Sweet on Sours

Half is Better than the Whole

So after trying eggs in cocktails with flips - I realized the whole egg is just a little too much, and rich, for me.  I still want to try new things but perhaps just half it - so on to the egg white.

Now the egg white usually conjures up (to me at least) some skinny, health-conscious person ordering an egg white omelette, or Angel Food Cake but it terms of a cocktail it is the Pisco sour.  Pisco is a brandy made by distilling grapes into a spirit in the wine making regions of Peru and Chile.  I could only find Peruvian pisco in my local liquor store and supposedly it's higher proof compared to the pisco made in Chile.  Also, most recipes I found had the one ounce of "sour" either being all lime juice or all lemon until I came upon the recipe in Cocktail Codex , they split the baby in half and that difference makes it extra delicious.

Pisco Sour (from Cocktail Codex)

Pisco sour - better than the punch

2 oz. pisco
1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
3/4 oz. simple syrup
1 egg white
Garnish: 3 drops Angostura bitters (I added a couple extra because . . . well, because it's Angostura)

Dry shake all the ingredients (at least 10 seconds), then shake again with ice. Double strain into a chilled coupe and garnish with the drops of Angostura on top of the foam.  I used a toothpick to swirl it around.  Feel free to be as artistic as you want.

Don't Judge a Cocktail by its Color

Following the Pisco Sour, in my search for cocktails using egg whites, the next classic cocktail that came up is the Pink Lady.  Now I'm not a big fan of pink as a color, as my family knows.  I tend to go off on a tangent when it comes to women's active wear clothes and how it always has to be pink, teal or my worst nightmare . . . periwinkle. So when it came to a drink called the Pink Lady I was a little apprehensive.  Ok, I was judging a cocktail by its color.  Not one of my finer moments, but after looking at the ingredients more carefully, and drinking one I found this to be something pink I could handle.

It's pretty  . . . and it tastes good

Pink Lady (from Cocktail Codex)

1.5 oz. gin (Plymouth is recommended, I only had London Dry on hand)
1/2 oz. Laird's 100-proof apple brandy
1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz. grenadine
1/2 oz. simple syrup
1 egg white
Garnish: 1 brandied cherry on a skewer (or a toothpick like me)

Dry shake all the ingredients, then shake again with ice.  Double strain into a chilled coupe and garnish with cherry.




My last sour to try with an egg white seemed like a no-brainer to me, an Amaro Sour.  If I was going to be okay with an egg white in my cocktail it had a much better chance of persuading me if it has an amaro in it.

Amaro makes everything better

Amaro Sour 

1.5 oz. amaro (I used Averna)
3/4 oz. bourbon
1 oz. fresh lemon juice
1/4 oz. simple syrup
1 egg white
Garnish: lemon zest and cherry

Dry shake all the ingredients, then shake again with ice.  Double strain into an old-fashioned glass filled with ice.  Garnish with lemon zest and cherry.

Judgment Day

After making many cocktails with egg whites and whole eggs, I most definitely prefer the egg whites.  The foamy, silky texture of the egg white is preferable to my palate compared to the richer, fuller taste of the whole egg.  I'll be honest, for the work on these cocktails I'll  make these on special occasions or for a guest that requests one.  On the whole, I think I will stick with the experts and if the mood strikes me for a flip or a sour I'll order one on my next night out.