Over the past few summers, cherry-based cocktails have become something of a signature for me, to the point whereupon being proposed to in mid-July a few years back, I immediately began pulping and freezing cherries for use in our wedding cocktails the following October. Fresh cherries have a cruelly short season, and I do my best to make the most of every phase from sour to Rainier to Bing. Each has a distinct level of sweetness and depth of flavor and is complemented by different suites of ingredients. Rich, dark Bings stand up to wood smoking and full-bodied lemon and limeades, but tender, young sour cherries seem a natural fit for a subtly refreshing sweet iced tea. Oh - and booze.
Recipe follows after the jump.
Sweet & Sour Cherry Tea
Handful of sour cherries
Sweet tea
Lemon
Simple syrup
Rye whiskey
Seltzer
(Note - I'm providing very few exact measurements, as this is easily adaptable to people's personal tastes)
Cover the bottom of a rocks glass with de-stemmed sour cherries, and smash with a muddler. Spoon out pits.
Quarter a lemon, and depending on your desired level of tanginess, muddle 2-4 sections of the lemon, rind and all, into the cherry pulp.
Pour in sweet tea (or plain iced tea) until the glass is 1/2 full. Depending on the level of sweetness of your tea, and your tastes, the drink may require additional simple syrup to balance the lemon juice, so stir and sample.
Stir in 2 oz rye whiskey (or bourbon), add ice and top with seltzer.
If you should (and who wouldn't?) desire a second helping, just add additional whiskey and seltzer. The fruit will likely prove flavorful enough to stand up to a re-boozing.
Previously: Smoked cherry cocktails
Second Helping of Slashfood - June 19
Competitive-Eating Contest to Pit Humans Against Elephants
The Backyard Boom - The Hungry Bride
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-24-2008 @ 9:31PM
Bruce Dearborn Walker said...
I make essentially this same recipe using ginger ale instead of tea.
For my in-law's birthday a few years ago (two weeks apart in July) I made up a 2 quart glass jar with sour cherries from their backyard sour cherry tree, and filled it with whisky with sugar and bit of lemon zest, and another with peeled orange slices, whiskey and sugar. Made an awesome display, and mixed 50-50 with a shot of soda water and some bitters, a neat take on an old fashioned. Everyone was suitably blown away.
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