Aperol Sour: Two Variations
These Aperol sour variations follow the classic sour cocktail formula. One, a light and refreshing version, uses only Aperol, lemon juice, and simple syrup. The other uses gin, Aperol, lemon juice, simple syrup, and an egg white to give you a richer, smoother cocktail.
You’ll just have to try both to decide which you prefer.
Learn to make: sour cocktails
The sour is a classic cocktail dating back to the 1800s. Its basic formula is two ounces of spirit, three quarters of an ounce of freshly squeezed citrus juice, and three quarters of an ounce of simple syrup. You can make your sour sweeter or more sour by using a quarter of an ounce more or less of your citrus or simple syrup.
There was no egg white in the original sour cocktails, so it’s not required for a cocktail to be a sour. Feel free to omit it if you’re worried about food poisoning.
The sour formula is easily adaptable. Make your sour with rum and lime juice, and you have a daiquiri. Change it to tequila, and that’s a margarita. Make it with gin and lime juice, and it’s a gimlet.
Learn about: Aperol
Aperol is an Italian aperitivo like Campari. Aperol is only slightly bitter and slightly sweet with herbal and orange flavors. It’s much lighter than Campari with only 11% alcohol by volume compared to the 24% of Campari.
The classic Aperol cocktail is an Aperol spritz, made with Aperol, prosecco, and soda water. But Aperol can be used in any cocktail where you might find Campari. The obvious substitution is the Aperol Negroni.
Tips and tricks
Making simple syrup
Simple syrups are extremely easy to make. Simply (see what I did there?) combine equal amounts of granulated sugar and water in a pot over low heat until the sugar dissolves.
ProTip: Never use hot tap water to make your simple syrups or for any other drinks or cooking. Hot water can leach lead and other chemicals from your pipes and fixtures.
Shaking the two Aperol sour variations
The sour is a shaken cocktail. The general rule is that you should shake any cocktail that has citrus juices to add air bubbles and make it lighter.
If you want to make the straight Aperol version or the gin version without egg white, just add your ingredients to your cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain. You can serve this sour up in a coupe or in a lowball glass with a large ice cube. Those large ice cubes are slower to melt, so they don’t dilute your drink as much as smaller cubes.
If you are making the gin and Aperol cocktail with the egg white, you’ll want to do a dry shake. The dry shake, like in this creamy espresso martini or gin espresso martini, allows you to do a longer shake to create a foamy top without over-diluting your drink.
First, add the gin, Aperol, lemon juice, simple syrup, and egg white to your cocktail shaker without ice. Hold it tight. I like to do dry shakes over my sink just in case. After about 10 to 20 seconds or so, add ice to the shaker, shake again briefly to chill, and strain into your chilled glass.
FAQs
We don’t know. It’s a super secret recipe supposedly made with “orange, herbs and roots with a touch of vanilla.”
There are effectively four different types of gin. Dry, or London dry gins, are heavy on the juniper. Common examples of dry gins are Tanqueray, Bombay Sapphire, and Beefeater.
If you are concerned about food-borne illness from consuming raw eggs, you can skip the egg white in this Aperol sour. Alternatively, you can use pasteurized egg whites or aquafaba.
Related recipes
Check out the uglyducklingbakery beverage archives for other delicious cocktails like the vodka sour, the Aperol Negroni, Negroni spritz, or this beautiful cranberry Negroni.
Aperol Sour
Equipment
- 1 Cocktail shaker
Ingredients
Aperol sour #1
- 2 ounces Aperol
- 1 ounce simple syrup
- ¾ ounce lemon juice
- lemon twist for garnish
Aperol sour #2
- 1 ounce Aperol
- 1 ounce dry gin e.g. Tanqueray
- ¾ ounce simple syrup
- ¾ ounce lemon juice
- 1 egg white optional
Instructions
Aperol sour #1
- Combine the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled coupe or a rocks glass with a large ice cube.2 ounces Aperol, 1 ounce simple syrup, ¾ ounce lemon juice
- Garnish with the lemon twist.lemon twist
Aperol sour #2 (with egg white)
- Combine all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker without ice. Hold tightly to the shaker and shake for about 20 seconds.1 ounce Aperol, ¾ ounce simple syrup, ¾ ounce lemon juice, 1 egg white, 1 ounce dry gin
- Add ice to the shaker, shake briefly, and strain into a coupe.
Notes
Nutrition
What’s next
If you make one or both of these Aperol sour recipes, please leave a comment and rating. Pretty please.
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