Good Start

Cocktails

Jan 22

Written By Ben McElroy

Why Make It?

Good Start is seriously quaffable. It's tart and balanced with a honey-like sweetness. A cocktail asking to kick off your evening.
Licor 43 provides a honey, vanilla base that allows the fruit of brandy and Jamaican rum to take center stage.

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Author Thoughts

Inspired By: Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s Amaretto Sour

This is a spin off of an amaretto sour. Specifically, Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s Amaretto Sour. Surprise, it has no amaretto! I took inspiration from Jeffrey’s template as a liqueur sour with egg whites and knew I wanted to go in a more fruit focused direction using brandy.

I searched for a liqueur that would work well with an oak aged brandy and landed on Licor 43. Licor 43 has a strong honey and vanilla flavors, along with some spice and citrus in the background. A great pairing with lemon and brandy.

The final piece of the puzzle was the addition of white Jamaican rum. It boosts the fruit in the brandy and adds more complexity without covering up a single ingredient.

Keys To Success

The egg white adds a delicious frothy texture. To get this texture the egg white needs to be frothed before adding ice. You know you are done by looking at the foam. It should be thick, dense and stable. This step is easy to mess up if it is your first time making cocktails with egg whites. Read more about it below.

The Dry Shake

This cocktail has egg white. Typically, bartenders will do what is called a dry shake to froth the eggs white before adding the ice. This is an extremely important step and can take up to a minute of shaking. Why is it important? A cocktail with egg whites that hasn't been shaken enough has the texture of well raw eggs. Let's just say it will be going down the drain.

In my opinion, there are better ways to ‘dry shake’. For most people at home, a stick blender is the best option. It takes a couple seconds and gives more consistent results. The other option would be a drink mixer, but most people do not have one of these at home. Just remember, you know you are done shaking by looking at the foam. It should be thick, dense and stable.

Equipment

jigger- shaker - strainer

Good Start

Makes: 1 Drink | ABV: 15% | Total Time: 10 min |Glassware: bodega or double rocks

Ingredients

0.75 oz brandy
1.5 oz licor 43
1 oz lemon
0.5 oz egg white
0.25 oz simple syrup
1 barspoon white jamaican rum
1 pinch salt [2 drops]

Garnish

lemon wheel and zest

Instructions

Prep: Make the simple syrup. Here is our way. Cut the lemon wheel and zest some lemon.
Froth: Place all ingredients in a shaker without ice. Use a stick blender with a couple pulses to froth. Alternatively you dry shake until areated, about a minute.
Shake: Add ice, then shake until chilled and strain into your glass over ice.
Serve: Garnish with lemon wheel. Place the zest in the center on top of the foam.

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Comments

Substitutions

Brandy: Cooper and Kings American Craft Brandy was used to develop this recipe. Laird’s Applejack would be a good option. Try any brandy with good fruit flavor and aged in oak.

Jamaican Rum: If you don't have a white overproof Jamaican rum like Wray & Nephew, allspice dram is another option.

Egg: Substitute with aquafaba if you don't have eggs on hand or want to make it vegan.