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.

I’m all about a classic Amaretto Sour, a boozy sour cocktail with retro egg white foam. When I want something a little more refreshing, I opt for a more citrus-forward version: the amaretto stone sour! The stone sour is made with orange juice, so it’s a little bit lighter, perfect for sipping at brunch or on a lazy afternoon with a book.

It balances sweet and tart with just the right finish of nutty amaretto. In fact, it’s barely related to the amaretto sour at all….and it’s got an intriguing history. Here’s more about this unique drink.

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. Here’s what I found:

• The first mention of a stone sour in literature is in a cocktail book from 1917 called The Ideal Bartender by Tom Bullock. It was the first cocktail book published by an African American! His stone sour had lemon juice, orange juice, rock candy syrup, and gin.
• 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, isn’t widely given credit for this drink, but his influence is bigger than this cocktail. He’s also 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.

A quick substitute for sour mix

If you don’t want to make your own sour mix or don’t think you’ll use the whole bottle, here’s a quick substitute:

• 1 ½ ounces sweet and sour mix equals ½ ounce simple syrup, ½ ounce lime juice, and ½ ounce lemon juice

What is 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
• Lazy afternoon drink
• Boating drink
• Lake house drink
• Patio drink
• Retro 70s party drink

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More 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