I’m not usually a big fan of almond. I mean sure, I like almond jello just fine. But I don’t go seeking almond pastries and whatnot.
But I was strangely in the mood for almond-flavored cocktails, so I made some with amaretto. I didn’t have any of the good stuff like Disaronno, so I just used the cheapo stuff I had lying around.
The first drink I think of when I hear amaretto is an amaretto sour.
Amaretto Sour
1.5 oz amaretto
1-2 splashes sour mix
orange slice
maraschino cherry
The sourness of the sour mix balances out the sweetness of the amaretto, and the drink is pleasantly sweet. Maybe a little too sweet, though. Lemon juice instead of sour mix might work better.
Then I made another classic drink, the Godfather.
Godfather
1 oz blended scotch whiskey
1 oz amaretto
OK so I don’t really like whiskey, but this drink wasn’t that bad. The sweetness of the amaretto’s very noticeable, and it kind of masks a lot of the whiskey taste, even though that’s half the drink. Not really something I’d make again, though.
Finally, a variation on the margarita, with amaretto.
Italian Margarita
1 oz amaretto
2 oz sour mix
0.5 oz tequila
0.5 oz triple sec
lime slice
The amaretto added a nice almond flavor to the standard margarita. I think I made my sour mix on the sour side, so it wasn’t overwhelmingly sweet. It was a nice balance of the sweet almond flavor with the sour lemon.