Which glass do I strain an amaretto sour into?

An old fashioned glass. The garnish that follows the strain is a slice of dried lemon on the foam.

Why does my amaretto sour lose its head?

Usually the ice went in before the dry shake, the aquafaba was warm, or the drink waited on the pass. The checks on this sheet cover all three.

Can I use the powder for amaretto sours?

Yes. Make up 1.3g of powder with 20 ml of water per drink before service and keep it chilled.

Can the aquafaba go into the batched amaretto and lemon?

No. Add it to each shaker at the shake, one drink at a time.

Process sheet

How to shake an aquafaba amaretto sour: the step-by-step sheet

An amaretto sour does not hide a weak head particularly well. Against that rich, amber body, a soft or thinning foam looks obvious the moment the drink is strained. This sheet keeps the build consistent from one drink to the next and gives you a quick way to trace the problem when the drink is not leaving the station as it should. Updated: 5 October 2026.

Process sheet

#	Step	Reference
1	Build	60 ml amaretto, 20 ml lemon, 10 ml vanilla syrup, 20 ml VERY AQUAFABA, chilled
2	Dry shake	Hard, without ice: the liquid turns pale and thick
3	With ice	8 to 10 cubes, shake again until the shaker frosts
4	Strain	Into an old fashioned glass, and serve straight away
5	Garnish	A slice of dried lemon on the foam

Powder: for one drink, 1.3g of VERY AQUAFABA powder + 20 ml of water, made up before service and chilled.

Checks

What you see	Why	Fix
Thin head from the first drink	Ice went in before the dry shake	Dry shake first, ice second
Foam rises slowly and stays slack	Aquafaba left at room temperature	Keep the pack in the fridge until the shake
No height later in the night	Aquafaba was added to the batched amaretto and lemon	Batch the amaretto, lemon and syrup only
Flat by the time it reaches the table	The drink waited on the pass	Shake to order and serve at once

Source: VERY AQUAFABA cocktail recipes (October 2026)

Tracing a weak head on an amaretto sour

Keep it with your bar specs, next to the amaretto sour method. It runs from the build to the dried lemon slice in the old fashioned glass, so when a head comes out weak you can walk back through the five steps and find the one that slipped.

Set the station before the first order

The batch. Amaretto, lemon and vanilla syrup in one bottle, the aquafaba kept apart.
The aquafaba. Chilled, and an opened pack used within 3 to 4 days at 2 to 6 °C.
The powder, if you use it. Made up for the night and kept in the fridge.

What you should see before you send it

After the dry shake the liquid is pale and thick. After the shake with ice the shaker frosts. In the old fashioned glass the head sits firm on top of the amaretto and carries the dried lemon slice. If the head is thin or slack, the checks table above shows which step to fix. To plan a full night, use the amaretto sour quantity calculator.