Fun colored cocktails should still taste magnificent and this blueberry sour with cardamom bitters is no exception. I knew I wanted a bright purple cardamom cocktail to celebrate Halloween and using blueberry syrup gave it a deep blue-purple hue that makes it gorgeous in the glass. It also gives the foam that lavender color that makes it look like a mousse on top.
The cocktail’s complexity is made by the notes of cardamom from Scrappy’s cardamom bitters. In addition, the cardoon-infused Amaro – Cardamaro – adds complexity with its cardamom-like flavor (when it’s really a type of wild thistle). Combined with cinnamon- infused simple syrup you are on your way to a fabulous fancy fall cocktail. Perfect to sip while the trick or treaters knock on the door.
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What’s in a Whiskey Sour?
If you’re new to whiskey sours, I’ve got an article on how to make an easy whiskey sour, and an article on how to make a Boston or egg-white sour – what I’m making here. At it base, the whiskey sour is a combination of whiskey, sour and sweet. Sometimes we use a 2:1:1 ratio of whiskey to sour to sweet, but here I dialed back on the sour and sweet so you can still taste the whiskey. While I used a rye whiskey here, it would work well with a high-rye bourbon as well.
If you’re not a whiskey fan, substitute these recipes with your favorite slightly-aged spirit. Aged rum or reposado or anejo tequilas would be wonderful in this blueberry sour. If you choose a brandy or cognac, you’ll need far less sugar as those spirits are so much sweeter than whiskies. However, their age means they have lots of the same vanilla, baking spice and oak notes as whiskey.
How to Make a Blueberry Simple Syrup
You know I love simple syrups and this one also includes cinnamon sticks, infusing the simple syrup with the flavors of cinnamon. If I’d had some vanilla bean and green cardamom pods, I would have added them as well.
For this blueberry syrup I used fresh blueberries, but this would be even better with frozen wild blueberries. I combined the following in a saucepan:
- 2 cups blueberries
- 1.5 cups sugar
- ½ cup water
- 4 cinnamon sticks
I simmered the blueberries and cinnamon sticks until the blueberries started to break down and burst, then turned off the heat and let the syrup cool. I strained it through a fine metal sieve and put it in a clean jar in the refrigerator.
Blueberries themselves are wonderful in a simple, but adding the cinnamon gives the syrup a little heat and spice. It makes the syrup match well with cooler temperatures and fall/winter flavors. If you happen to have some cardamom pods to add, you’ll have an even more layered, winter-spiced cardamom syrup.
It helped that the brilliant purple color was perfect for a Halloween cocktail.
Cardamaro and Cardamom Bitters
Because I wanted a complex, layered cocktail rather than a simple blueberry sour, I added cardamom flavors. By adding the Cardamaro, an Amaro with cardoon, a wild thistle, infused in it, I get those same woody, cardamom notes. In flavor, cardoon is closer to artichokes, and may taste like Cynar. However, I’ll admit I didn’t know Cardamaro was not based on cardamom until I started researching the spirit.
The primary notes from Cardamaro from me are bitter, herbal, woody, ginger, and licorice. It smells like a combination of winter mulling spices to me. That’s why I thought it was infused with cardamom. From a quick search on the internet I’m not the only one who thought that.
In this context the Cardamaro adds layered complexity with herbal and bitter notes. If you don’t have Cardamaro, another Amaro would work, just increase the amount of cardamom bitters as well.
True cardamom flavors come from a dash of Scrappy’s Cardamom bitters – my favorite way to add cardamom flavor to sweet cocktails and ones with an East Asian bent.
How to Make this Blueberry Cardamom Cocktail
Once you’ve made the simple syrup (the longest part of the prep time), place all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker and add ice. Shake vigorously for 10-12 seconds, then strain into a clean container and use your hand-held latte whisk on it for about 20 to 30 seconds. You’ll create that lovely bed of foam at the top of the glass once you pour it into your cocktail glass.
Because I made the original around Halloween time, I presented this in a goblet, but it also works in an old fashioned glass, or even over ice. With enough foam you’ll have a lovely bed to prop a cinnamon stick against.
Other Sours You Might Enjoy
Recommended Bar Tools
You don’t need every slick, beautiful bar tool out there, but there are several I’ll recommend. (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. However, that does not affect the cost of the items below.) My favorite pieces usually come from the Cocktail Kingdom section of Amazon:
You may already have these bar essentials, but just in case:
Goblin’s Goblet – Blueberry Cardamom Halloween Sour
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz rye whiskey I used Whistle Pig
- ¾ oz lemon juice
- ¾ oz blueberry-cinnamon simple syrup
- ½ oz Cardamaro or other herbal Amaro
- 8 drops Scrappy’s cardamom bitters
- 1 egg white
- Garnish: blueberries skewered on a cinnamon stick
Instructions
- Combine rye, lemon juice, simple syrup, Cardamaro and cardamom bitters in a shaker.
- Easy way: Add ice to shaker and shake for 15 seconds. Strain into a mixing glass or empty shaking tin and add egg white. Use a latte whisk or hand-held whisk to beat for 20-30 seconds until thick and full of foam. Pour into chilled coupe or wine goblet.
- Hard way: Add egg white and ice to shaker and shake for 30 to 60 seconds. Double strain into a chilled coupe or wine goblet. Either way, add garnish and enjoy.
Notes
- 2 cups blueberries
- 1.5 cups sugar
- ½ cup water
- 4 cinnamon sticks
