MxMo LXXIV, June 17, 2013: Cherries

[haresfur]

eG has not been keeping up very well on participation in Mixology Monday, the online cocktail party. Maybe we can get something going this time, although it will be a challenge for me since I don't tend to do cherries much. June’s Mixology Monday's host is Andrea of the Gin Hound blog.

Post your entries here and we will send the link along by the deadline.

This month’s theme slated for June 17th is perfect for what is beginning to ripen on the tree in some parts of the world, for it is “Cherries” which Andrea describes rather well in her announcement post. Here’s a brief description:

Singapore Gin Sling, Blood and Sand, and the Aviation wouldn’t be the same without them… But cherries in cocktails are also horribly abused, few things taste worse than artificial cherry aroma, and the description of how most maraschino cherries are made can make you sick to your stomach. So it’s my pleasure as the host of Mixology Monday… to challenge you to honor the humble cherry. However you choose to do that, is entirely up to you. You could use Maraschino Liqueur, Cherry Heering, Kirchwasser, Belgian Kriek Beer, cherry wine, or any spectacular infusions invented by you in a cocktail. Or make your own maraschino cherries for a spectacular garnish.

So whether you want to go fresh via the supermarket, farmer’s market, or your own orchard for a muddled, syrup, or infusion approach, or go with something off of a liquor shelf, it’s time to start looking around for inspiration! Even canned, dried, or frozen cherries will work here as well — plenty of ways to play with this theme! Briefly, here’s how to participate:

1. Find a drink recipe or create one featuring one or more cherry-based ingredients in some form. Make the drink and post a photo, the recipe, and your tasting notes and commentary to your blog, website, or Tumblr. If you lack one of those, use eGullet’s Spirits and Cocktails forum.
2. Include in your post the MxMo logo and a link back to both the Mixology Monday and Gin Hound sites. Once the roundup post is put up, updating your post to include a link to that one as well would be appreciated.
3. Let Andrea know about your post before 11:59pm on Monday, June 17th by posting a link to your post in the comment section on her announcement post, by shooting her an email at andreadoria56 (at) gmail (dot) com, or by tweeting her at @Husejer.

This gives you two weeks to scope out which neighbors’ cherry tree limbs cross property lines into public access space (yes, I support gleaning) or dust off that bottle of Cherry Heering that hasn’t been used since you made that Remember the Maine last fall. And muddling fresh or preserved Marasca cherries has been a great way to integrate flavors rather quickly. With all these options, I’m excited to see what will pour out of your collective Boston shakers!

[Tri2Cook]

I wasn't paying attention and let the deadline sneak up on me so I missed the last round. I did the round before that. They're still a little scary to me because I'm definitely a novice with drinks but I've made a deal with myself that I'll only do these if I make up my own drinks. I'm not real confident about putting my creations out there for all to see at this point. TGRWT and the other online cooking challenges that I used to enjoy are all but non-existent now so I've kinda adopted MxMo as the vehicle to force myself to do something creative once in a while. I try not to worry about my skill level and just have fun. I'm hoping to come up with something for this one...we'll see how it goes.

[haresfur]

I wasn't paying attention and let the deadline sneak up on me so I missed the last round. I did the round before that. They're still a little scary to me because I'm definitely a novice with drinks but I've made a deal with myself that I'll only do these if I make up my own drinks. I'm not real confident about putting my creations out there for all to see at this point. TGRWT and the other online cooking challenges that I used to enjoy are all but non-existent now so I've kinda adopted MxMo as the vehicle to force myself to do something creative once in a while. I try not to worry about my skill level and just have fun. I'm hoping to come up with something for this one...we'll see how it goes.

Having fun is what it's about. If you like the drink, that's good enough; if you don't like it then blog about that. I'm sure people here cringe at some of my drinks.

[Chris Amirault]

Two from me, both with Heering. No pix, I'm afraid.

Tommy Appleseed (tx to Dave the Cook for the name)

1 oz Ransom Old Tom gin

1 oz Laird's BIB apple brandy

-1/2 oz demerara syrup

1/4 oz Cherry Heering

1/2 t Ardbeg 10 scotch

5 drops Regan's orange bitters

Stir; strain; coupe; no garnish.

Cachaca Sling

3 oz cachaca

1 oz lime

1 oz simple

1/2 oz Cherry Heering

2 dashes Angostura

Shake; strain over ice in highball glass; top with soda; lime wheel garnish.

[FrogPrincesse]

Here is my entry, the Cherry Pop from the PDT Cocktail Book.

Cherry Pop

Jane Danger

2 oz gin (Plymouth)

1 oz lemon juice

0.5 oz maraschino liqueur

0.5 oz simple syrup

2 muddled cherries + 1 for the ganish

First impression - it is a girly/scary shade of pink, plus I don't often use muddled fruit in my drinks. So I was a little skeptical but this was actually successful. The gin + maraschino liqueur + lemon combo was reminiscent of the Aviation, with the muddled cherries replacing the violet liqueur. I used a Meyer lemon which is a bit less acidic than a regular lemon, but the cocktail was not too sweet. It is fresh and the cherries integrate very well with the other elements. I am thinking this would be a great "gateway" cocktail.

Chris' cachaca sling looks great and reminds me of a drink I used to have at a place that is long closed. I may try to recreate it if time permits.

Edited June 5, 2013 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

The theme of this month's MxMo reminded me of this thread that Yojimbo initiated not too long ago...

[haresfur]

Ok cherries. Certainly gets me out of a rut since I don't have any kirsch or Heering in the stash. But I do have some cherry liqueur made by a Polish friend of mine who makes some really great sweet sips (his green walnut is excellent). And it has been gathering a bit of dust. But I didn't have much of an idea what to do with it so I pulled the Savoy Cocktail Book of the shelf and started browsing.

I got as far as the Fernet Cocktail and thought that cherry might be an interesting sub for the vermouth. I mixed a small one up and thought that the cherry got lost so I added a bit more which was not an improvement. So tonight I mixed it up without the cherry and, yes, it needed something. So back to the original proportions. The verdict? Medicinal. But not in a bad way.

Fernet Cocktail variation

1 oz gin (Beefeater)

1/2 oz Fernet

1/2 oz Cherry liqueur

I built it over ice with a fat lemon twist.

[haresfur]

I sent the link in to Gin Hound because it is late on the 17th my time but you can still probably squeak an entry in if you desire.

[haresfur]

The round-up is up:

http://ginhound.blogspot.dk/2013/06/mixology-monday-lxxiv-cherries-round-up.html

[FrogPrincesse]

And Part 2 of the round-up...

[Chris Amirault]

A bit late with this one, but, what the heck:

five pitted cherries

2 oz Barsol pisco

1/2 oz Luxardo maraschino

1/2 oz Marie Brizard triple sec

1 oz lemon juice

2 dashes Bittermens Xocolatl bitters

Reed's Extra Ginger Brew ginger beer

Muddle the cherries in the pisco; add all remaining ingredients save the ginger beer. Shake; strain over rocks in a highball glass; top with the ginger beer. Garnish with an additional pitted cherry.

[Tri2Cook]

I came up with a blank for this one. For the one's I've done, an idea has come to me right away and I just had to spend the available time trying to make it work. For some reason, I just couldn't come up with that starting point this time. I enjoyed seeing what everybody else did though.

[KatieLoeb]

Meh. Totally missed this one being too deep in selling my house, moving and going off to Ireland. I would be happy to still include my housemade cocktail cherries recipe if anyone is interested. But if I'm too late, that's okay too. Another excuse to get you all to buy Shake, Stir, Pour:Homegrown Cocktails...

[GordonCooks]

Meh. Totally missed this one being too deep in selling my house, moving and going off to Ireland. I would be happy to still include my housemade cocktail cherries recipe if anyone is interested. But if I'm too late, that's okay too. Another excuse to get you all to buy Shake, Stir, Pour:Homegrown Cocktails...

Leaving Philly? Well Slainte to you KL.

[KatieLoeb]

No no. That was confusing. Didn't move to Ireland. Moved in Philly, and then went to Ireland for a short visit, courtesy of the kind folks at Jameson Whiskey. Hence, a bit distracted from this month's mix challenge. Sorry I missed it. I love homemade cocktail cherries as well as Cherry Heering. Good stuff, both.