This sweet and refreshing crushed cherry drink can be enjoyed on it’s own as a beautiful cordial or with an added punch to create a delicious cocktail.
Delicious and uplifting, it’s perfect as the evenings get warmer.
Ingredients
- 1 kgfrozen cherries, thawed
- 1.32 kg(6 cups) caster (superfine) sugar
- 1.25 L(5 cups) water
- 750 mlbottle rosé wine or white shiraz
- 2fresh bay leaves
- 2vanilla beans, split sideways, seeds scraped
- 1medium lemon (240g), rind removed in wide strips
- 1/4 cup(60ml) lemon juice
- 5x 750ml bottles sparkling wine or soda water, chilled
- ice cubes, to serve
Steps
- Combine cherries, sugar, water, wine, bay leaves, vanilla beans and seeds, and rind in a large saucepan. Stir over medium heat, without boiling, until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat; simmer 30 minutes, crushing cherries occasionally with a potato masher. Cool. Cover; refrigerate overnight.
- Strain mixture, reserving cherries, vanilla beans and rind. Stir in juice.
- To serve, either pour 1/4 cup cherry syrup into Champagne flutes, add a few reserved cherries and top with sparking wine. Or, pour syrup into a large jug, top with ice, some reserved cherries, vanilla beans and rind; top with soda water.
