Tag: cherry heering

Desert Healer

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The Desert Healer (also called Desert Cooler) is a refreshing cocktail and a great welcome back to posting here on the blog! After a (semi) dry 40 days I’m ready to share some great new recipes with all of you.

With temperatures continuing to rise as we reach closer to the middle of spring the Desert Healer will treat the wounds from those unseasonably hot days. The drink has a unique “sandy” color, it’s not the most appealing but the orange garnish certainly helps with that. The drink begins with a mild citrus and ginger on the nose. With the first sip you’re greeted with a little ginger, followed by a hint of gin, then a nice finish of citrus and mild cherry. As it settles you get a little more of the ginger beer fizz to round things out. Overall it’s a very mild drink without a ton of overpowering alcohol burn or biased flavors. It’s a great choice for a hot summer day, but not a day that you want to sacrifice on quality.!

Alcohol Taste Rating: 5/10
Overall Rating 8.4/10

Desert Healer (Cooler)

1 1/2 oz Gin
1/2 Cherry Brandy (Cherry Heering Preferred)
3 oz Orange Juice
3-5 oz Ginger Beer
Orange Slice

Shake juice and liquor ingredients with ice. Strain into an iced highball or collins glass. Top with ginger beer stir gently. Garnish with an orange slice

VARIATION: Add an extra 1/2 oz of Cherry Heering after stirring for a gradient effect and sweeter finish.

DSCF8261
“…Where it’s flat and immense
And the heat is intense…”

Heart of Darkness (Shot)

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I have been working on this drink design almost as long as the blog has been in existence (about 4 years?). While it has gone through several significant changes over the years, I’m finally ready to present it as another MoM original! It was my purchase of Heering Cherry Liqueur which allowed for the final breakthrough in making this drink possible. It’s sweet but strong taste of fresh cherries is what gives this layered shooter it’s distinct color and flavor.

So unlike many of the drinks on this site, this one is a bit more ingredient specific. While I’m sure you could substitute one ingredient for another, I feel it would be a disservice to yourself or your guest to cheapen out on anything here. Like most layered cocktails and shots the presentation on this drink is top notch. For a layered shot you’re only aroma will really be your top layer, so in this it’s the Kraken Rum (but since that’s my favorite you’ll see no objections for me). Shots go by quick, so tasting notes are a little tough. You’ll get a hit of rum, followed quickly by mild cherry, and a nice finish of sweet raspberry. I find that the key to a great shot is one that doesn’t burn all the way down and make you hate yourself. The Heart of Darkness starts pretty mild (as far as layered shots go) and remains pleasant the whole way down. If you’re looking for something for your next party to impress your friends with, give this a try. Especially if you’re wary of trying a layered drink (as the raspberry makes the daunting task a breeze).

Alcohol Taste Rating: 6/10
Overall Rating: 8.8/10

Heart of Darkness (Shot)

1/4 oz Sweet Lime Juice
1/4 oz Chambord (or other raspberry liqueur)
1/4 oz Cherry Heering
1/2 oz Kraken Black Spiced Rum
1 Fresh Raspberry

In a (modern style) shot glass place a single raspberry. Slowly pour over each ingredient starting with the sweet lime juice and finishing with the rum. Serve with a tooth pick to spear the raspberry and eat it then down the shot.

“Stake through the heart, pretend I’m a vampire!” -David Mitchell

Blood and Sand

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I’m both proud and ashamed to say that this is the first cocktail with scotch that I’ve featured. I was privileged last year to be able to try a friend’s single malt scotch and it was one of the best things I’ve ever had! However it’s sort of a crime to mix it with anything, so that’s why we have blended scotch. My bottle of Teacher’s Highland Cream is a unique scotch due to its strong use of “peated malt.” A flavor that can really only be described as tasting like “burnt grain,” which is no where near as bad as it sounds. The scotch (while far from the quality of a nice single malt) does make for a fantastic whiskey sour.

So, flipping through my book of cocktails I was surprised to find this well balanced drink among many of the overly sweet or strong recipes. This particular cocktail had two other variants, but I felt that the one I chose to make represented the best of all three in terms of balance and presentation.

The cocktail itself is visually saved by the orange twist as its opaque and deep sandy brown isn’t the most inviting of colors. The aroma is a strong blast of fresh orange, which opens the imagination for what’s to come. The drink opens on your palette with a mild orange and whisky flavor. It moves to a sweet cherry and vermouth in the middle (however most of the cherry seems lost in this cocktail), and it finishes with the malt of the scotch beneath the complexity of the vermouth.

This is a uniquely complex cocktail which (at least for me) is overpowered by the use of the Teacher’s Scotch. I think by exploring other blended scotchs (likely with a more balanced flavor) a better cocktail may emerge. It’s certainly worth trying and I think worth making again, especially if you’re into whiskies. A dash or two of some orange bitters may also make this drink more well rounded, and a bit less sweet.

Alcohol Taste Rating: 7/10
Overall Rating 7/10

Blood and Sand

1 1/4 oz Scotch
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth
1/2 oz Cherry Brandy or Liqueur (Cherry Heering)
1 oz Orange Juice
Orange Twist

Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

blood and sand
Toro Toro!

 

I should also mention that I tried an alternate version of this cocktail which uses 3/4 of an ounce of the four ingredients and calls for a stir and strain. Apparently with a quick google search this is the “classic” version of the drink. It sports a darker color and slightly more balanced flavor, but the tasting notes are very much the same. The use of more fruit though makes for a better finish to the drink (having a bit to munch on).

Variation: Stir and Strain 3/4 oz of all ingredients into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange slice and a cherry.