Angostura Sour

To round out the month I have a truly unique cocktail experience for all of you. As you may have realized I have quite a fondness for bitters, most drinks call for a couple of dashes of bitters, in this one, bitters is the dominant ingredient. As I was making this I was struck by the lack of a well know spirit and was concerned where the prerequisite kick was going to come from until I looked at the bottle of biters and realized that it is actually just about forty-five percent alcohol, slightly higher than the bottle of Plymouth gin I also had on the counter, so my fears were quickly allayed. As I said this is a very unique drink, but not overly bitter as one might assume. It is a drink that allows you to truly taste the herbs and other flavorings in the bitters. On top of the taste the deep red color of the bitters makes for a visually stimulating experience as well.

As far as history goes, the best I could come up with is a reference to an Angostura Fizz in Charles Baker’s, Gentlemen’s Companion from the 1930s, this slight variation has been claimed by a handful of bartenders as their own. I am not nearly as concerned over who actually created it as I am over why I have not tried one before! The actual creator of this drink is a true genius and will be praised by high school kids everywhere when they realize that they can walk into any grocery store and procure all of the ingredients to make this drink without having to show any form of identification.

To make this drink, start with an empty shaker add one egg white (be sure that your eggs are not on the recently recalled list) and ¾ ounce of fresh lime juice. Shake until the egg is frothy. Add 1 ½ ounces of Angostura bitters plus one ounce of simple syrup. Fill the shaker with ice and shake again. Strain into your favorite cocktail glass and prepare for sensory overload.

Angostura Sour

1 ½ oz angostura bitters

1 oz simple syrup

¾ oz fresh lime juice

1 egg white

Shake the egg white and lime juice in a dry cocktail shaker. Add the bitters and simple syrup. Fill with ice, shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.