Danish Sour — Gammel Dansk as the base spirit for once, with grapefruit and egg white

Danish Sour

Gammel Dansk as the base spirit for once, with grapefruit and egg white

Number of people

Ingredients

  • 1 ozGrapefruit Juice
    Fresh, strained
    Substitute: Lemon, for a sharper and less bitter drink
  • 1 ozGammel Dansk
    The base of the drink, not a modifier
    Substitute: Another gentian-and-orange bitter liqueur
  • 1 wholeEgg White
    Or 10 drops of a vegan foamer
    Substitute: Aquafaba
  • 1 ozBlended Whisky
    Something soft; a peated malt fights the herbs
    Substitute: Aquavit, which is the Scandinavian route
  • 3/4 ozSimple Syrup
    Sugar and water 1:1

Instructions

  1. Chill a coupe
  2. Dry shake 1 oz Gammel Dansk, 1 oz blended whisky, 1 oz grapefruit juice, 3/4 oz simple syrup and the egg white with no ice

    Longer than a whiskey sour; this base is only thirty-eight percent and the foam is slower to set

  3. Add ice and shake again until cold
  4. Double strain into the chilled coupe and express a grapefruit zest over the foam

Technique Notes

Dry shake first and give it longer than a whiskey sour. Gammel Dansk is only thirty-eight percent and carries a lot of dissolved solids, so the foam takes more work to set than it does on a cleaner spirit.

Why the Danish Sour Works

Gammel Dansk is built on orange, cinnamon and gentian, and all three survive being shaken with citrus, which is not true of every digestivo. Grapefruit rather than lemon because the drink already has bitterness to spare and grapefruit adds its own rather than fighting it.