Cherry Whisky Sour
There's something about cherry.
by Erin Henderson
Cherry season is notoriously short in Ontario. But if you had your thinking cap on, and your jarring equipment on the ready, you managed to preserve a few pints for future use.
But even if you didn't, someone else did, so you can just head to the grocery store.
A cherry whisky sour is made with sour cherries to replace the classic lemon or lime found in a whisky sour, but adds the unexpected element of fruity cherry. It's one of my favourite cocktails to serve at a party as it's easy to drink, and not too sweet yet not too rich.
I've linked the video on how to make it below.
Cherry Whisky Sour
It's important to use sour cherry syrup for this drink, not cocktail or maraschino cherry syrup. Classic whisky sours rely on lemon or lime for the acidic balance, but we're not using citrus here, so we need to find that tart element elsewhere, and in this case, it's the sour cherry that's providing that brightness.
Makes: 1 Drink
Bartender Level: Easy
Ingredients:
- 2 oz whisky or bourbon
- 1 oz sour cherry syrup (from a jar of sour cherries)
- ½ simple syrup
- Sour cherries, on a pick, for garnish
How to Make It:
- Pour bourbon, sour cherry syrup, and simple syrup into an ice filled shaker.
- Shake until well chilled, about 5 seconds.
- Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice, garnish with extra sour cherries, and serve.
Big Batch Version (Serves 8)
- 16 oz/2 cups whisky or bourbon
- 8 oz/1 cup SOUR cherry syrup (NOT maraschino cherry!)
- 4 oz/ .5 cup simple syrup
- 2 oz/ .25 cup water (this will replace the dilution that comes from shaking a single cocktail over ice)
Add add all the ingredients to a holiday pitcher and refrigerate until ready. Pour over ice-filled glasses when ready.