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Bourbon Cherries Recipe

As a kid, you loved those sweet, bright maraschino cherries. This grown-up version is soaked in bourbon and ginger, giving an old favorite a modern kick.
Photo: Sam Kaplan
Makes about 1 pint

Ingredients

  • 1 heaping cup (6 ounces) pitted Bing cherries, fresh or frozen
  • 1 cup bourbon
  • 3 Tbsp. sugar
  • 1 (1") knob of ginger, peeled and thickly sliced

    Directions

    Active time: 8 minutes
    Total time: 3 days, including soaking time


    Place cherries in a resealable 1-pint jar.

    In a medium pot, bring bourbon, sugar and ginger to a simmer over medium-low heat and cook until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.

    Pour bourbon mixture into jar of cherries, seal and place in fridge for at least 3 days. Cherries will keep, refrigerated, up to 2 months.

    Seeing Red
    To present her Bourbon Cherries in style, Maggie Battista suggests some of her favorite sources for glass vessels. She also offers a few ways to serve them—in addition to topping such classic cocktails as a Manhattan or an Old Fashioned:

    To Give:

    Le Parfair Glass Terrine: Made by a French company that's been around for more than 80 years, these jars with iconic swing-top lids can be used again and again—just buy new orange rubber seals. ($8 for 17½-ounce jar; ContainerStore.com)

    Hexagon Jar with Gold Lid: Battista likes this receptacle's unusual shape; others on this site come in hues like amber or blue, or even novelty designs like glass bears. ($1.10 for 9-ounce jar; SpecialtyBottle.com)

    Straight-Sided Glass Jar with Metal Lid: These jars are exceptionally easy to use, and they make everything from preserves to infused sea salt look so darn good. ($20 for 12 [16-ounce] jars; ULine.com)

    To Savor
  • Heaped on slices of pound cake
  • Spooned over a bowl of your favorite ice cream
  • In a Surly Shirley Temple: Mix 1 ounce grenadine, 3 ounces ginger ale and a squeeze of lime juice, then add one bourbon cherry. Don't have grenadine on hand? You can make your own in minutes: Just mix equal parts pomegranate juice and sugar over low heat until the sugar dissolves.
  • From the December 2015 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine
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