TL;DR: The crimson sour is a non-alcoholic cocktail made with Dry Shot Blood Orange Spirit, fresh lemon juice, and aquafaba dry-shaken into a thick, frothy coupe. The bitter citrus of the blood orange kava spirit gives the foam a depth that standard fruit sours lack — it finishes dry and complex, not sweet. Zero alcohol. Ready in 5 minutes. Serves one.
Lemon juice and aquafaba shaken hard with the Blood Orange Spirit until the whole thing turns pale and frothy and slightly pink. The bitterness of the spirit cuts through the foam in the back of every sip. It looks more serious than it is to make.
The blood orange sour is the case for bitter spirits in shaken cocktails. Most fruit sours are sweet and one-dimensional because the spirit provides no counterweight. The Blood Orange Spirit's bitter citrus backbone is exactly the right counterweight — it keeps the lemon from going flat against the foam and the sweetness of the syrup from taking over. What you get is a sour that reads dry on the finish.
What is aquafaba and why does it work in cocktails?
Aquafaba is the liquid from a can of chickpeas. It behaves like egg white in cocktails — when shaken vigorously, the proteins denature and create a stable, dense foam without the smell or the allergy concern of raw egg. Use it from a can of regular, unseasoned chickpeas. The dry shake (no ice in the first round) is what builds the foam structure before dilution.
Serves 1 · Prep 5 min · Glass Coupe
What you need
- 2 oz Dry Shot Blood Orange Spirit
- ¾ oz fresh lemon juice
- ½ oz simple syrup
- ½ oz aquafaba (liquid from a can of unseasoned chickpeas)
- Ice
- Dehydrated blood orange slice or expressed orange peel to garnish
How to make it
- Add all ingredients except ice to a shaker. Dry shake for 15 seconds.
- Add ice. Shake hard for 10 more seconds.
- Double strain into a coupe. No ice.
- Let the foam settle for 20 seconds before garnishing.
- Lay a dehydrated blood orange slice over the foam, or express an orange peel over the top and drop it in.
Made with Dry Shot Blood Orange Spirit — bitter citrus, built for the spritz crowd.