Cherry & Thyme Sour with Balsamic VinegarPhoto: Aceto Balsamico di Modena / Sandra Mühlberg
Autumn Aperitivo at Home: Cherry & Thyme Sour with Balsamic Vinegar
Recipe by Aceto Balsamico di Modena PGI
Cherry and balsamic vinegar are well known as a culinary duo, served with game, duck, or mature cheese. The Cherry & Thyme Sour brings this proven combination to the bar, pairing it with bourbon and fresh thyme. With its notes of vanilla, caramel, and wood, the bourbon provides a robust foundation, while sour cherry juice brings fruitiness and a pleasantly tart acidity. The thyme is only gently muddled in the shaker, giving the drink a herbal, almost Mediterranean freshness.
And Aceto Balsamico di Modena PGI? It ties all of this together with its characteristic interplay of sweetness and acidity, ensuring the cocktail isn't just one-dimensionally fruity, but complex and long-lasting on the palate. Remarkably, there is no need for sugar syrup here; the natural sweetness of the cherry juice and balsamic vinegar is completely sufficient.
Especially in autumn, as the evenings grow longer and richer drinks are called for, the Cherry & Thyme Sour is an ideal companion: for an aperitivo with friends or as a starter to an autumn menu. Anyone who has ever mixed a Whiskey Sour will quickly notice how much a splash of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena can elevate a seemingly familiar recipe.
Preparation
- 1
Add the bourbon, balsamic vinegar, sour cherry juice, lemon juice, aquafaba, and the lightly muddled thyme to a shaker and stir.
- 2
Add ice and shake vigorously.
- 3
Double strain into a tumbler over a large ice cube.
- 4
Garnish with a fresh cherry.
If you use an Aceto Balsamico di Modena PGI Invecchiato (aged in wooden barrels for at least three years), you get a rounder, softer note that harmonises particularly well with the wooden and vanilla aromas of the bourbon.