🌰 Jaggery Sour

Jaggery, Brucato orchards liqueur, orgeat, lemon, cacao & bourbon — Copra SF

8 min
Bourbon
Coupe
~20%
Copra, San Francisco
Ingredients
  • Jaggery syrup: dissolve 100g crushed jaggery in 80ml hot water. Stir until smooth. Cool.
  • 40ml bourbon (Woodford Reserve or Buffalo Trace)
  • 25ml jaggery syrup
  • 15ml Brucato Orchards (peach and apricot liqueur — or substitute St-Germain + 5ml peach juice)
  • 15ml orgeat (BG Reynolds or Small Hand Foods)
  • 25ml fresh lemon juice
  • 3 dashes cacao bitters (or 3ml cocoa nib tincture)
  • Ice
  • Jaggery powder & lemon wheel to garnish
Method
  1. 1
    SyrupMake jaggery syrup ahead. Jaggery takes longer to dissolve than white sugar — stir patiently.
  2. 2
    ShakeCombine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake hard for 15 seconds.
  3. 3
    StrainDouble-strain into a chilled coupe.
  4. 4
    GarnishGrate a tiny amount of jaggery block over the surface (use a microplane) for a caramel-dust finish. Slide a lemon wheel onto the rim.

About This Drink

Jaggery (gur in Hindi, bellam in Telugu, vellam in Tamil) is unrefined cane sugar — the sweetener of the Indian subcontinent for at least 3,000 years, used in everything from temple sweets (prasad) to cane juice drinks to the base of many Indian liquors. Unlike refined white sugar, jaggery retains the mineral richness of the cane — it has notes of molasses, caramel, and a slight earthiness that pairs naturally with bourbon's own caramel and vanilla character. Brucato Orchards (a California stone-fruit liqueur) adds peach and apricot depth. Orgeat contributes almond richness. Cacao (chocolate bitters or cocoa nib tincture) is the closing note. A sour of considerable depth.

Bartender Tips

Jaggery blocks (gur) and jaggery powder are available at all Indian grocery stores and on Amazon. The powder dissolves faster than the block. Different grades of jaggery vary in molasses content — darker (older) jaggery has more intensity. Brucato Orchards is a California brand available at specialty bottle shops and online; Rothman & Winter Orchard Peach is a good substitute.

Variations

Replace bourbon with aged rum for a more tropical, molasses-forward version that echoes jaggery's own cane-sugar origins.

Details
Served at
Copra, San Francisco
Spirit
Bourbon
Method
Shaken
ABV
~20%
Difficulty
Easy
Related
🥃 Bourbon Guide The base spirit in this cocktail 🇮🇳All 109 Indian CocktailsBrowse all recipes 🍹MocktailsZero-proof options
Where to drink this
Restaurant
Copra
Address
1700 Fillmore St, San Francisco, CA 94115
Style
Modern Indian cuisine & cocktails
Accolades
Michelin Bib Gourmand · One of SF's most acclaimed Indian restaurants

A Pacific Heights gem where Indian flavours meet California produce. Copra's bar programme is built on house-made infusions and seasonal ingredients — jaggery, kokum, dried mango, fresh turmeric — interpreted through a California craft cocktail lens. The result is a drinks menu that feels simultaneously rooted in the subcontinent and completely native to San Francisco.

Visit coprasf.com