Cherry Vodka Shots

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These Cherry Vodka Shots are fun & fruity bright red shots that are made with homemade cherry syrup and regular vodka. You don’t need flavored vodka for this recipe!

Fruit-flavored shots are always a great recipe to make for a summer party or family barbecue. Some other fruit-flavored shots to try include this Raspberry Kamikaze Shot or this Pineapple Upside Down Cake Shot.

If you’re interested in more cherry flavored drink recipes, try this Black Cherry Mojito, this Cherry Limeade Margarita, or this Bourbon Cherry Cocktail.

Jump to:

• Why You’ll Love This Recipe
• Ingredients & Substitutions
• How To Make Cherry Vodka Shots
• Expert Tips
• Recipe FAQs
• 📖 Recipe

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• No Flavored Vodka — This is an easy way to make flavored vodka shots without having to actually buy flavored vodka! You can use whatever type of regular vodka you have on hand.
• Homemade Cherry Syrup — The cherry flavoring comes from a homemade cherry syrup, which you can make with either fresh or frozen cherries. This gives the cherry shots a real, cherry taste without any artificial flavoring.
• Easy To Make — These shots are super simple to make, and you can make a big batch of cherry syrup in advance so it takes only a few seconds to prepare when you are actually ready to serve them.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Cherries: If it is cherry season, use fresh cherries, otherwise frozen cherries work just as well. This recipe works with both tart cherries or dark cherries. Tart cherries will make a bit of a more sour cherry syrup, whereas dark cherries will be sweeter.
• Vodka: Use whatever brand of mid-shelf vodka you have on hand. You don’t need to use any type of flavored vodka for this recipe, the cherry syrup gives all the flavoring you need. You can replace the vodka with another type of alcohol if you prefer, such as rum or gin.
• Sugar: Granulated sugar works best for making the cherry syrup, but brown sugar works as well. Brown sugar will give the syrup a richer, slightly caramel flavor.
• Water: A bit of water is used to make the cherry syrup. Use bottled or filtered water to avoid any unpleasant tap water flavors.

How To Make Cherry Vodka Shots

Step 1: Heat the granulated sugar, water and cherries together in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally and mash the cherries with the back of a fork to release their juices.

Step 2: Once the sugar has completely dissolved, turn off the stove at let the syrup cool for a few minutes. Then, use a fine mesh sieve to strain out all the cherry pieces.

Step 3: Add the cherry syrup and vodka to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well for 20 seconds and strain into a shot glass.

Expert Tips

• Don’t let the syrup boil. If the cherry syrup starts to boil, reduce the stove temperature. At most a light simmer is ok. Otherwise, too much water will evaporate and your syrup will become way too thick once it cools down.
• Make sure the cherries burst. As the cherries heat up, make sure to use a fork to burst the cherries. This releases their cherry juice which adds the cherry flavor to the syrup.
• Make a fruity substitution. You can replace the cherries with any type of berry or fruit. Or, you can add in some other fruits, like cranberries or blueberries for a mix of fruity flavor.
• Adjust the alcohol to syrup ratio. Adjust how much cherry syrup you use depending on how strong you’d like your vodka shots to be. For stronger shots, use just a dash of cherry syrup.

Recipe FAQs

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📖 Recipe