How to Make a Perfect Frothy Cocktail

Ever wonder how a bartender is able to create the perfectly foamy, frothy top to a signature cocktail? 

The answer, is eggs. Eggs are a bartender staple because of their ability to create fluffy, foamy drinks like the Boston Sour (a whiskey sour with egg whites).

But whether you’re cracking the egg and pouring it between two shells to cradle the yolk, piercing a tiny hole in the top of the shell to release the albumin (whites), or using an egg-white separating device, cracking eggs can be a messy process that causes some people to recoil for fear of contamination.

Then, there are dietary choices or restrictions that restrict eggs such as plant-based diets or egg allergies.

Which leads to the question…how do you create a frothy cocktail without eggs?

The solution is simple: bean water.

Aquafaba is the Latin word for bean water.

And it usually refers to chickpea water that you get from a can, which explains why most people would prefer the term aquafaba––chickpea water doesn’t sound all that appetizing.

However unappetizing it sounds, chickpea water contains many of the same chemical components of egg whites as well as saponins, which help it to foam. The result is a luxurious, pillowy foam.

Our director of education, Derek Brown, an award-winning bartender, even prefers aquafaba to egg whites in most drinks.

So how do you use aquafaba?

To use it, he adds a half ounce to one ounce of aquafaba, depending on how foamy (and diluted) he wants the drink to be. Below is a recipe for a Spiritless “Whiskey” Sour using aquafaba.