Sour-Cherry Old-Fashioned

Sour-Cherry Old-Fashioned
Sam Kaplan for The New York Times; Food stylist: Suzanne Lenzer.
Total Time
5 minutes
Rating
4(106)
Notes
Read community notes

Sour cherries are too tart to eat raw, but go down amazingly easy when you muddle them with sugar and douse them with whiskey in this spin on a classic old fashioned.

Featured in: Cherries Go Savory, Sweet and Boozy

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Ingredients

Yield:1 cocktail.
  • 2sour cherries, stemmed and pitted
  • One 2-inch strip orange peel
  • 1sugar cube (or ½ teaspoon sugar)
  • 2 or 3dashes bitters
  • 2ounces rye or bourbon.
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (1 servings)

173 calories; 0 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 0 grams protein; 0 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Put the cherries, orange peel, sugar and bitters in an old-fashioned glass; crush the sugar and cherries with a muddler, spoon or anything else that will get the job done. Fill the glass with ice, add the whiskey and stir until the drink is cold, about a dozen times.

Ratings

4 out of 5
106 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

An easy cheat for simple syrup... One half teaspoon sugar in one teaspoon of water in a shot glass... 15 seconds in the microwave... then you have simple syrup. It works perfectly in this cocktail.

Muddle the cherries, bitters and a sugar cube, then add a splash of water (or Cointreau) and stir for a minute or so. Walk away and make a plate of cheese. Come back, stir the muddled mix a minute, then add bourbon or rye (my taste runs to rye), and stir again. Gives the sugar a chance to dissolve. And, well, cheese.

Granulated sugar helps with muddling, simple syrup does not.

Who knew? Two of my favorits, sour cherries and bourbon, are tasty partners in this easy cocktail. Canned or frozen (and thawed) sour cherries (available in groceries here on the west coast) work as well as fresh ones. I find a teaspoon (or so) of simple syrup works better than trying to dissolve sugar. If you go that route, try superfine sugar to dissolve easier than regular sugar. A little squeeze of fresh juice from the orange from which the peel came is a nice add too sometimes.

Better still, buy some sour cherries, pit them, toss them in a pint jar, cover in rum or vodka, let sit 6 months, then follow the recipe here using maple syrup instead of simple syrup. You'll thank me!

We infuse sour cherries with bourbon each summer and it is fabulous in cocktails like this. Wonderful in vodka and rum as well!

Muddle the cherries, bitters and a sugar cube, then add a splash of water (or Cointreau) and stir for a minute or so. Walk away and make a plate of cheese. Come back, stir the muddled mix a minute, then add bourbon or rye (my taste runs to rye), and stir again. Gives the sugar a chance to dissolve. And, well, cheese.

An easy cheat for simple syrup... One half teaspoon sugar in one teaspoon of water in a shot glass... 15 seconds in the microwave... then you have simple syrup. It works perfectly in this cocktail.

Granulated sugar helps with muddling, simple syrup does not.

Who knew? Two of my favorits, sour cherries and bourbon, are tasty partners in this easy cocktail. Canned or frozen (and thawed) sour cherries (available in groceries here on the west coast) work as well as fresh ones. I find a teaspoon (or so) of simple syrup works better than trying to dissolve sugar. If you go that route, try superfine sugar to dissolve easier than regular sugar. A little squeeze of fresh juice from the orange from which the peel came is a nice add too sometimes.

Love old fashions and the tart cherries are a nice twist but the recipe as written Didnt work as regular sugar or sugar cube was difficult to dissolve (recommend simple syrup instead)

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