Disaronno Amaretto and the amaretto sour

To James. From Joe.

The amaretto sour was my first cocktail of choice. It was the first cocktail I associated with an emotion: sadness.

I was very sad the first time I really began to appreciate the drink. I was at home, visiting my parents in my old room. An old flame had just gotten through emotionally tormenting me and I was tired physically and mentally. I went into my parents liquor cabinet to raid it. It isn't well stocked: A bottle of years old Crown Royal I used to sip from, to make me feel cooler, and a year old bottle of Disaronno amaretto. I took the amaretto, and a half empty bottle of sour mix, and crafted a drink I immediately dubbed the Sour Smile.

• Enough amaretto to coat yourself in an amber smile.
• Enough sweet and sour mix to punish yourself for smiling.

The sour became a companion in rough times, mostly associated with women. I would sneak down at 2am, mix the drink, and sit in my room in the dark, watching anime or listening to jazz music and just let the warm, syrupy drink work its dark voodoo on me. And it did. It let me consider the world through misty eyes, the details just slightly blurring at the edges just enough to let me stop caring about them, and focus on the big pictures. The zap of the sour to keep the mind clear, level, and sober. One sour was all it took, and then I'd stop and write, or read, or watch. Even now I rarely have the drink publicly. Onto the spirit itself.

Amaretto is a heavy, almond and apricot pit liquor that has a very syrupy texture and almond color. The most popular brand, Disaronno, is served in a trademark square-ish bottle with a square cap. Disaronno, to me, tastes sweet and bitter at the same time. The bite of the alcohol dances right through the heavy almond flavor when it's served neat or on the rocks, but when it's blended into other drinks it subsides just enough to be noticeable. Being sweet and heavy, I wouldn't use amaretto as a pre-meal imbibe, instead saving it for dessert time. Amaretto is a great flavor to add to ice creams, if you make fresh ice cream yourself. Pour a few ounces into a big ol'batch someday and it makes a perfect after-dinner dessert. There are a few discount/cheaper brands of amaretto, but don't settle. Get two big bottle of Disaronno, one for guests who would like an amaretto sour, and one for you to make whatever you please once the din of the social has died down a bit.

The sour mix is a simple blend of citrus flavor and simple syrup. It's responsible for some of the sweet flavor in the amaretto sour, but are a popular mixer for many other drinks too. Long Island Ice Teas use the mix, as well as the whiskey sour. Sour mix can be bought pre-made and is easy to find at most liquor stores.

Mix the two ingredients together, and you get an amaretto sour:

• 3 parts amaretto
• 1 part sour mix

1. Add the amaretto to an old-fashioned glass with two big cubes of ice in it.
   
2. Add the sour mix
3. Stir briskly for a few moments, then enjoy.

The sour takes that heavy amaretto flavor and cuts right into it with the sour mix. The sweet and sour flavors work extremely well together, to provide a smooth cocktail that is easily sipped and will never make you pucker (from the sour or the liquor!). The sour is a great drink for inside time, with dim lights and intimate company. Or for a little alone time with Dave Brubek and Thelonious Monk. It's a sweet, tangy, tasty drink that will become a quick favorite. Even hardcore vodka and bitters fans will enjoy its change of pace. When you drink it you first taste the sweetness of the liquor itself, right before the sour mix bites you. Once it does, it all comes together, like some sort of alcoholic apology, before you swallow it. Once down, it begins to heat you like a little furnace. It's really quite comforting. I drink them on cold winter nights sometimes to stave off the chill and shivers. It's a drink that gives in layers, like a time-release cocktail of sorts. Unique.

Though this entry started with a sad tone, I hope you come to enjoy the drink for other circumstances, and eventually I did start smiling for real, so don't worry! I guess that's why I don't drink them so much anymore. Drinking for me was never a source of solving a problem or covering one up, and it never should be for anyone. I never got drunk or even so much as buzzed from an amaretto sour. Sometimes it's just a combination of flavors we need to set us down the right path and at that time, it performed admirably. Life occasionally calls for the aid of an apothecary.

Bottom Line: I'm going to review a few more drinks with amaretto in them coming up soon (The godfather and godmother, the Alabama Slammer...etc), and I'm even going to add to this blog when I seriously sit down and sip some straight amaretto for a big picture on it, but the sour is a drink you should have available, and one you should enjoy.

PS: Don't drink cocktails from a straw, it makes you look like a damn fool. If it's in glassware, use your lips. If it's served in a red cup, then maybe the straw is fitting.