How to Make an Amaretto Stone Sour Like a Pro

This citrusy amaretto stone sour is the perfect balance of sweet, tart, and nutty flavors! Made with fresh orange juice and homemade sour mix, it’s the lighter, brighter cousin of the classic amaretto sour that’s ideal for daytime sipping.

What’s in it?

An amaretto stone sour is a sour cocktail made with orange juice and amaretto. The traditional sour has liquor, citrus, and a sweetener, but a stone sour includes orange juice. This makes it a cross between a sour and a highball, a cocktail that uses a large percentage of juice or soda water. Here’s what’s in an amaretto stone sour:

• Amaretto
• Orange juice
• Sweet and sour mix

Love orange juice cocktails as much as I do? The Tequila Sunrise, Screwdriver, Fuzzy Navel, Harvey Wallbanger, and, of course, the always popular Mimosa are all easy cocktails to try.

The real story behind the drink

The amaretto stone sour is known as a classic 1970s drink, but I did some digging into the real story behind this drink.

I discovered that the stone sour actually first appeared in Tom Bullock’s 1917 cocktail book “The Ideal Bartender.” Bullock, who was the first African American to publish a cocktail book, created his stone sour with gin, lemon juice, orange juice, and rock candy syrup.

It’s possible that bartenders of the 1970s dusted off Bullock’s recipe to make it into the amaretto stone sour. Change gin to amaretto, and poof! It’s a new drink.

Tom Bullock, the Black bartender behind the stone sour, unfortunately isn’t widely given credit for this drink. And his influence is even bigger than this cocktail: he’s the mixologist behind the Overall Julep, a St. Louis-style mint julep with rye whiskey and gin.

Use homemade sweet and sour mix

When you make this amaretto stone sour, make it with homemade sweet and sour mix. It’s a game-changer! Sure, you could use store-bought mix (I have!), but I’ve found that pre-packaged sour mixes are just much too sweet. They also might have artificial colors or preservatives in them.

My homemade sweet and sour mix is full of sweet, tart, lemon-lime flavor for just the right amount of sweet and citrusy. Once you make a jar, you can use it for up to a week.

Ingredient spotlight: amaretto

Amaretto is an almond liqueur that originates from Italy. It tastes both sweet and bitter —amaretto means “little bitter” in Italian — with a distinctive flavor you’ll remember forever. You may know the flavor from the popular amaretto cookies, a popular Italian sweet.

I always have a bottle on my shelf because it’s uses go beyond cocktail-making. You can use it in your cooking, too, especially desserts! If you want to stick to cocktails, the Italian Margarita, Amaretto Coffee, Alabama Slammer, Toasted Almond, or French Connection are all delicious.

Serving ideas

The amaretto stone sour is sweet, tart, and light, perfect for sipping! It’s great for serving as a:

• Brunch drink: Pairs well with an omelette, avocado toast, or French toast
• Afternoon patio drink: Great for lazy Saturday afternoons with a good book
• Pool party refresher: Light enough to sip by the water without feeling heavy
• Retro-themed gatherings: Celebrate its 1970s roots at themed parties
• Book club meetings: Fun but approachable for socializing
• Weekend wind-down: Ideal for transitioning from busy weekdays to relaxed weekends

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Related sour cocktails

Sour cocktails are a family of cocktails with base liquor, sour, and sweet elements. Here are some more classics to try:

• Whiskey Sour, Tequila Sour, Vodka Sour, or Pisco Sour
• Tom Collins Cocktail, also known as a gin sour
• Gin Fizz Cocktail, a sweet, tangy option with a frothy egg white foam topping
• New York Sour, a classic whiskey sour with a layer of red wine on top