Cherry Bourbon Slush
Mix up a Cherry Bourbon Slush on a warm day! This adult slush drink is beautifully colorful, wonderfully bold and incredibly simple to make at home.
Looking for more refreshing summertime drinks? Be sure to mix up a Honeysuckle Cherry Smash, Peach Bourbon Slush and Frozen Moscow Mule!
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Who has two thumbs and enjoys a colorful, flavorful drink that’s perfect for sipping at any kind of gathering?
This lady right here. Maybe you do, too.
So it should come as no surprise during this FREAKY FRIDAY collaboration that I would choose a seasonal cocktail.
This recipe comes from Lori and Heather of Who Needs a Cape? .
Why I love this recipe:
Honestly, how could you NOT adore a frozen sipper like this one?
The added bonus is that it’s incredibly simple to make. You don’t have anything to boil, cook or even pop in the freezer. Also, it serves two, so you can share with a friend.
All you need are a few simple ingredients to make this refreshing cocktail.
This bourbon cherry slushie also wonderfully refreshing and easy to make and share with a crowd. Looking at you, summertime hangouts and backyard BBQ gatherings.
Please note that this recipe is not made using juice concentrates (like orange juice concentrate or lemonade concentrate) or unsweetened iced tea, so if you’re looking for a recipe that involves those, you need to find another one.
More summer drink recipes to try: Cherry Lemonade Margaritas / Spiked Watermelon Limeade / Blackberry Mint Spritzer / Peach Moscow Mule / Vodka Lemonade with Raspberry
Let me tell you a little bit about Who Needs a Cape?
Lori and Heather are have been friends since they met online during their pregnancies, and their friendship has turned into a sisterhood.
Together, they formed their blog to share simple, easy to prepare recipes their families enjoy… and the occasional cocktail and dessert, too, so long as they don’t take too much time.
They say they don’t wear the “cape” so many super-moms seem to wear these days. (HI, hello. Who does? Not me!) Meaning… they’re real ladies who have real lives and who share what makes their lives easier, as well as bring smiles.
I had a hard time choosing which recipe to make off their blog because everything sounded scrumptious. I mean, hello, their Buttery Bacon Cheddar Rolls look mouthwateringly delicious. So do their Raspberry Lemon Bars. And don’t even get me started on their Watermelon Fizz Cocktail.
Ultimately, I chose the Cherry Bourbon Slush because I’m a sucker for a good bourbon drink… and because it’s cherry season!
So… What Is Freaky Friday?
It’s an old-fashioned blog hop.
A blog hop is a collaboration between bloggers where everyone brings something to the table, then you link to one another when the posts go live.
Michaela from An Affair from the Heart, the lady who founded this quarterly collab, secretly assigns everyone another blogger. Then participants choose a recipe from their assigned blogger.
We make their recipe, photograph it as if it were our own, write a post about it with our own personal anecdote and then all share our posts on the same Friday.
We hope that this collaboration helps you discover some amazing new recipes, as well as find new bloggers to follow!
I’ve made Boozy Bacon Pretzel Peanut Butter Bars and Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese as a part of this collaboration.
What you’ll need to make this recipe:
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- Blender
- Mini Stainless Steel Angled Measuring Cup or a jigger to measure the liquids
- Cocktail shaker spoon
Let’s talk ingredients!
In addition to the tools above, you’re going to need some ingredients to make this recipe, too! Chances are, you might already have some of them in your fridge or pantry. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full measurements and instructions.
Here’s what you need to grab at the store to make this boozy drink:
- Ice — this is the main ingredient because, well, it transforms our bourbon drink into a slushie. Use whatever your freezer produces or freeze your own in trays. They willl be blended up to give the drink its slushy texture.
- Bourbon — choose a bourbon that you enjoy the flavor of, but don’t use the fancy sipping stuff! After all, we’re blending it with a few other ingredients.
- Maraschino cherry juice — this is the juice inside the jar with maraschino cherries. It takes the place of a classic simple syrup to sweeten the drink. And since you’re using them as a garnish the drink, you’ll have ’em on hand!
- Lemon-lime soda — use your favorite brand! You could replace this with ginger ale, if you have that on hand instead.
A note on the bourbon for this recipe:
Please, for the love of everything good in this world, use a good drinking bourbon.
It should not be Pappy or anything exceedingly fancy, but you want it to taste good. Quite honestly, you wouldn’t want to be mixing something exceedingly fancy into a mixed drink, but you want the alcohol to be palatable.
TL;DR: Don’t purchase the bottom-shelf bourbon for this drink because you’re gonna taste the bourbon.
You can also use your favorite whiskey, if you prefer that. (But then it’s a Whiskey Cherry Smash.)
How to make this Cherry Bourbon Slush recipe:
Measure. This recipe takes more measuring than anything else, so measuring out the ice, bourbon, cherry juice and Sprite is important. Measure them directly into the blender, or pour into separate containers before adding to the blender. (Pre-measuring will help with hosting!)
Blend. Crush everything up together in the blender!
DID YOU KNOW?
If you like your slush a little less ice-y, you can add ½ cup less ice.
Personally, I like mine where it ended up for these photos — the perfect slushy consistency, but still drinkable. And still super flavorful, too.
Serve. Pour the drink into one or two glasses. Garnish with a maraschino cherry, add some colorful paper straws and serve immediately!
If the drink sits for a bit, give it a good stir to reincorporate the ingredients before serving.
Pro tip!
I divided this recipe into two drinks instead of leaving it as one.
If you want this to be a single drink, you can pour it into a highball glass instead of a smaller glass, like the ones shown here.
Erin’s Easy Entertaining Tips
Slush drinks are perfect for warm weather entertaining… but they’re not something you will want to make ahead because they separate and melt.
I find slushes are best to mix as guests arrive and are looking for something to sip.
The nice thing about this one, too, is that it’s customizable:
- Go light on the bourbon. If you’re concerned it’s going to be too strong, add 2 oz. bourbon instead of the 3.
- Divide it into smaller sippers. Offer several smaller glasses to guests so everyone can have a sip!
- Make it a batch. Use math to double or triple the recipe to serve a larger group.
And if they want it without alcohol, you can make that happen, too! Personally, I think this Cherry Bourbon Slush would be incredible on its own without the bourbon. Basically, it’s a Shirley Temple Slush.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quite honestly, there isn’t much of a difference! Typically, smoothies include some form of dairy (yogurt, milk, etc.) or could also be dairy free, but with a product like almond, cashew or coconut milk that adds a creamy element.
Slushes tend to involve liquids, which is why adding booze is totally acceptable!
You know the jar of maraschino cherries that you’ve got in the fridge? The juice inside there is the juice I’m talking about. (You could also make your own cherry syrup with sweet cherries, though that will take more time.)
You can also use grenadine, though if you do that, this would technically be a Pomegranate Bourbon Slush since grenadine is made with pomegranate juice.
I haven’t tried it without the booze, but I bet it would be delicious! Leave out the bourbon, mix it up and enjoy!
Quick tips for making Bourbon-Cherry Slush
- Make it virgin by leaving out the bourbon!
- Measure out your ingredients in advance for easy entertaining.
- If you like more cherry flavor and less bourbon, simply pour in 2 oz. of bourbon instead of the noted 3.
Take a look at all of our Summer 2019 Freaky Friday Recipes:
Looking for a quick and simple dinner? Check out Greek Chicken Salad with Lemon Oregano Dressing and Instant Pot Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes.
Need a fun side or starter? I’m swooning over this Mexican Coleslaw, Warm Bean Dip a.k.a. Texas Trash and Summer Fruit Salad with Honey Lime Poppy Seed Dressing.
Looking to serve kids? You can’t go wrong with Cherry Quick Bread or Easy White Pizza Tarts.
Love flavors from around the world? Try out Thai Shrimp Curry, Caprese Empanadas and Cornbread Tamale Pie!
Lookin’ for more boozy slushes? I recommend this Blackberry Ginger White Wine Slush, Bourbon Peach Slush and Blackberry Gin Slush.
And if you just want this drink? Well, you’re in luck!
Here’s how I made this:
Cherry Bourbon Slush
EQUIPMENT
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Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups ice
- 3 oz. bourbon
- 2 oz. maraschino cherry juice
- 4 oz. lemon-lime soda
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Instructions
- Measure out 2 ½ cups ice, 3 oz. bourbon, 2 oz. maraschino cherry juice and 4 oz. lemon-lime soda into the base of a blender.
- Blend the ingredients together until smooth.
- Pour into two cocktail glasses, garnish with a maraschino
cherry, add paper straws and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
About the Author:
Erin Parker is a Southern gal living in Texas with her husband and two daughters. She started The Speckled Palate to share what she was cooking as a newlywed… and over the years, it’s evolved to capture her love for hosting. Specifically, the EASIEST, lowest key entertaining because everyone deserves to see their people and connect over good food. Learn more about her…
How perfect that this popped up in my FB feed…. served these for game night at the pool bbq this weekend. It was 101 degrees but we were keeping nice and chilled with the cool cocktails! The bourbon was such a fun way to spike the cherry/lemonlime soda! We LOVED them!
We’re going to be on vacation next week and I’m going to make sure I pack all of the ingredients for this cocktail. It will be perfect for sipping on the beach!
Heck yes! I hope you were able to bring the ingredients for these slushes with you, Lisa, because I think they would be a perfect beach sipper, too!
I made a whole pitcherful – it was perfect for our party!!
This drink looks so refreshing and sounds delish! I can’t wait to try it!
I am drooling over here! Its SO hot and this looks so perfectly refreshing! I’ve got to grab everything for this!
I wish there was a way for me to send one your way, Angela! It’s truly perfect for a super hot day.
I was never a sucker for bourbon even though my husband is an AVID bourbon drinker and collector but I had a bartender in Kentucky add some raspberry gingerale to it and I loved it! Once I started trying cherries with bourbon I fell in love all over again! Bourbon always seemed like a “winter” or cold weather spirit but this slush version is my new summer favorite! And I can drink it with Brooks!
Oh my goodness, that’s too funny about your husband and you… and that bartender changing your tune with raspberry ginger ale and cherries! That makes me really happy because I feel like bourbon sometimes needs a little sweetness to it to get started. (At least, that’s how it worked for me.)
I normally think of bourbon as a more wintery drink, too, but this slush is absolutely 100% summery. I hope you and Brooks enjoy it as much as we did!
I’m totally making the non-alcoholic version for me and my kids! And I had NO idea that real grenadine was made with pomegranate juice! That’s so surprising!
You ABSOLUTELY should, Amy! When I made this, I kept thinking, “This would be great without the booze, too.” So I hope you and your girls enjoy it!
Isn’t that a funny fact? I didn’t know that for the longest time, either. Glad that you learned something reading this post!
These are the perfect summertime sipper!! We have friends coming to the pool next weekend, and I found my cocktail!! (because THIS girl has two thumbs and loves a good cocktail, too!! ) Thanks!!
This truly is, Michaela! I hope that this slush delighted everyone’s tastebuds when you had friends over to the pool. Here’s to good cocktails and the summertime and finding something you can sip by the poolside!
SO refreshing!!!!
What a great summertime drink! Bourbon is always welcome at my house!