Black Cherry Old Fashioned

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This Black Cherry Old Fashioned adds a fruity, cherry twist on the classic Old Fashioned cocktail. It is made with a homemade cherry syrup made with fresh black cherries.

If you love Old Fashioned cocktails, or strong bourbon drinks in general, you’ll love this cherry cocktail.

This is a strong bourbon drink — for a sweeter cherry bourbon drink, try this Cherry Bourbon Cocktail that is made with a dash of orange and lemon juice.

For some other creative Old Fashioned variations, try this Southern Comfort Old Fashioned, this Gingerbread Old Fashioned, or this Pineapple Old Fashioned.

Or, for some more fruit-based bourbon drinks, try this Raspberry Bourbon Cocktail or this Blackberry Bourbon Cocktail.

Jump to:

• Why You’ll Love This Recipe
• Ingredients & Substitutions
• How To Make A Black Cherry Old Fashioned
• Expert Tips
• Recipe FAQs
• 📖 Recipe

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Homemade Black Cherry Syrup — This cocktail is made with a homemade cherry syrup made from fresh black cherries, sugar and water. Unlike store bought syrups, this homemade syrup adds a delicious, authentic cherry flavor without any artificial taste.
• Bourbon Forward — If you enjoy strong, bourbon drinks with a dash of sweetness to them, you will like this cocktail.
• Easy to Make — The cherry syrup only takes about 10 minutes to make, and mixing together the cocktail takes less than 5 minutes. You can make a batch of syrup in advance and have it ready to go whenever you feel like an Old Fashioned drink.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Bourbon: You can taste the bourbon in this drink, so use a bourbon or whiskey that you enjoy the flavor of.
• Black Cherries: You’ll need black cherries to make the simple syrup with. If they are in season, use fresh cherries, otherwise frozen ones work fine too. The recipe does work with tart cherries, but they syrup you make will be tarter and a bit more sour.
• Bitters: All Old Fashioned cocktails are made with Angostura Bitters (but there are substitutions you can make for bitters if you don’t have any).
• Water & Sugar: Water and sugar are used to make the black cherry syrup. Brown sugar would also work well in this recipe.

How To Make A Black Cherry Old Fashioned

Step 1: Heat the black cherries, sugar and water together in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally. Heat for about 5 to 10 minutes, until the sugar has melted.

Step 2: Strain out the cherries pieces using a fine mesh strainer.

Step 3: In a lowball cocktail glass, stir the bitters, cherry syrup and bourbon together.

Step 4: Add in some ice and stir again to chill the drink. Top with garnish and an orange peel twist.

Expert Tips

• Don’t let the cherry syrup boil. When you are heating the cherry syrup, don’t let it boil. Reduce the temperature of the stove if needed. If you boil the syrup, it can turn into a very thick syrup that won’t dissolve into your drink.
• Burst the cherries. Use a fork to burst the cherries while you are making the syrup. This releases the cherry juice which is needed to infuse the cherry flavor into the syrup.
• Adjust the amount of cherry syrup added. If you like very strong, classic Old Fashioned cocktails, then reduce the amount of black cherry syrup. It is a powerful, strong syrup, so you can get away with just a splash of it if needed.
• Store leftover syrup in the fridge. This recipe makes extra black cherry syrup. Let leftovers cool to room temperature, then store the syrup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Recipe FAQs

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📖 Recipe