The Dirty Shirley (Second Try)

So I've been working on a new and improved Dirty Shirley cocktail.  I initially got the idea when I decided to make my own grenadine.  I made one attempt that wasn't bad.  But the drink was a little tooth splitting.  Not only that, I realized drinkers weren't getting the familiar maraschino cherry flavoring they were use to from the high fructose corn syrup.  How to change that?

I took a step back and thought.  

Why not infused cherries in vodka just to get the essence.  The infusion is more than enough of a vehicle to express that flavor.  But something else was inhibiting the true flavor to come out of this revisited cocktail. 

The syrup. 

Now I make Shirley Temples with ginger ale.  Some people make them with Sprite.  Either way the mixer is way too sweet.  It occurred to me that I needed to eliminate the soda pop altogether.  Plain old soda water/club soda should lighten up the drink.  

This significantly reduced the syrup content.  I added a little fresh lemon/lime juice to the soda to express the flavor profiles of Sprite.  But more importantly, it leaves out the syrup of a soft drink. 

I think I'm onto something.

The Dirty Shirley (Second Try)

- 2 oz cherry infused vodka

- 3/4 oz of home-made grenadine

- 1/2 oz of fresh lemon/lime juice

- soda water

- maraschino cherries

Glassware: pint glass only

Pour 2 oz of cherry infused vodka into a pint glass.

Pour 3/4 oz of home-made grenadine in.

Pour 1/2 oz of fresh lemon/lime juice in.

Add ice and top with soda water.

Lightly stir the mixture.  No need to stir really hard, the carbonation should do most of the work for you.  You just simply want to get the flavors from the bottom to the top of the drink.

Garnish with a couple of maraschino cherries.  Enjoy.

Other ideas I'm toying with for this drink:

- making my own ginger ale to replace the lemon/lime soda water

- making actual Maraschino Liqueur soaked cherries for the garnish