Buzz
Creating a new cocktail each week is an enjoyable challenge, but after more than 125 editions of this series, it has become a little trickier. Sometimes I turn to my talented bartender friends for inspiration, but other times, I simply stare at the bottles on my bar cart, hoping a new recipe will appear. (That was my approach today.)
This morning, as I strained my neck to peer at my bar cart from the couch, I spotted a bottle of sour cherry liqueur (which I'd forgotten I owned) next to a bottle of Old Tom gin. “Hehe. It’s Tom and Cherry!” I said to myself, and then I became completely determined to create a cocktail based on the pun.
While the cherry liqueur is indeed a liqueur, it’s a rather tart one. My first instinct was to pair it with lemon, assuming it needed some acidity, but the result was pretty unpleasant. However, when I swapped the lemon for a touch of honey syrup, everything clicked, and the Tom & Cherry was born. It tastes like a slightly herbaceous alcoholic cherry juice, and it’s absolutely delicious. To make it, you will need:
2 oz Old Tom gin
1 oz cherry liqueur
1 tsp honey syrup (made with a 3:1 ratio of honey to hot water by volume)
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake until chilled. Strain the mixture into a coupe glass. If you'd like a garnish, consider a strip of lemon zest elegantly wrapped around a Luxardo cherry.
