Apricot Sour Recipe: Apricot Brandy and Citrus

Ingredients

1½ oz apricot brandy often sold as apricot brandye.g. Marie Brizard · Giffard · Rothman & Winter · Bols
¾ oz lemon juice
¾ oz orange juice freshly squeezed
¼ oz simple syrup only if your liqueur is dry (optional)
1 egg white for a silky foam (optional)

Garnish: Orange slice and cocktail cherry · Ice: Ice cubes

Method

Add apricot liqueur, lemon juice, orange juice and syrup (if using) to a shaker.
If you use egg white, dry shake for 10 seconds first.
Fill with ice and shake hard for 12 to 15 seconds.
Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice cubes.
Garnish with a half orange slice and a cocktail cherry.

Watch it made

Apricot Sour

Taste

Juicy apricot and orange with lively lemon acidity. Medium sweet, light in alcohol and very refreshing on ice.

History and origin

What is sold in many countries as apricot brandy is usually not a distilled fruit brandy but a sweet liqueur, made from apricots, often with a brandy base. It turns up in a number of cocktails from the early 20th century, from the Paradise to the Charlie Chaplin, and was a standard bottle on back bars for decades.

The Apricot Sour simply runs that liqueur through the sour formula: base, citrus and a touch of sugar, shaken with ice. There is no documented inventor. In German bars it has long been a menu regular alongside the Amaretto Sour, and the version here adds some orange juice, which softens the lemon and plays nicely with the fruit.

Bartender tips

Taste your liqueur first: most apricot brandies are sweet enough that the drink needs no syrup at all.
For more depth, replace 15 ml of the liqueur with cognac or a real apricot eau-de-vie.
Squeeze the orange juice fresh; carton juice makes the sour taste dull.

Variations

Apricot Brandy Sour with cognac: Use 30 ml apricot liqueur and 20 ml cognac for a drier, stronger sour.
Apricot Sour Fizz (twist): Pour into a highball over ice and top with 60 ml soda water for a longer drink.