Celebrate cherry season by boozing like George Washington

It’s cherry season and that means revisiting and updating my most requested liqueur recipe: Cherry bounce.

It’s the alcoholic beverage George Washington made famous. Martha, his wife, had among her surviving papers a recipe for cherry bounce with fresh cherries, French brandy, sugar and spices.

Our first president toted the bounce in canteens on his various excursions. I’m not sure Washington realized cherries are good anti-inflammatories, but after a hard day of riding, a little nip prior to bedding down no doubt tasted good and most likely calmed jangled nerves.

I make cherry bounce in small and large batches and with two kinds of cherries. One with dark, sweet cherries and the other with Rainier, a yellow/red cherry.

Bourbon whiskey, less expensive than brandy, is my liquor choice.

Dark cherries produce a bounce vibrant with jewel-like burgundy color and deep flavor.

Rainier cherries produce a lighter hued bounce with a mellow flavor.

Both have medicinal qualities, as my friend, Mary Rudloff, of blessed memory, told me years ago.

Whether you take a couple teaspoonfuls as Mary did for “anything that ails you, especially in winter,” or drink slowly as a sipping cordial, you’ll understand why this beloved liqueur never loses its appeal.

In the old days, rock candy was used for cherry bounce.

Today you can make the liqueur with rock candy, granulated sugar or honey.

If you use honey, count on subbing 3/4 cup honey for 1 cup sugar.

Honey will impart a bit of its own flavor profile, so take that into consideration.

One more thing – plan on making it now for holiday gifts. This very special drink takes anywhere from 3-6 months for infusion to complete.

I like to go to the thrift store and purchase a few cordial glasses to include with the bounce.

Small and large batch cherry bounce

Cherries are usually left unpitted for looks and taste. You do what you want. I leave pits in.

Use either dark, sweet cherries or Rainier cherries.

Ingredients small batch

1/2 pound fresh cherries, washed and stemmed, pitted or not

8 oz or so rock candy or 1 generous cup of granulated sugar or 3/4 cup honey

1/2 bottle bourbon whiskey (full bottle is 750 ml)

Instructions

Put cherries in glass jar.

Put sweetener on top.

Pour whiskey over.

Put lid on and shake daily until sweetener dissolves (rock candy takes a bit longer). Taste a few time as it ages and add more sweetener if you like.

Let infuse 3-6 months before drinking.

Store in pantry away from heat and light.

Note: If using rock candy on sticks or strings, remove sticks or strings before serving.

Large batch

Easy, peasy. Just double ingredients!

To serve

A lovely cordial, topping for ice cream or cake or added to sparkling water.

Let folks know cherries have pits if you left them unpitted.

Pits should not be ingested.

Tips

No fresh cherries?

Use frozen, thawed, unsweetened cherries.

Spice it up

Add a couple cinnamon sticks and ginger root slices to the initial infusion.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Small and large batch cherry bounce: Rita's Kitchen