I tried all kinds of recipes in 2010 when I tried 365 new recipes. One was this Bourbon Cherry Crush, a simple alcoholic bourbon-cherry slushie.

It's easy to make, and pretty delicious when made right (which I definitely didn't do 15 years ago). It's a refreshing, not-too-sweet frozen cocktail.

Bourbon cherry crush, a slushy alcoholic drink, in a glass on an outdoor picnic table.

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Ingredients
Instructions
More Bourbon and Other Spirits
📖 Recipe

When I was looking up pina coladas in 2010 I came across another blended drink recipe that The New York Times called Cherry Crush. Alex and I were having drinks, and I figured I might as well make it since I had the stuff for it.

Ingredients

Ingredients are pretty simple:

Bourbon: use a standard 40%, 80-proof one that you like the taste of.
Cherries: fresh, and not grocery store maraschinos, which have no flavor. Use a cherry pitter (affiliate link) to pit them. Frozen cherries are probably also okay.
Lemon juice: fresh is better, but bottled is fine.
Sugar
Angostura bitters
Ice: I use crushed ice if possible, to make it easier to blend.

Instructions

Pit the cherries; I recommend using a cherry pitter (affiliate link).

Combine all the ingredients in blender or bullet blender (affiliate link), like I use. Add the sugar directly to the liquid to help it dissolve.

Blend in 15 second increments for 1 minute total. The slushie blended better when I gave it a 10-15 second rest halfway through blending.

Garnish with mint or basil if desired. Enjoy immediately!

More Bourbon and Other Spirits

Here's other bourbon and drinks recipes I've made!

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📖 Recipe

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5 from 1 vote

Bourbon Cherry Crush

Bourbon Cherry Crush is a recipe for a simple, blended slushie. A refreshing, not-too-sweet frozen cocktail.

Prep Time5

Total Time5

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bourbon cherry crush

Servings: 1 drink

Author: Leona Konkel

Ingredients

2 ounces bourbon (56 grams; ¼ cup)
3 pitted cherries
2 tablespoons lemon juice (28 grams; 1 ounce)
1 tablespoon sugar (12 grams)
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 cup ice (crushed ice if possible)

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a blender or bullet blender (affiliate link). Add sugar to the liquid (rather than onto the ice or the bottom) to help dissolve it.
Blend in 15 second increments for 1 minute total, until smooth. I find it blends best when I take a brief rest halfway through blending.
Enjoy immediately.

Notes

Use a 80-proof, 40% bourbon that you enjoy.

Use fresh cherries. Use a cherry pitter to remove the pits. Frozen cherries likely work as well. Don't use grocery store maraschinos, which have no flavor.

Bottled lemon juice is okay.

I use crushed ice when possible, as it makes the blending go more quickly.

Calorie count calculated in MyNetDiary.

Adapted from the New York Times