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Food

Ground Cherry Cocktail Recipe

A hint of spice, a dash of sweet, and a bit of booze = the perfect cocktail.
Ground Cherry Cocktail Recipe
Photo by Sydney Mondry

Servings: 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

for the ground cherry preserve:
¾ cup ground cherries
¼ cup|60 ml verjus
⅓ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon kyoto Manganji pepper, thinly sliced

for the cocktail:
1 ½ ounce|45 ml Lyon Distilling Dark Rum
4 bar spoons ground cherry preserve
½ ounce|15 ml Keepwell Aronia Berry Vinegar
3 dashes Woodberry Kitchen Ginger bitters
Manganji pepper slices
fresh ground cherries, in the husk
fresh Mexican mint marigold

Directions

  1. Make the ground cherry preserve: Heat ground cherries, verjus, sugar, and ⅓ cup|80 ml water in a small saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium, cook mixture until half of the ground cherries have popped, stirring occasionally. Add Manganji peppers, bring to a boil, stirring frequently so that the sugar does not burn. Cook mixture until viscous, ground cherries have fallen apart and preserves are thickened. Cool slightly, transfer to a small food processor, blend till smooth. Transfer to 8 ounce glass jar, let cool; cover and chill. Preserves can be made 2 weeks ahead. Keep chilled.
  2. Make the cocktail: In a highball glass, add rum, ground cherry preserves, vinegar and ginger bitters. Set aside.
  3. Wrap a large piece of ice in a kitchen towel. Using the back of a large wooden spoon, whack the ice cube 6 to 8 times breaking into finely cracked ice. Add ice to highball glass and swizzle. Garnish with pepper slices ground cherries and marigold flowers.

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