Cherry Sherry Cobbler
It’s cherry season and if you follow this blog, you know that I love cherries. While I love all types of cherries from Bings to Rainiers, I wait all year for one specific type of cherry: the Tartarian. Tartarians are a big, deep red, plump, sweet cherry that are unlike anything else out there. They’re only around for a few weeks, but when they’re here, I buy as many as I can. I’ve made cakes and cookies with them and now I’ve made a cocktail. A cocktail that’s the perfect way to usher in summer.
A Classic Cocktail
The cocktail is called a Cobbler and it dates all the way back to the mid-1800’s. No it’s not a pie, it is actually a drink. It’s called a cobbler because of the “cobbles” of ice over which the drink was poured. All that crushed ice made it difficult to imbibe straight from the glass, so a straw was added. This was supposedly the first time a cocktail was served with a straw. People took to the tipple (and its straw) immediately, so that by the time the Cobbler showed up in Harry Johnson’s 1888 Bartender’s Manual, he said it was “without a doubt the most popular beverage in the country”. Having recently tasted one, I can see why.
This drink is cold and sweet and full of fruit, making it the ideal choice for your Memorial Day weekend festivities. But unlike other cocktails you’ll be seeing (and tasting) this holiday weekend, the Cobbler has a very low alcohol content thanks to sherry being its main liquor. See, sherry is a fortified wine that’s usually aged three to five years. Because it’s a wine, it’s alcohol content is only 18 – 20% which is why you can enjoy several of these and not end up drunk and sick by day’s end; a serious plus in my book. But sherry isn’t the only liquor in a cobbler. Depending on how you make it, there could also be gin or rum or even whiskey.
Cherries
While the liquors are interchangeable, there are a few things that are absolute musts. You must have a sweetener like sugar or simple syrup and you must have fresh fruit, hence the cherries. While the classic sherry cobbler is made with oranges and lemons, you can use any fruit you like. That’s one of my favorite things about this drink: depending on the season, you could have a cobbler made with oranges, lemons or limes or you could make one with berries, peaches and cherries. Since the fruit changes, so does the cocktail.
I went with cherries and oranges for a couple reasons. First oranges are still in season and a great homage to the original drink. Second, as I said, these cherries are amazing! Not only do the two fruits go really well together, but cherry cobblers (the dessert) will be everywhere this weekend. So, instead of eating one, why not drink it? Or maybe do both. But whichever you choose, they’ll definitely make this long weekend so much better.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces sherry
- 1 ounce Cointreau
- 1/4 ounce simple syrup
- 3 cherries, pitted
- 1 wheel of orange
Instructions
- Combine the sherry, Cointreau, simple syrup, cherries and orange wheel in a shaker with ice and shake vigorously.
- Fill a rocks glass with crushed ice. Strain the sherry mixture into the prepared glass, garnish with an orange wedge and a cherry and serve with a straw.
