Pompelmo Sour

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Cocktail History

The Pompelmo Sour is a modern cocktail that was created by Sarah Boisjoli at Estela in New York City, New York. The recipe, the name of which is Italian for “grapefruit,” is described as a hybrid grapefruit sour and lemon milkshake that uses gin as the base and pairs the spirit with a unique, old school-style grapefruit oleo-saccharum, lemon, a bitter amaro, egg, and botanicals.

Cocktail Ingredients

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:

Gin: This is a spirit made by redistilling a neutral spirit with juniper berries and other botanicals to develop a distinctive, aromatic flavor.

Lemon Juice: This is the liquid extracted from the flesh of ripe lemons that has a sweet, tangy flavor and light yellow color.

Amaro Montenegro: This is a liqueur made in Italy with a blend of herbs, spices, citrus peels, and botanicals, distilled alcohol, water, and sugar, which are blended and infused to develop a bittersweet, aromatic flavor.

Grapefruit Oleo-Saccharum: This is a syrup made with grapefruit peels and sugar, which are macerated to extract essential oils and develop an intensely aromatic, citrus flavor.

Egg White: This is the clear portion of an egg that’s separated from the yolk and used to add frothy texture to cocktails.

Aromatic Bitters: This is a concentrated flavoring made with a blend of herbs, spices, roots, and botanicals, and distilled alcohol, which are macerated or steeped to develop an aromatic, bittersweet flavor.

Grapefruit Peel: This is the peel of a grapefruit that has been twisted into a corkscrew shape.

Bartending Tools

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:

Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. I used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.

Boston Shaker: This is used to shake ingredients. I used the Boston shaker from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.

Hawthorne Strainer: This is used to strain out ice and solid ingredients after the cocktail is shaken. I used the A Bar Above Hawthorne Strainer.

Paring Knife: This is used to cut citrus into slices or wheels. I used the OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife.

Juicer: This is used to juice citrus. I used the ALEEHAI Manual Fruit Juicer.

Peeler: This is used to remove the garnish peel from the citrus. I used the OXO Good Grips 2-Piece Peeler Set.

Tasting Notes

This cocktail has the following flavor profile:

• Appearance: Vibrant orange color

• Aroma: Slightly bitter citrus

• Taste: Grapefruit flavor featuring herbal gin and amaro

• Finish: Spiced sour zing

Kendall’s Take: “Even a few years into consistent cocktail tastings, I’m still not usually big on drinks that use egg white, but I will give credit where it is due. The Pompelmo Sour deserves its place among modern classics! I didn’t love the bitter aroma of the grapefruit oleo-saccharum as it was being made, but its flavor works really well in this drink. The grapefruit is tart and tasty, the gin’s botanicals shine through but don’t overpower the other ingredients, and the amaro gives it great depth. Try this at least once!”

Recipe

This cocktail recipe was adapted from The Essential Cocktail Book: A Complete Guide to Modern Drinks by the editors of PUNCH and Megan Krigbaum.