Cocktail: Marmalade Sour 

Ingredients: 2oz. Cachaca, 2 tbsp. Orange Marmalade, .75oz. Lemon Juice, .25oz. Simple Syrup, 2 Dashes Orange Bitters, 1 Egg White  

Directions: In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add the Cachaca, Orange Marmalade, Lemon Juice, Simple Syrup, Bitters, and Egg White. Shake vigorously and fine strain into a coupe glass.  

Bartender Reaction: I have said it before, and I will continue to scream it until the entire world pays attention. I believe Canon in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood is the best bar in America. Without a doubt, bellying up to their bar to watch their bartenders work is a thing of beauty. Every time I visit, I learn something new and walk away with a few tricks to add to my home bartender arsenal.  

A few years ago, a friend of mine bought me The Canon Cocktail Book for Christmas. Initially flipping through the pages, it was painfully obvious to me I still had a lot of work to do building out my bar. Flash forward to the present day and I have done exactly that. Holding between 150-175 bottles of liquor, cordials, and aperitifs, there is very little I cannot make.  

Fully stocked, I am now working through a cocktail book I once found so daunting. For this post, I turned my attention to the Marmalade Sour. As far as the ingredients are concerned, I had little trouble tracking down most of what was required. Finding a low-sugar marmalade gave me some trouble, but I remained persistent and found it at a large chain grocery store.  

The directions for this cocktail are straight forward. The only thing you will want to watch closely is separating the yolk from the egg white. Egg white is often used to trap flavor and give cocktails a foamy appearance. Here, we want it to trap the citrus flavors present in this cocktail.  

So, how did it taste? Well, I probably could have done a better job of separating the yolk from the egg white. On the nose, I could smell egg with each drink. I did not notice it on my tongue (which is a good thing). Cachaca is a distilled spirit made from sugarcane. It can dominate a drink if you are not careful. Here, because we were working with so many citrus and sugar elements, I was concerned Cachaca might get lost, and the drink might present as overly sweet. Instead, the cocktail came across as balanced and intriguing. With every sip, I found something new to love. For sure, this is a drink I want to try again. It is also one I think you should give a chance.  

Be good to each other,  

Nathan