Cherry Vodka Slush

Cherry Vodka Slush. Switch the spirit to tequila for a Margarita twist, or bourbon as a refreshing southern summer cocktail for celebration occasions or an afternoon tipple. 

A slush cocktail is no stranger to a Newfoundland household during the Holiday season. Folks from all over the province have their own twists on a pretty popular Rum Citrus and Pineapple version that first began the trend decades ago.

I posted my own version of that one quite a few years back myself. Our version of Holiday Slush has been popular during every Christmas and New Years season ever since.

I've heard of many versions since, from one that sounds much like a strawberry daiquiri, to an indulgent orange creamsicle version that could almost pass as dessert!

Of course, we have added other versions here over the tears as well. Our Blueberry Rum Slush has proven to be very popular after berry picking season in particular.

Cherry Vodka Slush, summer's latest version.

I've said before that for summer entertaining, that ubiquitous slush may be an even better idea than at the Holiday season. We tend to be more social during the warmer weather ourselves, hosting a number of BBQ events from June to September.

We added a Strawberry Lime Slush and a Watermelon Sangria Slush to our repertoire and shared those recipes here too. They are delightful summer refreshers themselves.

This time around the inspiration was an abundance of late season sweet cherries on sale at our neighbourhood supermarket. We bought a ton of them!

Coming up we have a homemade cherry pie filling and another jam recipe planned to use some of them. Some of them were pitted and frozen and some of them went into a batch of this delicious slush!

Make it year round in different ways.

Of course cherry season doesn't limit when you can make this great slush. It is just as good and sometimes more economical to prepare it using frozen fruit at other times of year, including the Holidays. 

I've added version suggestions in the recipe notes as well, so look for those there.  The recipe can be made more versatile and seasonal by switching out the Vodka for another spirit.

Again, check the recipe notes for more suggestions but a favorite would have to be using tequila for a sort of Margarita twist on this recipe. I'd change the lemon juice to lime in that case and serve garnished with lime wedges.

Like this Cherry Vodka Slush recipe?

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Yield: 35 servings

Cherry Vodka Slush

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Additional Time: 12 hours

Total Time: 12 hours 30 minutes

Cherry Vodka Slush. Switch the spirit to tequila for a Margarita twist, or bourbon for a southern refreshing summer cocktail for celebration occasions or an afternoon tipple. 

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Ingredients

• 10 cups fresh or frozen sweet cherries, 5 pints

• 2 cups water, 480 ml
+ ½ cup to boil the cherries
• 2 cups sugar, 450 grams

• ½ cup lemon juice, 120 ml

• 3 cups white grape juice, or apple juice (720 ml)

• 26 ounce bottle of vodka, 750 ml 40% alcohol (See notes for alternatives)

Instructions

1. You will need an airtight covered plastic container to make the slush in, and to store it in the freezer. Airtight is important because this slush can stay in the freezer for quite a long time if need be, and you don't want it absorbing freezer odours. Large Tupperware bowls with snap on lids work well. Here in Newfoundland, if we are making large batches, we use food grade plastic buckets that salt beef is sold in. Don't assume a salt beef bucket in a Newfoundland freezer has salt beef!
   
2. In any case, this recipe makes about 4 litres/quarts of slush so a 4.5 or 5 litre/quart container will be required.
3. Crush the cherries with a potato masher, chop them into quarters, or pulse them in a food processor a few times to break them up. The cherries will eventually be pureed.

4. Add the crushed cherries to a saucepan with ½ cup water and bring to a slow simmer for only about 10 minutes to get the cherries to release their juice.
5. At the same time, in a separate pot, add the 2 cups of sugar to the 2 cups of water and simmer for 4-5 minutes to make a simple syrup.
6. Strain the juice off the cherries and add it to a 4 quart (litre) covered plastic container (or larger).
7. Puree the strained cherries very well in a blender or food processor until very smooth.
8. Add the cherry puree to the plastic container, along with the simple syrup and all of the remaining ingredients.
9. Give it a good stir to combine, put the lid on and put the container in the freezer for about 6 hours.
   

Freezing and serving the slush.

1. After six hours, ice sheets should be beginning to form in the slush. You want to break these down into smaller crystals.
2. An immersion blender is idea for this, but if you don't have one, a few minutes of vigorous stirring with a whisk should do the trick.
3. Return to the freezer and after a few more hours, give it another stir. The slush then stays covered in the freezer until ready to serve.
4. When serving, stir the slush well every time and spoon 4 ounces of the icy mixture into an 8 ounce glass.
5. Add 2 or more ounces of club soda or ginger ale. Stir and serve
6. Another suggestion is to serve the slush in martini glasses mixed with a splash of Prosecco and a garnish of a lemon slice and fresh or frozen cherries on top.
   

Notes

• You can easily play with the alcohol in this recipe to suit your own taste.
• I originally made this with light rum and it was very good.
• You could also substitute part of the vodka for cherry brandy, or another cherry liqueur. Maybe 500 ml vodka plus 250 ml cherry brandy.
• For whiskey drinkers, this would also be very good using bourbon or a light rye whiskey too.
• For a Margarita twist use tequila and switch the lemon juice for lime juice. Serve with lime wedges.

A 4 ounce serving of this slush with a 2 ounce splash of soda water per serving works out to a cocktail that is about 5% alcohol/volume.

This recipe is also easily halved for a smaller batch of 2 litres, using a 375 ml flask of vodka.

Nutrition Information

Yield

35

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 161Total Fat 0gSaturated Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 0gSodium 2mgCarbohydrates 29gFiber 2gSugar 27gProtein 1g

The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.

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