Many cocktails are special and might not be for everyone - for instance, the Bloody Mary. However, the Trinidad Sour recipe polarizes even more and takes "not for everyone" to the next level. Still, when executed right, it is an amazing cocktail you should try at least once.
Quick Facts Trinidad Sour Cocktail
- Method: shaken
- Flavor profile: spicy, boozy, dry
- How to serve it: Straight up
- Best glassware: sour glass or martini glass
- Alcohol content: ~ 17%, 21 grams of alcohol per serving
The recipe calls for one and a half ounces of Angostura bitters as a base. - You can accuse this drink of many things but certainly not of a lack of flavor. If you've had bitters in a drink before, you might know that only a few drops can drastically deepen the flavor profiles of cocktails.
Now imagine not using a few drops but 4.5 cl of it. The flavors are intense! Surprisingly enough, the result is actually very enjoyable.
Equipment
- 1 Jigger
- 1 Cocktail Shaker
- 1 Hawthorne Strainer
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz Angostura bitters
- 0.5 oz Rye Whiskey
- 1 oz Orgeat syrup
- 0.75 oz Lemon juice
- 1 egg white
Instructions
- Add Angostura bitters, Whiskey, orgeat, and fresh lemon juice into your cocktail shaker. If you're using egg white, do your dry shake first. If you don't, add ice and shake the cocktail.1.5 oz Angostura bitters, 1 oz Orgeat syrup, 0.75 oz Lemon juice, 1 egg white, 0.5 oz Rye Whiskey
- Then double-strain the Trinidad Sour into a chilled glass.
- You can garnish the cocktail with a twisted lemon peel.
Nutrition
More About the Ingredients of the Trinidad Sour
The key ingredient should be evident by now: Angostura bitters - unique in taste and irreplaceable in the Trinidad Sour recipe. All other elements are more about calming the bitters down. Every element is necessary for balancing that cocktail:
- Rye Whiskey: Whiskey adds structure to the drink. Half an ounce is enough to support the rich, aromatic flavors without diverting from them. A solid Rye you would use for making a Manhattan will do the trick. It doesn't have to be a top-shelf option because the cocktail bitters dominate anyway.
- Orgeat: the sweetening ingredient of the Trinidad Sour cocktail. It is a syrup made of almonds, sugar, and rose water. - A mix that is popular in Tiki drinks and has become more and more common in modern cocktail creations.
- Lemon juice: A good splash of fresh lemon juice brings acidity and balance.
Egg white - Variation of the Trinidad Sour
There are not many recommendable variations on this cocktail recipe. Adding an egg white to create a silky texture and an additional foam on top of the drink is widely accepted, though.
If you decide to shake up your Trinidad Sour with an egg white, make sure to dry shake your drink first. By doing that, the egg white will emulsify much quicker and better, creating a thicker foam for your drink.
If you've never done a dry shake before, here's what you should do:
- Add the ingredients plus egg white to your cocktail shaker. But don't add ice yet. Shake the mix for 10-15 seconds without ice. That's your dry shake.
- Now open the shaker, add your ice, and shake again. -This time, to chill your drink.
That's it already. And a perfect egg white foam will be your reward.
The History of the Trinidad Sour
The Trinidad Sour is a modern creation that dates back to 2009. Giuseppe Gonzales, former bartender at New York's famous Clover Club Bar (named after the Clover Club Cocktail), created this flavor bomb of a cocktail.
Yet, his idea wasn't entirely new at this time. In fact, the recipe is inspired by another cocktail - The Trinidad Especial:
The inventor of the Trinidad Especial is Valentino Bolognese. He is a renowned Italian bartender from Palmoli, a small town in the Abruzzo region in central Italy.
In 2008, Valentino Bolognese decided to participate in the Angostura European Cocktail Challenge. His two contributions were the aforementioned Trinidad Especial and RI.PA. Deuxième.
The recipe of the Trinidad Especial also relies heavily on Angostura but is balanced by lime juice, orgeat syrup, and a touch of Peruvian Pisco.
Perhaps you already guessed it - Bolognese won the competition. That not only made him and his Trinidad Especial cocktail famous, but it also laid the ground for the Trinidad Sour.
One year later, Gonzales has taken the winning cocktail recipe and transformed it into a Sour Cocktail based on Angostura.
He increased the amount of Angostura and kept the orgeat to sweeten the drink but replaced pisco and lime juice with a more complex mix of Rye Whiskey and lemon juice.
Related Recipes
If you like trying new things and extraordinary drinking experiences like this Trinidad Sour, we recommend giving these recipes a shot:
- The Red Snapper Cocktail - a gin-based twist on the Bloody Mary
- The Ti'Punch Cocktail - a traditional Caribbean recipe with rhum
- The Porto Flip - a combination of a whole egg and port wine
Delicious! I've tried this recipe before without the egg white (from another website),
and now I decided to use yours including the egg white. Wow! My Trinidad Sour turned out even better! Bravo!
Hi Angel, I'm happy that you enjoyed it.