Red Skies

Name: Red Skies
Ingredients: For the cherry cubes:; 1/2 pound sweet cherries; 2 large lemons; 2 tablespoons sugar; water; For the cocktail:; 4 ounces (1/2 cup) freezer cold gin (Aviation preferred); 3/4 ounce (1 1/2 tablespoons) creme de violette; 1/2 batch cherry cubes from above; Lemon juice (optional)

10 ingredients

7 steps

Ingredients

For the cherry cubes:
1/2 pound sweet cherries
2 large lemons
2 tablespoons sugar
water
For the cocktail:
4 ounces (1/2 cup) freezer cold gin (Aviation preferred)
3/4 ounce (1 1/2 tablespoons) creme de violette
1/2 batch cherry cubes from above
Lemon juice (optional)

Directions

1

Pit your cherries and place them into a blender. Juice your lemons, straining out any seeds, into the blender. Add sugar. Blend until cherries have been thoroughly liquified. If your blender has trouble, add up to 1/4 cup water.
2

Stain cherry juice into a glass measure, through a fine mesh strainer to remove most of the solids. Press out as much liquid as possible. Add water to a total volume of 1 1/2 cups of cherry juice. Stir.
3

Pour into an ice cube tray (or more if needed.) Freeze until solid (at least several hours).
4

Note: This will make enough cherry juice cubes for 2 batches of the cocktail. Alternately, use additional cubes in limeade, to keep your Red Skies icy cold for longer, or eat them like mini-popsicles.
5

Combine gin, creme de violette, and cherry juice cubes in a blender. Blend until smooth. Taste, and stir in lemon juice if desired.
6

Divide between 2 cocktail glasses. Kick back and enjoy!
7

Note: If need be you can omit the creme de violette. It adds a nice floral note, but the cocktail is still tasty without it.