Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Cocktail Time with "The Original Maraschino Cherries"

When I was a kid, I loved maraschino cherries. Adored them. Like crazy.

I remember bellying up to the bar with my mom when I was a little kid, and ordering a Kiddie Cocktail. Yeah, I had a weird childhood.

The Kiddie Cocktail was little more that lemon-lime soda with a maraschino cherry and some cherry juice. But it seemed like a the real deal.

It's a wonder I didn't grow up to be a hooker or a lush.

But back to those cherries. I liked them when I was a kid, but as an adult, I'm no longer fond of them. Particularly after I read about how they're made. Just doesn't seem appealing.

But then I saw Luxardo cherries at a local store. The label said they were the original maraschino cherries, and instead of being that unnatural red, they were a very dark red - like you'd expect dark cherries to be. So I bought them.

And I liked them. A lot. So I whipped up a cocktail. You know, because I needed an excuse to use the cherries in a drink and stop eating them straight from the jar.

I was thinking about sangria, but with white wine, since red wines and I don't always get along. I used a Moscato from Cupcake Vineyards for the wine. It's lightly sparkling, and just a little sweet. Instead of making a pitcher, I made just one glass. Well, technically, I've made several glasses. But one at a time.

And now I'm looking forward to putting these cherries on top of ice cream. Or maybe in ice cream. We'll see.

Moscoto Sangria

Luxardo cherries (plus some juice)
Fresh fruit for garnish
1 ounce Crown Royal whiskey
4 ounces Cupake Moscato

Skewer some fresh fruit and cherries for garnish. I used pineapple and strawberries.

Fill a small glass with ice. Drizzle in small spoon of cherry juice. Add the whiskey and top with the wine. Add the fruit skewer garnish. Serve.

Repeat as necessary.