Apricot Sour Cocktail

By
Colleen Graham
Photo of Colleen Graham
Colleen Graham
Freelance writer and cocktail book author Colleen Graham is a seasoned mixologist who loves sharing her knowledge of spirits and passion for preparing drinks.
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Updated on 07/10/21
Tested by
Sean Michael Johnson
Photo of Sean Michael Johnson
Tested by Sean Michael Johnson
Sean is an award-winning bartender with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He is the head bartender at the two-Michelin-star restaurant, Gabriel Kreuther, crafting cocktail menus that have caught international attention. To date, he has made over 1 million cocktails, and counting.
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Apricot Sour Cocktail

The Spruce / Ali Redmond

Prep: 3 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Total: 3 mins
Serving: 1 serving
Yield: 1 cocktail

Sour drinks come in many flavors and, as you might expect, the Apricot Sour features the taste of apricots. That's apricot brandy, to be exact, and it's a fabulous, simple cocktail that anyone can enjoy

As is the case with many 'sour' drinks, to make this one we take the popular Whiskey Sour formula and simply substitute apricot brandy for the whiskey. It's a quick switch and one of the great aspects of the sour family of cocktails. Once you know how to make one, it's very easy to figure out the others.

There are a few ways that you can approach the Apricot Sour and we'll explore those options below the recipe. No matter how you mix it, one thing's for sure: this is​ a great and classic cocktail.

"Apricot brandy is often confused with apricot liqueur, and while the two are staggeringly similar, there is a big difference when they are used in cocktails. Apricot brandy is a fantastic base for a fruity cocktail and this recipe highlights its strength in the form of a sour." —Sean Johnson

Apricot Sour Tester Image
A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces apricot brandy

  • 2 ounces sour mix

  • Maraschino cherry, for garnish

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Apricot Sour Cocktail ingredients

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond

  2. Pour ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice.

    Pour the cocktail ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond

  3. Shake well.

    shake cocktail shaker

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond

  4. Strain into a large old-fashioned glass filled with fresh ice.

    Strain cocktail into a large old-fashioned glass filled with fresh ice

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond

  5. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

    Apricot Sour Cocktail in a glass, garnished with a cherry

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond

Your Apricot Sour Options

With only two ingredients, the Apricot Sour is a delightfully simple cocktail, though you do have options when you make it.

The Apricot Brandy. The apricot brandy is self-explanatory, though I encourage you to seek out a 'real' apricot brandy. That is one that does not include sugars and sweeteners, which technically makes it more of a liqueur rather than a true brandy.

In recent decades, it has become common for liquor brands to offer sweetened fruit 'brandies' and quite often they're made with artificial sweeteners. Many drinkers have avoided these for years because they're honestly just not that good.

There is good news, though! As the new cocktail renaissance continues, more and more distillers are returning to the old ways of making fruit brandy -- distilling from actual apricots (or other fruits). It is becoming easier to find great options, you just have to look for them. You may find an apricot brandy from craft distilleries or labels like Blume Marillen Apricot Eau-De-Vie (Austrian from Haus Alpenz).

This is perfect for classic cocktail lovers because many great recipes like the Baltimore Bang rely on it.

If you really cannot find true apricot brandy, do what many of us have done for years and turn to high-end apricot liqueurs. Three of the best are Marie Brizard Apry, Giffard Abricot du Roussillon, and Rothman & Winter Orchard Apricot.

The Sour Mix. Sour drinks rely on some combination of sweet and sour. In the recipe above, a 'sour mix' is used and this is, quite simply a citrus-flavored simple syrup. It's very easy to make ​a sour mix at home and it's actually recommended because those you can buy at the store are often too sour or too sweet.

If you prefer, you can also pour equal parts simple syrup and fresh lemon juice. This is a nice option because it allows you to adjust either ingredient to fit your taste or the particular apricot spirit you're using. For instance, with a sweeter apricot liqueur or brandy, I'd back off the syrup a bit and make up for it with more lemon.

The other option is to skip the sweetness altogether and use lemon alone as we see in the Scotch Sour. 

How Strong Is the Apricot Sour?

The apricot-flavored liquor you choose (or can find) is going to determine how strong the Apricot Sour really is. With all the options, it's a bit of an unknown because some sweet fruit 'brandies' and liqueurs are 50 to 60-proof (or lower) while true apricot brandies tend to be 80-proof.


Let's take the high side and assume we came across a great bottle of true 80-proof apricot brandy. In this case, the Apricot Sour is a relatively mild 15 percent ABV (30 proof). This is right in line with other sour drinks and why they're perfectly casual cocktails for happy hour, dinner parties, and the like.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
230 Calories
0g Fat
33g Carbs
0g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1
Amount per serving
Calories 230
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 4mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 33g 12%
Dietary Fiber 0g 2%
Total Sugars 31g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 8mg 39%
Calcium 8mg 1%
Iron 0mg 1%
Potassium 50mg 1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)