Today is National Amaretto Day. I’ll bet you had no idea. Well, break out that dusty bottle from where it’s languishing in your closet and fix yourself an Amaretto Sour while I tell you a little background behind this unusual liqueur.

Amaretto Sour
2 oz Amaretto liqueur
1 oz Fresh squeezed lemon juice
½ fresh organic Egg white
2 dashes Aromatic Bitters

Dry shake (without ice) all ingredients. Add ice, shake again and strain into ice-filled glass.

Amaretto literally means “a little bitter”. The original recipe contained bitter almond, but today’s liqueurs tend to be quite sweet. We’ve all tasted a brand at least once. Usually our first experience was sneaking a swig from our parents liquor cabinet. Memorable and probably not our finest drinking moment. “It has essence of tree nut, with elements of cane sugar”.

Yet, Amaretto has a long and distinguished heritage. And it’s not necessarily almonds that you’re tasting.

Interestingly, the world’s best-selling brand DiSaronno contains no almonds, but rather uses a blend of seventeen herbs, fruits and most importantly apricot pits. In fact, this recipe has been around since 1525, so who’s to say whether the product is supposed to be almond or apricot pit flavored?

Lastly, Portland bartender extraordinaire Jeffery Morganthaler claims to have perfected the world’s best Amaretto Sour. You can check out his version here.