The Aperol sour recipe
for your table
Add the Aperol, lemon juice, sugar syrup, and egg white to the shaker without ice and shake hard for fifteen seconds; this is the dry shake.
Open the shaker, fill it with ice, and shake again for another ten to fifteen seconds, until the outside feels really cold.
Strain the cocktail through a fine sieve into a chilled glass, so no ice shards end up in the foam layer.
Add a few drops of bitters to the foam and draw a line through it with a cocktail pick.
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The story
Most people only know Aperol lengthened with bubbles, where the bitterness mainly comes through as an aftertaste. A sour does something different. Lemon juice and sugar syrup pin the bitterness between sour and sweet, while the egg white lays a layer over it that smooths out the sharp edges. What remains is a drink with the same orange and herbal notes, but with a creamy texture you would sooner expect from a whiskey sour or an amaretto sour. It is the simplest way to take Aperol seriously for once instead of washing it down with prosecco.
The right glass
A sour with foam needs a glass with a wide opening, so the foam layer can spread out instead of remaining as a lump in a narrow bowl. A coupe or coupette does this perfectly, and on the shallow bowl you can see the drops of bitters placed on top. About eleven centiliters of liquid plus foam requires a glass of twenty centiliters or more; a smaller coupette works too, but then you fill it to the rim. Looking for the same shape in a different style? Take a look at our champagne coupes.
Bormioli Rocco Novecento Champagne Glass / Coupe 23.5 cl (4 pieces)
RCR Melodia Coupette Glass 16 cl (6 pieces)
Both sets together € 61,90.
The right tools
For an Aperol sour, in addition to the glass, you use a cocktail shaker for a hard shake, a jigger for precise measuring, and a fine strainer so that no ice shards end up in the foam. These are the bar tools we use ourselves; you can find everything in our bar tools & cocktail sets.
Glass set (our choice 01) + 3 bar tools together € 67,80.
What do you use to make an Aperol sour?
For an Aperol sour, you need Aperol, an Italian bitter aperitif that falls under liqueurs. If you only know it from the Aperol spritz, this is a very different drink. On each drink page, you can read the alcohol percentage, what it tastes like, which cocktails it works with, and which glass you need.
Variations & twists
If you don't want to use raw egg, use 2 cl aquafaba, the liquid from a can of chickpeas; it foams almost as well and is flavorless. Half a measure of amaretto alongside the Aperol makes the whole thing fuller and nuttier. Replace the lemon juice with grapefruit juice to make the sour more bitter and less sweet, and add a few basil leaves to the shaker for a herbal note. Looking for more inspiration? Browse more than 100 cocktail recipes.
Serving tip
Put the glass in the freezer beforehand or fill it with ice and water while you shake, because the foam layer lasts much longer in a cold glass. Serve it immediately after straining: after about five minutes, the foam starts to collapse and the drink falls apart. Add the bitters drops only when the glass is on the table.
Good to know
What exactly the egg white does
Egg white consists largely of protein chains that break apart from vigorous shaking and fold around the air bubbles. This creates a dense, stable layer of foam instead of loose bubbles. At the same time, the protein binds some of the bitter compounds in the Aperol, making the bitterness less sharp on the tongue. The result is a glass that feels creamier and rounder, even though you haven't used a drop of cream.
First without ice, then with ice
The dry shake is the round without ice. Because nothing cools or dilutes, the egg white can foam undisturbed, and you build up a substantial layer in fifteen seconds. Only then does the ice go in, providing the cold and dilution every sour needs. If you do it all at once with ice, the mixture gets cold too quickly and the foam stays thin and coarse. So the order matters more than how hard you shake.
Raw egg white, or not
Raw egg white is not suitable for everyone. Use a fresh egg and keep it chilled until just before use, or leave the egg out entirely. Aquafaba, the liquid from a can of chickpeas, foams almost as well and has no flavor of its own; use the same 2 cl. If you're unsure whether using egg is a good idea, simply choose the aquafaba and you won't miss a thing.
The ratio changes with your syrup
A sour stands or falls with the balance between sour and sweet, which depends on how sweet your syrup is. A syrup made with one part sugar to one part water is much milder than a syrup made with two parts sugar to one part water; with the latter, 1 cl is enough. So always taste before straining, and adjust with half a cl of syrup or half a cl of lemon juice. How to make the syrup yourself is explained on our page about making sugar syrup.
Why this isn't a spritz
A spritz is a long drink: bitter, bubbly and sparkling water over plenty of ice, intended to be sipped slowly. A sour is short and served without ice in the glass, shaken rather than built, with sour and sweet added instead of bubbles. The same bottle therefore produces two drinks that barely resemble each other. Anyone who knows the aperol spritz will recognize, at most, the orange note.
Frequently asked questions
What is in an aperol sour?
An aperol sour consists of 5 cl Aperol, 2.5 cl fresh lemon juice, 1.5 cl sugar syrup and 2 cl egg white. Shake everything vigorously and double strain into a chilled glass, with a few drops of bitters on the foam.
Why is there egg white in a sour?
The egg white binds some of the bitter compounds and forms a dense layer of foam when shaken. This makes the drink rounder and creamier than you would expect from Aperol, without changing the flavor itself.
Can it also be made without raw egg?
Yes. Raw egg white is not suitable for everyone; in that case, use 2 cl aquafaba, the liquid from a can of chickpeas. It foams almost as well and has no distinct flavor. If you do use an egg, choose a fresh one.
What is the difference from an aperol spritz?
An aperol spritz is a long drink with prosecco and sparkling water over plenty of ice. An aperol sour is short, shaken with lemon, syrup and egg white, and served without ice in a chilled coupe.
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