Tuesday, June 28, 2011

bourbon-soaked cherries.


one of my favorite drinks is a manhattan. whiskey, sweet vermouth, bitters, maraschino cherry and usually a twist of orange peel= YUM. one of the best manhattans i've ever had was made with maker's mark whiskey and instead of super sweet maraschino cherries, they had maker's mark bourbon-soaked cherries. talk about delicious! boozy but still slightly sweet...such a delicious addition. so, i went on the hunt for a drunken cherry recipe. i found something better during my search! cherry bourbon liquor WITH bourbon-soaked cherries. double-whammy! so without further ado, the recipe (from foodwoolf.com):

Cherry Bourbon Ratios

* Fill a quarter of your canning or jelly jar with pitted cherries (a quarter of a pound for an 8-ounce jar). Be sure to capture as much cherry juice in that container as possible.

* Fill the rest of the jar with a great tasting bourbon, like Elmer T. Lee

* Shake the container and leave out on a shelf (at room temperature) for a month. Lightly shake your jar every couple of days. After three weeks to a month, taste your results. If you like a sweeter flavor, add a small amount (one fifth to your ratio) of sugar to your mixture.

SUGGESTIONS:

Pour a splash of this macerated bourbon on ice to experience the subtle flavors, or add an equal amount of Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth to your glass for a mind blowing (and slightly sweet) Manhattan. Finish your cocktail off with one of the bourbon infused cherries for an unsweetened, bourbon soaked Brooks cherry garnish. Use your cherry-infused bourbon to make a super-charged version of my Master Cherry Cocktail.

OTHER IDEAS:

If you have a sweet tooth and love the classic Aviation cocktail, I highly recommend buying up an extra bundle of cherries and soak them in a jar with some Luxardo as well. The sweetness of the cherry liqueur infuses the fresh cherries with an almost candy flavor, which makes for a delightfully sugared fruit garnish, without adding any sugar!

Monday, June 13, 2011

thank goodness ryan is back.

with new beautiful, delightful, amazing songs. this is one of the best i've heard. hope an album is soon to follow :)