Cherry Infused Bourbon Mint Juleps
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It’s a funny thing, but in the winter time, I don’t really drink much. I don’t have much of a desire to. People always talk about glasses of red wine and books, and sometimes I agree with them, but mostly I drink tea. Or sometimes hot chocolate. That’s about as crazy as I get.
Summertime though is different. It’s so hot out all the time, and I just always want a cold beer, or a crisp glass of white in my hand. Perhaps too much. Which is why, as I write this, I’m on a cleanse.
Nothing crazy- just 5 days of no booze, no sugar, no flour and no caffeine. Oh, and no dairy.
I’m just feeling like perhaps a bit of a reboot to the system might not be a bad idea. I think my body needs a recharge.
However, on Friday, that will be done. And a long weekend full of long weekend parties will be waiting for me, and I think it will feel good to go into it with my body at full strength. You, however, should go into this weekend with one of these in your hands.
These are Jordan’s creation, and a great one at that. They’re a play off a drink we had at a fabulous bar in Portland a few years ago- the simplest old fashioned with one little twist- the bourbon was infused with perfect summer cherries.
The result was a drink so well balanced and sweet without hardly any added sugar. It was a thing of beauty. So we started playing around with cherry infused bourbon a while back, and this is what we learnt- to do this the proper way, you need to infuse the bourbon for over a month. If you cheat a little and slowly warm the bourbon, while keeping it airtight, you can be drinking these tomorrow.
This was one of the cocktails for Jordans parents big 40th wedding anniversary (lots of pictures to come from that soon!), he played around with it and went away from the super boozy old fashioned into something a bit easier for most to sip- a mint julep with cherry infused bourbon.
He also, being the clever man that he is, omitted the muddling step tradition to a julep and just made a mint simple syrup, but you can do it up proper if you prefer.
Cherry Bourbon Mint Juleps
1lb Fresh Cherries
1 750mL bottle Bourbon
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Water
10 stems of Fresh Mint
Soda Water
Lemon Juice
Remove the stems from the cherries and wash them carefully. Split them into 2 1 litre mason jars.
Pour the bourbon over top, filling until just under the lip.
Close the jars and put them in the bottom of a large pot.
Fill the pot up with water until just below the lids, and put the pot on a burner with medium heat.
Slowly bring the pot to a simmer, let it stay, barely bubbling for 10 minutes, and then allow to cool in the water. The jars should seal.
Wait until they are completely cooled before removing.
Bring the sugar and water to a boil. Remove from the heat and put the mint in. Let steep for 20 minutes, and then remove. Transfer to a sealable container and store in the fridge.
When everything is cooled you’re ready to make the drink!
Mix
1 1/2 oz Cherry Bourbon
1 oz Mint Simple Syrup
1 oz Lemon Juice
Stir together on ice and top with soda water!
For the party Jordan made a big jar full of the bourbon, simple syrup and lemon combined, and people just poured it on ice and topped with soda themselves!