Sour Cherry Gin Cooler

I bought sour cherries at the farmers' market with no concept of what to do with them. I have used them before in a wonderful Jerry Traunfeld recipe in The Herbal Kitchen for pasta handkerchiefs with goat cheese, sage, and sour cherries. Of course the standard use for them is in pies, but this time I wanted to do something different. I decided to boil them down into a juice to use in a gin drink. Lime emphasizes the tartness of the cherries and also balances their sweetness. I love a good tart gin drink on a warm evening or a hot late afternoon. It's like grown-up lemonade. I'm sure as the summer progresses I will be posting even more recipes for refreshing summer drinks, so keep an eye out!

Sour Cherry Gin Cooler
makes 8 drinks

1 cup gin
1/4 cup maraschino
1/4 cup triple sec
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
3/4 cup sweetened sour cherry lime juice
1 tray of ice


Stir together all ingredients in a pitcher. Refrigerate until you are ready to serve, and then serve over ice with a lime wedge or a sprig of mint.


Sweetened Sour Cherry Lime Juice
3 cups sour cherries (no need to pit them)
3 halved lime rinds (what is leftover after you squeeze the juice out)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water

Stir together all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes at least, or until the cherries are falling apart and fully cooked.

Place a strainer over a bowl, and strain the pits and lime peels out of the juice, pressing as much of the pulp through the strainer as possible. Let the juice cool before using it in the Sour Cherry Gin Cooler.