Cocktails
How do I make cocktails with aquafaba?
Aquafaba changes one ingredient, not the way you think about a sour. If you already know how to build, dry shake and finish an egg-white drink, the technique is familiar from the first order. Use 20 ml of VERY AQUAFABA per drink, keep the ice for the second shake, and the same method carries from a pisco sour to a white lady, La Rosée or a long gin fizz. Updated: .
One method, then the drink decides the finish
- Pour the spirit, citrus, syrup and aquafaba into the shaker.
- Shake hard without ice. This is where the foam is made.
- Add 8 to 10 ice cubes and shake again to chill.
- Strain into the glass and garnish.
Two of the seven drinks below are long: the gin fizz takes tonic water and The Sunset ginger beer, both poured into the glass after the strain and never into the shaker.
Seven sours to try it on
| Cocktail | Base | Glass |
|---|---|---|
| Whiskey sour | Bourbon or Irish whiskey | Old fashioned |
| Pisco sour | Pisco | Old fashioned |
| Amaretto sour | Amaretto, with a vanilla syrup | Old fashioned |
| Gin fizz | Gin, tonic water on top | Highball |
| White lady | Gin and triple sec | Cocktail or margarita glass |
| La Rosée | Vodka and bergamot liqueur, with raspberry | Coupe |
| The Sunset | Rum and amaretto, ginger beer on top | Highball |
All seven use 20 ml of VERY AQUAFABA per drink, and each of the six after the whiskey sour has its own quantity calculator and process sheet. That gives the station one aquafaba measure to remember even though the spirits, glassware, garnish and final top change from drink to drink.
What the two shakes are doing
The first shake is for the head. The second is for chilling and dilution. Keeping those jobs separate is why the dry shake comes first on every recipe in this set.
When the head comes out thin
| What you see | Why | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| A thin head, or none at all | Ice went in from the start | Dry shake first, ice second |
| A slow, slack foam | The aquafaba was at room temperature | Keep it in the fridge until the shake |
| No height by the middle of service | The aquafaba went into the pre-batch | Batch the rest and add the aquafaba per drink |
| A long drink that lost its head | The tonic or ginger beer went into the shaker | Strain first, then top in the glass |
| The foam drops before the drink reaches the guest | The drink waited on the pass | Shake to order and serve at once |
Start with a sour you already know
Begin with a sour you already make. Change the egg white to 20 ml of aquafaba, keep the rest of the spec, and get the two-shake rhythm consistent before expanding to the other drinks. For busy service, batch the spirits, citrus and syrup, but keep the aquafaba for each individual shake.
When you know roughly how many sours you pour, that same number tells you whether to work from the powder pouch and which pack to order for your bar.
Where to buy VERY AQUAFABA
Please drink responsibly
Pisco Sour
Amaretto Sour
Gin Fizz
White Lady
La Rosée
The Sunset
