Quarantine Cocktail No. 11: Cheerwine Old Fashioned

If you're tired of blog posts about Cheerwine recipes, you might not want to read this one. But if you're a normal person and you love the taste of the cherry cola, read on.

I made a Cheerwine bourbon glazed ham for Easter dinner last Sunday, which called for 24 ounces of the soda. We had bought a two-liter bottle, so we had plenty left over after dinner. Instead of just drinking it, I decided to put it to use in my Quarantine Cocktail series. 

The Old Fashioned is my go-to cocktail, and Cheerwine is my go-to soda, so when you mix them together, it's just about the greatest think you could drink. There's a little bit of prep work that goes into this cocktail, but nothing strenuous that should stop you from crafting this delicious drink. 

I made this for the first time during a virtual happy hour with my family on Friday evening and I've made it a few times since then. It's a very serious contender for my new favorite drink. 

The official recipe on Cheerwine's website calls for some orange bitters in addition to the usual Angostura bitters, but I didn't have any and the drink still tasted great. 

Cheerwine Old Fashioned

Ingredients
2 oz. bourbon
3/4 oz. Cheerwine simple syrup
2 dashes Angostura bitters
2 dashes orange bitters (optional)

Directions
1. For the simple syrup, boil two cups of Cheerwine and one cup of sugar until it reduces a bit. 
2. Add the bitters, simple syrup and bourbon to an Old Fashioned glass with ice. Stir. Garnish with an orange peel and two maraschino cherries. 
3. Enjoy!