Bourbon & Sour Cherry Old Fashioned

I don't drink a lot of cocktails, but when I do I want them to be boozy and not to sweet. The holiday season seems like an appropriate time to sip on something festive and pretty. More often in life I just pour vodka into a pretty glass and call that a martini haha. Not today!! 

I had sour cherries kicking around my freezer from way back in August. Beautiful local red fruit that I couldn't resist. I bought them and used a few in my vegan birthday pavlova with raspberries, lemon zest and coconut cream. That was divine! I froze the leftovers kind of assuming I would make a  simple syrup with them at some point.

I picked up a bottle of Makers Mark Bourbon at the liquore store during a huge black Friday sale, and then that's how this cocktail came to be.

A gorgeous bourbon & sour cherry old fashioned. One of my all time favourite cocktails with a little twist and oh boy I could drink these all day (I could, but I won't....because that would be messy). 

They are SO TASTY and EASY (definitely my kind of cocktail because I'm no mixologist) You only have to stir the ingredients together, no need for a cocktail shaker here. 

Bourbon Sour Cherry Old Fashioned

•  1 part bourbon
•  1 part sour cherry simple syrup
•  a dash or 3 of bitters (depending how big your bourbon / simple syrup parts are!)
•  garnish with orange peel, a couple of frozen sour cherries
•  serve on the rocks

​Sour Cherry Simple Syrup

• 4 cups sour cherries (mine were frozen)
• 4 cups water                                         
• 1 cup sugar

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1. Heat everything in a sauce pan and reduce by about half smashing up the cherries as they cook. (There was no way I was going to pit every single cherry and really there is no need)
2. Strain reserving the beautiful red syrup, chill and enjoy!