Sagi Sour
Raisin spirit, lemon and a cloud of foam, with bitters drawn across the top and a line of barberries.
Ingredients
| Ingredient | ml | oz |
|---|---|---|
| Aragh sagi (Iranian raisin spirit) | 50 ml | 1⅔ oz |
| Fresh lemon juice · homemade, J01 | 25 ml | 0.8 oz |
| Plain syrup · homemade, P01 | 15 ml | ½ oz |
| Aquafaba · homemade, P18 | 15 ml | ½ oz |
| Aromatic bitters | 2 dashes |
Ounces are rounded; measure in ml for accuracy. Homemade items link to their own page.
chilled coupe
dry shake, then shaken with ice, served up
three dashes of aromatic bitters drawn through the foam and a short line of barberries
The story
Pisco and aragh are cousins: clear grape spirits off a copper pot still, one from fresh must in Peru, the other from sun-dried raisins in Iran. Peru turned its spirit into a national sour a century ago. Aragh never had the chance; since 1979 it has been poured from reused water bottles at parties, chased with yogurt and cucumber, never mixed. This is the sour we built for it: aragh, lemon and a soft foam, with bitters drawn across the top and a line of barberries. Read the article on aragh for the whole story, and use unaged pisco if you cannot find the real thing.
Method
- Chill a coupe.
- Dry shake the aragh, lemon juice, syrup and aquafaba without ice for 10 seconds.
- Add ice and shake hard for 12 seconds.
- Double-strain into the coupe and let the foam settle.
- Dash the bitters onto the foam and draw a pick through them; lay a short line of barberries beside.
How it tastes
Bright and clean: lemon first, then the raisin and grape-skin character of the spirit through a soft foam, bitters on the nose and the sour pop of barberry. Dry, bright and clean.
Persian taste: torsh (sour), shirin (sweet)
Pair it with
- Food: Mazeh: yogurt with cucumber and dried mint, feta with walnuts and herbs on lavash, salted pistachios.
- Sweet: Dried white mulberries or a piece of gaz.
- Snack: Salted cucumbers and torshi
Variations
Pisco
Unaged pisco in place of aragh if you cannot find the real thing.
Sour cherry
Replace 10 ml of the lemon with 10 ml unsweetened tart cherry juice, the classic aragh chaser.
Egg white
15 ml egg white instead of aquafaba for a denser foam.
Balancing tips
- Aragh varies from 40 to 55 percent; with a strong one, drop to 45 ml.
- Shake the dry shake long enough; the foam is the point.
- Fresh lemon only, squeezed within the hour.
Allergens
- No common allergens.
- Contains alcohol. Please drink responsibly.
Development notes
- Status: original recipe draft v0.1, not yet taste-tested.
- Test syrup at 10 and 15 ml against spirits of different strength.
- See the article: Aragh, the Persian raisin spirit.
Watch it mixed
Follow along
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across Iran, imagined
