Cherry Vanilla Whiskey Sour Cocktail

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Last Updated on December 17, 2023 by Leah Hall

An infused cherry and vanilla bean single malt whiskey makes this great whiskey sour cocktail that is full of flavor and so easy to make!

 

There is something appealing about a Whiskey Sour cocktail that most people enjoy. We can even attest to the fact that “non-whiskey people” enjoy this drink! This variation on the classic whiskey sour is a great sip all year long. Try our Grapefruit Bourbon Sour or Winter Rye Sour cocktails, too! Different still by using a whole egg in our Easter Flip cocktail.

 

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We teamed up with Brickway Distillery to make a few cocktails for the Omaha Whiskey Fest a few years ago! We also made the Blueberry Smash for a VIP speakeasy night, as well as this sour for the event itself.

 

Whiskey sours are a favorite of ours, as they are easy to make and are so easy to customize. This cocktail is sour obviously, but with a great whiskey and the simple syrup, a wonderful balance of flavors is combined! Reminiscent of another classic cocktail, the Amaretto Sour.

History of the Whiskey Sour

In 1862, the recipe for a Whisky Sour was in Jerry Thomas’s The Bartender’s Guide. The recipe called for 1 teaspoon of powdered sugar with a little seltzer water, the juice of half a lemon, and 1 wine glass of bourbon or rye whiskey, shaken. The drink was then strained into a glass and garnished with berries.

 

Sounds complicated, right?! But really, so simple!

 

Bartenders were looking for something to put in their drinks to keep them interesting. Some added egg white (a variation sometimes called the Boston Sour, or other names), while others substituted different fruit or sweeteners.

And it wasn’t just whiskey used for this cocktail, the Sidecar (cognac), Santa Cruz (rum), Margarita (tequila), Daisy (gin), Collins (gin), and others are all sours.

 

The sour is how drinks changed the cocktail scene. They are simple and refreshing, and have had longevity.

Cherry Vanilla Whiskey Sour

In using Brickway’s single malt, we wanted to do an infusion of some sort. In thinking of things that are seasonal, we knew cherries were out of season, but bring so much flavor! So, we thought of dried cherries and used those. We added a vanilla bean and let the infusion happen.

 

We encourage you to add the cherries and vanilla bean and let it infuse for at least 3 days, but if you want the full flavor of the cherries, let it sit for 5 days. This allows all the flavor to extract.

You can do the infusion in the whole bottle if you want that much, or pour out 4-6 ounces into a jar and place in your cherries and vanilla. To add even more interesting layers we made a toasted cinnamon simple syrup.

 

Simple ratios for this:

• Whole bottle: Take out 4-6 ounces out of the bottle. Add in a vanilla bean and cut dried cherries until bottle is full.
• 4-6 ounces of whiskey: pour whiskey into jar or other bottle. Add in 1/3 of a vanilla bean, and add in cut, dried cherries until cherries are covered.

 

The toasted cinnamon simple syrup was super easy to make, as we just toasted cinnamon sticks in a pan on the stove, and then added it to warm, already made simple syrup. Let it sit for 15 minutes to infuse the cinnamon! Yes, we are making you infuse 2 things in this recipe.!

What Ingredients are Needed for the Cherry Whiskey Sour?

• Cherry Vanilla Infused Whiskey (instructions above and in the recipe card) – this infusion does take a few days. And one of the best ways is patience. Just add the vanilla bean and dried cherries, and the flavors will develop. We used a local single malt, but any whiskey that you enjoy can be used in this recipe.
• Lemon Juice – as always, fresh lemon juice is best!
• Toasted Cinnamon Simple Syrup (Instructions below) – this simple syrup is made by toasting the cinnamon sticks first, then adding them to the sugar and water mixture for the infusion.
• Bitters – we used Angostura bitters for this great and tasty recipe.
• Egg White – this is an optional ingredient. We prefer the creaminess from the egg white in this recipe, but the sour tastes super great with or without it. So, up to you!

How to make the Cherry Whiskey Sour

This whiskey sour cocktail is easy, but so flavorful! You can also have the option of adding an egg white, as we did for the photo and the recipe, but left it out when we did it for the Omaha Whiskey Fest.

 

It would have been too much of a mess in a large event like that, but it did taste flavorful, and we got a lot of compliments on the flavors. If you want a richer texture though, go with the egg white, and just dry shake for 15 seconds, then add ice and shake again.

To make the cocktail, just add the ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a coupe glass if you want to serve it up, or in a rocks glass over a big ice cube.

 

Cheers to this tasty whiskey sour cocktail, rich in baking notes and winter flavors. Topped with beautiful homemade cherries! Try some other cherry cocktails like our Sustainable Cherry Cocktail, Cherry Toasted Cream Ramos Gin Fizz, Fresh Cherry Mojito or Ginger Cherry Smash.

 

Toasted Cinnamon Simple Syrup

2 cinnamon sticks

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

Combine water and sugar in small saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a simmer, making sure sugar is dissolved. Meanwhile, place cinnamon sticks into skillet and toast over medium high heat until slightly charred and smoking. Place cinnamon sticks into simple syrup and let infuse. Take off of heat to cool. Let sit for at least 12 minutes to infuse.

Strain out cinnamon sticks. Store in a jar in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Tips & Tricks

• Garnish – we garnished with some brandied cherries, but fresh cherries, maraschino cherries, or lemon slices work, too! Make a Smoked Cherry cocktail, too!
• Glassware – you can serve this vanilla cocktail in rocks glasses with large ice cubes or served up in cocktail coupes without ice. Either way, we encourage you to have a chilled glass, either place the glass in the freezer for a few minutes before serving, or put ice in the glass while mixing the cocktail.
• For a Crowd – you can make this recipe for a party in a large pitcher. Simply multiply the recipe by people imbibing to get the amounts. We discourage using egg whites in the pitcher though.
• Whiskey – use a good whiskey that you enjoy drinking in this full recipe. If you want it a little sweeter you can use bourbon whiskey, but rye, single malts and more will work.
• Other Variations – you can make this sour another delicious cocktail, a sour fizz by adding some club soda. If you want more cherry flavor, add a dash of cherry juice. If you want more citrus forward flavors add some orange juice, lime juice or other fresh juices. If you use other kinds of cherries for the infusion, like dark black cherries (these are early summer cherries), you can make a black cherry whiskey sour. And add vanilla or not. Use what is available at your grocery store. Try our Hatozaki Whisky Cocktail!

 

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Cheers!

Like this recipe? Try these below, too!

Irish Sour

 

Winter Whiskey Sour

 

Other Whiskey Sour Recipes

• Cinnamon Maple Whiskey Sour – Cookie and Kate
• Blood Orange Whiskey Sour
• Honey Tangerine Whiskey Sour – Turnip the Oven
• Pineapple Whiskey Sour – Baked by Rachel
• Bourbon Peach Sour

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