Sour-Cherry Mojitos

4.0

(19)

Celebrate stone fruit season by making this fruity vodka pitcher drink for your next party.

Prep Time:

10 mins

Total Time:

1 day 10 mins

Servings:

16

Our cherry mojito is a refreshing pitcher drink you’ll want to make for your next party. Just right for cherry season, it’s a delicious celebratory vodka libation that puts the diminutive stone fruit center stage. Our recipe makes enough for a pitcher or a punch bowl. It’s a fruity concoction that has a few things in common with the classic rum and lime mojito we borrowed the name from: It also calls for mashing the main ingredients with simple syrup (in the classic, that’s mint and lime juice, here it is cherries, basil, and lemon juice), and is topped off with sparkling water.

Variation

You can swap the sour cherries for sweet Bing cherries and the lemon juice for lime juice to make a cherry mojito.

Directions

Make sugar syrup:

Bring sugar and 1 1/4 cups water to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved, 3 minutes. Remove from heat; let cool 15 minutes.

Syrup can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 1 month.
Combine lemon juice, cherries and basil; add syrup, mash, and refrigerate:

Combine lemon juice, fruit, and basil in a bowl. Add syrup; mash lightly to release juices. Refrigerate at least 1 day and up to 4 days.
Mix fruit mixture and vodka; divide between glasses and top with sparkling water:

Combine fruit mixture and vodka in a pitcher or punch bowl; ladle about 1/3 cup into each glass. Fill with ice. Top with sparkling water, garnish with more basil, and serve.