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The Pink Cotton Candy earns its name honestly. Amaretto and pink lemonade together produce that specific fairground sweetness, almond and sugar and artificial berry all at once, and the vodka is there to make sure it still counts as a cocktail.
Amaretto is the reason this works rather than just being sweet. It is almond flavored but the flavor actually comes from apricot or peach kernels, which is why it reads as marzipan and stone fruit rather than nuts. Against the citrus of the lemonade that turns into something genuinely reminiscent of spun sugar, which is a neat trick for a three ingredient build with no technique to it at all.
Glass: Collins glass | Strength: Light | Serves: 1 | Prep Time: 2 minutes
Bartenders tip: The recipe does not measure the lemonade, and four ounces is about right in a Collins glass over ice. Push it to five if you want this closer to a soft drink. Use a tart pink lemonade rather than a sweet one, because an ounce of amaretto has already brought more sugar than this needs. A squeeze of fresh lemon is the single best correction if it comes out cloying, and it usually does. Serve it very cold.
