Plum Amaretto Sour

Raise your hand if you love plums 👋🏼 If you’re hand is up, you’ll have to try this Plum Amaretto Sour. Naturally sweet with a slight tang, plums are one of my favorites and absolutely deserve to be in a cocktail! This cocktail straddles that line between summer and fall with the fall/holiday flavor of almond liqueur (Amaretto) combined with the last of the seasons plums, in two ways. Use a fresh chopped plum in the cocktail itself, and use extra fresh plums to make your own plum rosemary simple syrup. This is a special one!

How to Make a Plum Amaretto Sour

1. Add the chopped plum and sage leaves to a cocktail shaker and gently muddle to release the plum juices and sage oils.
2. Add the gin, almond liqueur, lemon juice, plum syrup, and egg white. Dry shake vigorously without ice for about 15 seconds to emulsify the egg white.
3. Add ice and shake again until well chilled. Double strain evenly between two chilled Nick & Nora or coupe glasses. Garnish each with a thin plum slice floated on top.

How to Make Plum Syrup

Making your own homemade simple syrup is, well, pretty simple. Making one with plums and rosemary isn’t much more difficult, it just takes a few minutes longer and requires straining. But, oh boy, is it worth it!

Ingredients

• 1 plum, chopped
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 rosemary sprig
• 1 orange slice
• 2 cinnamon sticks

Directions

• Combine the plum, sugar, water, rosemary, orange slice, and cinnamon sticks in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved, then bring to a gentle simmer.
• Reduce the heat and simmer for about 8–10 minutes, gently pressing the plum pieces as they soften. Remove from the heat and let steep for 15–20 minutes.
• Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, discarding the solids. Let cool completely before transferring to an airtight container. Store refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

What is a “Sour” Cocktail?

A “sour” cocktail usually refers to a cocktail that has a strong sour component from fresh citrus juice along with the main spirit and a sweetener (or a sweet liqueur) to balance everything out. Sours also usually have egg white added for a foamy, silky texture on top. This Plum Amaretto Sour builds on the classic Amaretto Sour by adding plums, herbs, and homemade plum syrup as the sweetener, but swaps the bourbon for gin. But bourbon would still be super yummy in this recipe, too.

Ingredients

Plums

Any variety of plums should work for this recipe, but make sure they aren’t under ripe. We want them juicy and soft, so even overripe is fine, especially for the syrup.

Gin

There are a lot of different gins out there. I use a London Dry Gin for this Plum Amaretto Sour. You could swap it for bourbon if that’s more your vibe. Check out my Gin Guide for tips and bottle recommendations!

Sage

Plums and sage go together so well, but you could also use rosemary instead to go with the plum rosemary syrup you’re making.

Egg White

Sour cocktails often (but not always) use egg white for a foamy, silky texture. Check out my foam guide to learn more about using egg white (and alternatives) in cocktails.

Almond Liqueur

Also known as Amaretto, almond liqueur is made from apricot kernels, peach stones, or bitter almonds, so it goes perfectly with in this stone fruit cocktail. It tastes sweet like marzipan, so it tends to make a cocktail a little more on the dessert side of things.

Lemon Juice

If it’s not fresh squeezed, we don’t want it!

Tips for Making the Best Plum Amaretto Sour

• HIGHLY recommend making your own syrup. It really is super easy and it’s a great way to use up a bunch of plums so they keep for weeks!
• For a cleaner syrup and cocktail, avoid pressing too aggressively when straining. This keeps excess plum pulp from making its way into the finished drink.
• If you’re planning on making these for a party, make the syrup well ahead of time.
• Make sure to dry shake without ice to emulsify the egg white before adding ice and shaking again to dilute and chill.

Why You’ll Love It

• For me, this is the ultimate dinner party cocktail, especially for small, seasonal, intimate gatherings that won’t require you to shake up a bunch of these cocktails one by one all night long.
• This cocktail celebrates the last of summer’s fresh plums while leaning into the fall flavors of sage and Amaretto. So it’s both cozy and refreshing at the same time.
• Adding egg white to a cocktail makes such a huge textural difference. It feels special and elevated without being super complicated to pull off.

Plum Amaretto Sour Variations

• Swap the plums for peaches or nectarines.
• Swap the herbs around. Use sage in the syrup or rosemary in the cocktail.
• If you like Amaretto, try the Classic Amaretto Sour recipe, too!