Fresh Cherry Margarita: There's nothing sweeta

Fresh Cherry Margaritas (click here for the recipe) earn two votes for sweetness. That's because 1 -they're sweet-tasting, and 2 - they're sweet in the fantastic sense, as in, statement: “I just won $5 million in the lottery.” Reply: “Sweet.”
   This bright red libation is a real crowd-pleaser.
   Who knew cherries and tequila could go so well together? But here they are, in a beautiful relationship, in this refreshing cocktail.
   The recipe calls for maraschino liqueur, for which I needed to find a substitute after not finding it at my local liquor store.
   After reading a few raging online debates on the topic, I decided to try using the syrup that maraschino cherries is packed in (even though some of the online posters swore that certain cocktail death would result).
   It ended up being a perfect substitution, adding some more cherry flavor without being overwhelming. The recipe calls for one tablespoon of maraschino liqueur, and I used about ¾ of a tablespoon of the syrup.
   The recipe also calls for agave nectar, a natural sweetener. I found this at a health food store.
   Although the final product is definitely worth the effort, making each cocktail time-consuming.
   For one cocktail, you need to pit 12 cherries in a cocktail shaker, mash them with a muddler or wooden spoon, and then add tequila, fresh lime juice, agave nectar and the maraschino liqueur.
   Then you add ice, shake, and strain the cocktail into another glass with fresh ice (I strained the liquid through a fine small mesh strainer, rather than the strainer on the cocktail shaker).
   As I made one cocktail, I kind of felt like Doc Brown in Back to the Future Part III when, stuck in the old West, he builds a huge complicated contraption to make just one small ice cube.
   The moral to the story is: if you plan on serving this cocktail for more than just two, you may want to recruit someone for margarita-making duty.
   There will be a demand!

Tweet