Recipe: Sour Cherry Soda with 5-Spice Syrup and Basil
Here's a seasonal change of pace when you want an alcohol-free beverage that's lively and a little different.
Sour cherry season is all too brief. But you can semi-preserve cherries in this spiced simple syrup for muddling with your favorite herb and then deftly turning into a lively “soda” with sparkling water or club soda. It's a great alternative when you want something a little different and alcohol free. I harvested some Holy or Thai basil from my kitchen garden but mint or regular basil would be great too. The five spices in Chinese five-spice powder are star anise, fennel seed, Szechuan peppercorn, clove and cinnamon. And if you want to try this recipe with sweet vs. sour cherries, just cut back significantly on the amount of simple syrup.
Sour Cherry Soda with Five-Spice Syrup and Basil
Makes 4 sodas
For the five-spice simple syrup:
1 cup turbinado or raw sugar
1 cup cold filtered water
1 teaspoon five-spice powder (check for freshness. Ideally you purchased the spice within the last 3 months)
Add the sugar and water into a heavy bottomed sauce pan, add the five-spice powder and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Keep swirling the pan periodically until the sugar has completely dissolved. Cool and store covered in your fridge for up to four weeks.
For the soda:
1 cup of pitted sour cherries
½ cup five-spice simple syrup
½ cup of washed and dried herb leaves plus 4 sprigs of herb of your choice
Lots of ice
6 oz of sparkling water or club soda per serving
If you have a muddler, you will no doubt enjoy using it here. A muddler is nothing more than a wooden or stainless steel dowel that can gently smash the cherries and herbs together in the bottom of your glass to the benefit of all the ingredients. If you don’t have or can’t locate your muddler, the handle of a wooden spoon works very well.
Divide the pitted cherries and the herb leaves evenly among 4 rocks or highball glasses. Muddle, muddle, muddle until the fruit is crushed and the aroma of the herbs wafts up to your nose. Divide the simple syrup among the 4 glasses (1 oz of syrup per glass). Add ice cubes all the way up to the top of the glass. Pour your sparkling water or club soda over the ice and stir gently with either a bar spoon (a very long and slim example of a spoon) or any long-handled spoon to evenly distribute the syrup and the muddled fruit and herb. Garnish with a sprig of herb per glass and enjoy.
A fun little grace note is to serve some of the simple syrup on the side so your guests can add more if they’d like.
