Aperol Sour
Aperol, lemon and egg white, shaken to a silky orange foam. Bitter-sweet, low in alcohol, and the best thing to do with the bottle when the prosecco runs out.
Built to the standard modern spec; not yet tested in our kitchen. How we test.
The recipe.
Scaling adjusts quantities only. Prepare shaken drinks in individual portions.
Let’s make a good drink.
Chill a coupe.
Add the Aperol, lemon juice, syrup if using, egg white and gin if using to a shaker and dry shake without ice for 10 seconds.
Add ice and shake hard for another 12 seconds.
Double strain into the chilled coupe, let the foam settle, and garnish with an orange slice or a few drops of bitters on the foam.
A thoughtful finish
- Taste before adding the syrup. Aperol carries a lot of sugar and the drink often needs none.
- Add three-quarters of an ounce of gin for a drink with more backbone; without it the sour is around 8% ABV, which is part of its charm.
- A few drops of Angostura dragged across the foam with a toothpick is the classic finish.
Common mistakes
- Treating it like a spritz and topping it with soda. It is a sour, served up.
- Skipping the dry shake. The foam is the drink.
- Over-sweetening. The lemon is what keeps it from being a dessert.
A few good questions.
How strong is an Aperol Sour?
Around 8% ABV without gin — about the strength of a glass of wine. With the optional gin it rises to the mid-teens.
Can I make it without egg?
Yes: aquafaba, the liquid from a can of chickpeas, foams almost identically. Or leave the foam out and serve it over ice as a short, sharp drink.
What is the difference from an Aperol Spritz?
A spritz is Aperol, prosecco and soda — long, fizzy and light. A sour is Aperol, lemon and egg white — short, foamy and sharper.
Can I use Campari?
Yes, for a much more bitter drink; use an ounce and a half and add the syrup. It is good, but it is a different animal.
Variations
- Aperol Spritz — Aperol, prosecco and soda.
- Amaretto Sour — Amaretto, lemon and egg white.
- Whiskey Sour — Bourbon, lemon and sugar.
- Aperol Negroni — Gin, Aperol and sweet vermouth.
Where it comes from
c. 2010s · Italy and the United States
Contested. More than one origin is claimed for this drink. We show the competing accounts rather than pick one.
The Aperol Sour is a modern drink without a named inventor: once Aperol’s spritz campaign of the 2010s put the bottle on every back bar, bartenders put it through the sour template — spirit, citrus, sugar, egg white — and found that its bitter orange and low proof made a lighter, prettier sour than whiskey or gin. It is most often credited to no one and found everywhere, and the Italian aperitivo bars took it up as readily as the American cocktail bars. Its parent, the Amaretto Sour, went through the same egg-white revival a few years earlier.
Sources
- Robert Simonson, Modern Classic Cocktails, 2022 (book)
- Difford's Guide, Aperol Sour, 2016 (reference)
- Jeffrey Morgenthaler, The Bar Book, 2014 (book)
Strength. About 0.83 US standard drinks at an estimated 9.3% ABV, estimated from the ingredients and technique, not measured. What that means.
A little character in every sip.
A keeper?
Save this drink for your next cocktail hour.
Saved in this browser.The next great drink
might already be on your shelf.
Choose your bottles and mixers. Discover what you can make.
Your next sip.
More Aperitivo drinks ↗Americano
Campari, sweet vermouth and soda. The aperitivo that taught Italy to drink before dinner, and the first drink James Bond ever ordered.
Aperol Negroni
Gin, Aperol and sweet vermouth in equal parts. The Negroni with the bitterness turned down — orange, sweet and bright, and the…
Aperol Spritz
Three parts prosecco, two parts Aperol, one part soda. Low in alcohol, impossible to get wrong, built for the afternoon.