So far, I’ve revealed and researched 10 vintage tiny bottles but have yet to taste any. Until now. In my first-ever tasting video, I sat down with Casey Miller, my favorite bartender at my favorite bar, The Last Word, to compare my tiny bottle of vintage Disaronno with its modern counterpart. Then Casey mixed up a few amaretto cocktails (see recipes below video) before I surprised him with a bonus tiny bottle to taste: Le Grand Amour.

World’s Best Amaretto Sour (Jeffrey Morgenthaler, Portland)
Tweaks the much-lampooned amaretto sour and adds cask proof bourbon
1 1/2 oz amaretto
3/4 oz cask-proof bourbon (he uses Bookers)
1 oz lemon juice
1/4 oz 2:1 simple syrup
1/2 oz egg white
Garnish: lemon peel and cherry
Combine ingredients in shaker without ice. Shake for 10 seconds, then add ice and shake hard for 15 seconds. Strain into ice-filled rocks glass. Garnish.

Ume Amaretto Sour (Masa Urushido, NYC)
Homage to Morgenthaler’s, a bit of a Japanese/American fusion using japanese sour plum shrub and rye whiskey
1 1/4 oz rye whiskey (he uses Rittenhouse)
3/4 oz amaretto (he uses Lazzaroni)
3/4 oz salted plum shrub*
3/4 oz lemon juice
3/4 oz egg white
Garnish: expressed lemon peel express and yukari (dried red shiso and salt)
Combine ingredients in shaker without ice. Shake for 10 seconds, then add ice and shake hard for 15 seconds. Strain into ice-filled rocks glass. Garnish.

Salted Plum Shrub
(makes 16oz)
5 pieces soft umeboshi (pickled Japanese plums)
1 1/4 cups water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup clover honey
1/4 cup Champagne vinegar
In a small saucepan, combine the umeboshi and water and heat gently to a simmer, stirring continuously with a whisk to break down the umeboshi. Turn off the heat, then add the sugar, honey, and vinegar and stir to dissolve the sugar. Cover and let cool. Strain through cheesecloth into an airtight pint glass container, twisting the cheesecloth to extract all the liquid. Seal the container and store in the fridge for up to a month.

Islay Amaretto Sour (Casey Miller, Ann Arbor)
After a trip to Scotland, Casey created one with a smoky single malt scotch and pimento dram
1 oz amaretto (usually Lazzaroni)
1/2 oz St.Elizabeth Allspice Dram
3/4 oz Laphroaig 10 Year single malt scotch
1 oz lemon juice
1/4 oz lavender honey syrup* (or sub 2:1 honey syrup)
1 dash 4:1 saline solution (or tiny pinch of salt)
3/4oz egg white
Garnish: lemon peel and cherry
Combine ingredients in shaker without ice. Shake for 10 seconds, then add ice and shake hard for 15 seconds. Strain into coupe or martini glass. Garnish

Lavender Honey
1 cup clover honey
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup dried lavender
Gently heat honey, water, and lavender, stirring constantly until combined (do not boil). Remove from heat and allow to cool. Strain out lavender and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a month.