I found that I liked it better than amaretto. But if I was looking for something more traditional, I would have picked Saliza Amaretto. It’s distilled from almonds instead of being stuffed with almond flavoring. It’s the best I’ve found so far.

Up In the Air

1.5 oz. Himbrimi Old Tom Gin
.5 oz lemon juice
.5 oz hazlenut liqueur
.5 oz simple syrup
.5 oz aquafaba (chickpea brine)

1. Add aquafaba to shaker and shake for 5 seconds.
2. Add remaining ingredients.
2. Fill with ice.
3. Shake vigorously until ice breaks up and ingredients are perfectly chilled.
4. Strain into a cocktail glass.
5. (Optional) Garnish with flower petals.