I tried this (although without the simple). I guess the "world's best Amaretto Sour" is like the world's best Appletini. It was enjoyable, and the Booker's definitely helps. I used Luxardo Amaretto, perhaps the best available. I tried it and then doubled the Booker's. I would make this for someone looking for an accessible cocktail. The egg white makes a very nice foam, although without the added simple, it was a bit alum-like.

This formula works well with various amari in place of the amaretto (adjust the amount of simple syrup according to each's dryness), and is good for making approachable, balanced sours out of accessible liqueurs. E.g., a St. Germain Sour with lime instead of lemon, no egg white, and high proof gin or Wray & Nephew rum instead of bourbon.

very good with rye as well

Yep, fine with rye. Important to use only half the egg white, and to include that bit of rich syrup.

Updated this as per the recipe in the Death and Co. book.

Thanks,

Zachary

When we first started going there in 2007, Eastern Standard still had a large stash of Amer Picon (no longer imported due to labeling issues) found in a corner of a distributor's warehouse, and they featured such great drinks like Chuck Taggart's Hoskins Cocktail (gin, Amer Picon, Maraschino, Cointreau, and orange bitters). When they depleted their picon collection, they had unfortunately hooked a loyal bar crowd on these libations and needed to find alternatives for them quick. When a regular named Heather requested a Hoskins in 2008, bar director Jackson Cannon thought on his feet and crafted the Heather in Queue to capture some of those flavors. Other orange spirits besides Bauchant would work here, but the bar loved that liqueur (not to mention other gins and blanc vermouths). Probably the most common orange liqueur to Bauchant would be Grand Marnier but perhaps Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao would work great.

So my bottle of $30 Pernod absinthe was staring at me tonight, and I decided to make one. I decided to put half a dozen drops of orange flower water on top of the finished drink, which I think is a very nice touch. As I'm sitting here drinking it, I'm realizing that even though Pernod absinthe is 136 proof, there's 8 3/4 oz of other stuff to knock down the alcohol. There's something very nice about the absinthe + orgeat + OFW combination, and at the first sip, it hits me - the OFW brings out a lot of minty notes from the absinthe in the drink. I'm now beginning to suspect that the mid-30's Suissesse (from Arthur) was full of creme de menthe to add mint flavors back into a drink that had lost mint flavors when absinthe was banned in the US in 1915.

Thanks,

Zachary

With orange flower water and good orgeat, this is a top 10 drink for me, especially on hot summer afternoons. I use just egg whites, not the whole egg. Thanks for posting a version with OFW and thanks for the fascinating hypothesis on the 30s version.

2014-03-29 - Today, I'm doing my taxes. Coming across this recipe, I thought it the perfect thing to take the pain away... I used Tanqueray, Amer Nouvelle, and Jamaica #1 bitters (lacking Jerry Thomas's). Very nice! Aromas of flowers, citrus, gin. Will definitely make it part of the rotation.

2015-04-11 - continuing the tradition of drinking this whilst doing my taxes, one year later. This time I have proper Death's Door Gin & Jerry Thomas bitters. A wonderful drink to take the pain away.

Seems plenty sweet as is, try leaving out simple next time depending on red bitter and vermouth used

Yes sweet as read. This is not the recipe as proffered by Gaz in his gin book -- this recipe lacks Cointreau and has a load of simple syrup.
https://cocktailvirgin.blogspot.com/2012/04/caricature-cocktail.html

Curated this slightly. In a 9 oz glass full of ice, you're liable to get 5-6 oz of Chinotto in the glass. We try to be precise with volumes, avoiding "top with" as an instruction, as glass size varies pretty wildly.

Thanks,

Zachary

I used Cruzan single barrel and Lemonhart 80 proof. This came out syrupy sweet, so I'd suggest starting with with half the falernum and ginger liqueur quantities and adjusting from there.