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Gluten-Free/Dairy-Free/Nut-Free/Vegan
Skill Level: Beginner
Yield: 4-6 cocktails, depending how heavy you pour for each cocktail
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes (for the syrup)
Equipment Needed:
The Recipe:
This recipe is adapted from a recipe by America's Test Kitchen
Ingredients:
For the rich brown sugar syrup:
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup water
For the cocktail:
7 ounces bourbon
1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup rich brown sugar syrup
2 teaspoons aromatic bitters
1 pound (about 4 cups) frozen sweet cherries
3-5 cups ice
Orange wedges and sweet cherries, for garnishing (optional)
Procedure:
Make the rich brown sugar syrup by combining brown sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, whisking occasionally, until the brown sugar has dissolved completely (do NOT let it come to a boil; reduce heat if it starts to bubble too much). This should take 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes if you are planning to use immediately, if not transfer to a covered container and store in fridge.
Combine all of the cocktail ingredients in a blender or food processor in the order they are listed above. Blend until smooth, taste and adjust ingredients to your liking.
Serve in a stemless wine glass or rocks glass, garnish with an orange slice and sweet cherry or maraschino cherry, if desired.
To Serve: I liked using a stemless wine glass to serve these gorgeous cocktails, garnished with an orange wedge and a sweet cherry.
Adjusting for your diet:
If you're looking for a non-alcoholic version of this cocktail, simply omit the bourbon to make it a mocktail. I think it would be delicious, fruity and refreshing on a hot day!
Tips:
I wouldn't suggest using a super expensive bourbon in this recipe since it will be blended up with other ingredients-I used Jim Beam.
You will make more brown sugar syrup than you actually need. Store the extra in a covered container in your fridge. It should stay good for about a month or so, but if you notice any mold discard immediately.
I used dark brown sugar to make this syrup, but if you only have light brown that will definitely work.
I don't mind making fresh squeezed orange juice, but if it's a hassle for you and you'd rather use store-bought I think it would still taste great.
Be sure to add the ingredients in the order listed on the ingredients list if you are using a blender; it's easier on your blender if you put liquids at the bottom and solids on the top.
Once I had all my ingredients in except for ice, I added ice up until the blender pitcher was about 3/4 full. This produced a pretty thick slush. If you prefer something a little thinner, add ice a little bit at a time until you have your desired consistency.
The Story:
When we were invited to our good friend's lake home for a Memorial Day BBQ and the forecast showed temps in the 80's, I decided a frozen cocktail was most definitely in order. I'm not a huge fan of things that are super sweet, so when I ran across a recipe for a Cherry Bourbon Slush, I was pretty sure I could adapt it to my liking.
I juiced a bunch of oranges at home, weighed out my cherries, made little garnish toothpicks and packed up a bottle of Jim Beam, Angostura Bitters, and a random jar of rich brown sugar syrup from my fridge that I had whipped up for a friend who was in town and wanted a whisky cocktail (I hadn't ever made a simple syrup with brown sugar before, so I thought this was kind of interesting; he also taught me that when the ratio of the syrup is 2 sugar: 1 water instead of the usual 1:1, it's called a rich syrup).
I followed the bones of the other recipe with a few modifications already in place, but after one of my girlfriends and I dipped our spoons in the blender and sampled, we agreed it needed more of something. We decided to double the amount of bitters, and that was the right choice!
The husbands were initially a bit reluctant to sample this fruity-looking frozen concoction (except mine because he knows that I know what I'm doing), but when one of the hosts of the party took a sip he commented in surprise, "It's like a frozen Manhattan!"
Sometimes with frozen cocktails I feel like I can only have one; I definitely could have taken down a couple of these with no problem :)
Cheers!
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