Cherry Lime Sour mocktail recipe
Tart cherry, lime and a small, stable foam cap in a dark ruby rocks drink.
Method: Shake · Glass: Rocks glass · Time: 5 minutes · Difficulty: Intermediate
Ingredients
- 2 oz unsweetened tart cherry juice
- ¾ oz fresh lime juice
- ½ oz 2:1 demerara syrup
- ¾ oz aquafaba
- 2 dashes alcohol-free aromatic bitters
How to make it
- Chill a rocks glass and fill it with one large fresh ice cube.
- Add the cherry juice, lime, syrup, aquafaba and bitters to a shaker without ice.
- Dry shake for 15 seconds to build a close, even foam.
- Add firm ice, shake again for 12 seconds, then fine strain over the large cube.
- Rest one cherry on the foam and serve immediately.
Garnish
One dark cocktail cherry
Why this balance works
Tart cherry has real acidity, so adding lime is about shape rather than simply making the drink sharper. The lime keeps the fruit from reading like juice, while rich demerara gives the sour a darker, more deliberate finish. If your cherry juice is sweetened, reduce the syrup first; the target is brisk fruit with a dry enough finish for the bitters to show.
Technique to keep
A small foam cap is easier to control than a towering one. Build it with a dry shake, then chill the drink in a shorter wet shake. Fine straining matters because little shards of ice can break the surface before the drink reaches the table. The large serving cube then slows dilution without turning the sour flat.
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