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A Cherry Vodka Sour is one of the easiest cocktail recipes there is! Three ingredients is all it takes to create a refreshing summer cocktail that tastes like a sip of boozy cherry lemonade.
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Like its classic cocktail cousin the whiskey sour, a vodka sour is a quick and easy sip that's the perfect cocktail for your next summer happy hour or backyard barbecue. It's a classic drink made from vodka, syrup, and fresh citrus.
The natural cherry flavor of homemade sweet cherry vodka combines with fresh lemon juice and a little simple syrup for a delicious tangy cocktail that's bright and perfect for warm weather.
The pretty pink hue of the cocktail comes from the natural red color of the cherries in the vodka. There's no cherry juice or grenadine in this drink, only natural ingredients and colors. (If you're looking for a cocktail with cherry juice, try this Cherry Blossom Cocktail.)
Simple syrup is easy to make at home and squeezing a fresh lemon is well worth the effort. It really will taste so much better than its bottled counterpart. Love tart flavors? Bring the lemon juice up to 1 ounce when making this cherry vodka sour.
What's in a Cherry Vodka Sour Cocktail
- Cherry Vodka - I only use homemade cherry infused vodka in this cocktail. The flavor is fresher and there's no added sugar.
- Simple Syrup - Easily made at home, simple syrup lasts for weeks in the fridge so it can be made well ahead of time.
- A lemon - Fresh lemon only for this one! You'll need about half of a lemon per cocktail.
How to Make a Cherry Vodka Sour (Step by Step)
Combine vodka, simple syrup, and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker.
Add ice cubes.
Cover and give it a good shake for about 10 seconds.
Double strain into a Nick and Nora glass.
Garnish with a maraschino cherry, lemon twist, or expressed lemon peel. Enjoy!
Infuse Your Own Homemade Cherry Vodka
The cherry vodka you buy at the liquor stores and grocery stores tastes too much like the medicines of my childhood for my liking. Instead I make my own cherry infused vodka at home with regular vodka and real, sweet cherries. (Skip the tart or sour cherries!) The result is a vodka that tastes like fresh cherries and is ideal as the star of this cocktail. >Get my DIY Cherry Vodka Recipe
Recipe Tips
- Change it up! Want to make a blueberry or strawberry sour cocktail? Swap out the cherry infused vodka for blueberry infused vodka or strawberry infused vodka for a delicious twist on this cherry vodka sour.
- No lemons on hand? Fresh lime juice is delicious in this drink.
- While a classic vodka sour cocktail leaves out the egg white, many include them. If you'd like to add that wonderful frothy texture to your cocktail without the risk of raw egg, add a few dashes of Fee Foam cocktail foamer to your shaker before shaking up the drink. It's vegan and will give your drink the creamy white foam of including an egg white without the mess, hassle, or illness risk.
Try These Vodka Cocktails
Vodka is a popular liquor for mixing cocktails because it's so versatile! Enjoy it in a blueberry vodka lemonade or these easy and refreshing pineapple vodka martinis.
FAQs and Substitutions
This is a small volume cocktail served with out ice, so it needs a small cocktail glass. Skip the rocks glass. Nick and Nora glasses are perfect for this cherry vodka sour. Don’t have any? Use any small stemmed glass. (The kind you get from wine tastings work well.)
Because it’s being served in a small glass, it needs a small garnish. Use in a maraschino cherry or a piece of lemon peel. With a vegetable peeler to remove a length of lemon peel before you juice the lemon for your cocktails. Then use that lemon peel to garnish the drink. Trim it up nicely with a small paring knife, express (squeeze) the peel over the drink, and then drop it into the glass.
That's up to you. What you're straining out by pouring it through a fine mesh strainer is all of the tiny ice shards that have come of the cubes in your shaker. It keep the top of your cocktail from feeling like a slushy or full of ice that will melt and water down your drink.
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Cherry Vodka Sour Cocktail (3 Ingredients)
Ingredients
- 2 oz cherry vodka
- 1 oz simple syrup
- 0.75 oz lemon juice fresh squeezed
Instructions
- Combine vodka, simple syrup, and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
- Shake well, about 10 seconds.
- Double strain into a Nick and Nora glass.
- Garnish with a lemon twist or expressed lemon peel.
- Enjoy!
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