1970s American bars.
| 1½ oz · 45 ml | AMARETTO | 28 % |
| ¾ oz · 22 ml | BOURBON | 40 % |
| 1 oz · 30 ml | LEMON JUICE | |
| ¼ oz · 8 ml | SIMPLE SYRUP | |
| ½ oz · 15 ml | EGG WHITE |
1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.
1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.
| Pre-batch | 4 oz mixed with ice, 0.72 oz of it pure alcohol |
|---|---|
| Melt | Shaken: +20 % of the pre-batch, +0.8 oz of water |
| Served | 4 + 0.8 = 4.8 oz in the glass |
| Strength | 0.72 ÷ 4.8 = 15.0 % ABV as served |
| Ethanol | 0.72 oz × 29.57 ml × 0.789 g/ml = 17 g · about 118 kcal from the alcohol alone |
FROM BOURBON · from oak barrel aging
Bourbon's fingerprint, extracted from the charred American oak the law requires for aging. Same molecule as the vanilla bean's signature, so a well-aged bourbon legitimately tastes like vanilla. Chemistry, not metaphor. Cognac, aged rum, tequila reposado all extract vanillin from oak too. Different barrels, same molecule.
ALSO IN Old Fashioned · Manhattan · Whiskey Sour · Paper Plane · Boulevardier · Sazerac · Espresso Martini · Mai Tai
FROM LEMON · the lemon aroma
Lemon's defining note: technically a mix of two geometric isomers (geranial and neral) that read as the same aroma to the nose. Lemon peel, lemongrass, lemon verbena, and Indian chai all carry it. In cocktails it's what a lemon twist contributes that lemon juice can't: the volatile expressed from the oil glands, not the acid from the pulp.
ALSO IN Margarita · Mojito · Daiquiri · Whiskey Sour · Gimlet · Moscow Mule · Paper Plane · Aviation
Amaretto, bourbon, lemon, sugar and egg white. Amaretto's almond benzaldehyde note sits over vanillin from the bourbon, anchored by citral from the lemon. The sweetness masks the proof, and the egg white rounds the edges.
Disaronno-and-sour-mix in its 1970s form was a bar-disaster cocktail. Jeffrey Morgenthaler's 2012 reframing (cask-proof bourbon to add backbone, fresh lemon, simple syrup, and an egg-white shake) became the canonical modern spec and rescued the drink from the cloying-sweet bin.
