Kicking off summer a bit early (which is officially one week from today) with a cocktail inspired by our herb garden…and one too many boxes of cherries in the fridge. Does anyone else get overly excited and buy up all the summer fruits? My eyes are always bigger than my stomach this time of year. But it’s OK, the extra produce in the fridge just provides me with even more inspiration. Which brings me to this drink.
Yes, this is that summer cocktail that uses up what you’ve got in the garden, plus sweet cherries, a good amount of bourbon, and spicy, sweet, and bubbly ginger beer too. Jumping right into the details today as I promised myself that I would keep this post short and sweet. I LOVE writing these cocktail posts for you guys, but they’re meant to be a shorter post…and somehow they’ve become my most detailed. So, keeping to my word…short, sweet, and to the point today.
To make this cherry bourbon smash…
It’s simple and so darn easy. You’ll need a few things. Sweet summertime cherries (though frozen work too), freshly picked basil and thyme (but you could also do without if you don’t have), lemons, bourbon (but tequila is nice too), Cointreau (also known as orange liquor), and spicy-sweet ginger beer. Oh, and a little sugar too if you’d like to make a sweet and fun rimmed glass. First, start with the sweet lemony ginger lined rim. It’s simply lemon zest, fresh ginger, and a pinch of granulated sugar mixed together. It adds such a spicy and sweet touch to each drink. It’s that “extra special” touch your drink needs.
Next, find yourself a cocktail shaker or even just a mason jar. Muddle the cherries, basil, thyme leaves, and lemon juice together until those cherries are all smashed down. Muddling the cherries with the garden herbs infuses the flavor of the herbs into the drink in a subtle, non-overpowering way. Now, add the bourbon, Cointreau, and white wine vinegar (for a bit of tang), and then shake, shake, shake.
At this point, strain the drink into your glass and top off with that spicy ginger beer for a touch of fizz. Super simple, but oh so pretty…the perfect cocktail to really kick off summer.
A few final notes…
This one is simple and while I love the trio of cherries, basil, and thyme, you can play around with this mix of fresh summer produce. If cherries aren’t for you, any berries or stone fruit will work well. I’d start with blackberries, but again, any berry you love. Plums would be delicious too! And if you don’t love bourbon? Try using tequila or even vodka. Either would be great! And the ginger beer? Well, that one’s a must. It sweetens up the drink and makes it “extra special” and so delicious. Plus it’s just my favorite…so please don’t skip it. Have a wonderful Saturday everyone! See you all tomorrow for another Nine Favorite Things.
Looking for other summer drinks? Here are a few of my go-to’s. Dirty Horchata Pink Vodka Watermelon Lemonade Frozen Brunch Punch Lastly, if you make this garden cherry bourbon smash, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
