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A Nerd Cooks » Cocktails » Sours

Cherry Vodka Sour

May 18, 2022 · Modified: Feb 17, 2024 by Lauren Pacek · This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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A Cherry Vodka Sour is a delicious riff on the Vodka Sour, a classic cocktail. It retains all of the great qualities of the original drink, but incorporates sweet cherry flavor and gorgeous color.

It's vibrant dark pink color is the result of the cherry-flavored simple syrup and that fluffy, foamy topping is created by double shaking the cocktail with a raw egg white. Don't let the sophisticated presentation fool you, though. These cherry vodka sours are so easy to shake up!

Looking for more vodka cocktails? Try my Espresso Martini or Strawberry Lemonade Vodka Cocktail!

2 coupe glasses full of cherry vodka sours.
Jump to:
  • 🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe
  • 💭 What is a Cherry Vodka Sour?
  • 📝 Ingredients
  • 👩🏻‍🍳 How do you make a Cherry Vodka Sour?
  • 🔗 Other delicious recipes that use vodka
  • ❓FAQs/Tips and Tricks
  • ✨ Recipe
  • 📌 Pin this recipe for later!

🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe

It's delicious. Sweet, tart, cherry-flavored. What more could you want?
This drink is beautiful. It's a gorgeous deep red hue with a foamy top.
It's actually easy to make. Despite how fancy this drink looks, it's actually very easy to shake up!

💭 What is a Cherry Vodka Sour?

A Cherry Vodka Sour is, simply put, a cherry-flavored version of a classic Vodka Sour cocktail.

At their most basic, sour cocktails are composed of three things: a liquor, citrus juice, and a sweetener. In this case, we're using vodka, lemon juice, and a cherry-infused simple syrup. Plus a few other ingredients.

Let's talk about the ingredients below.

📝 Ingredients

  • Lemon juice: Freshly squeezed, please. I highly suggest taking the extra bit of effort to squeeze a lemon or two to make this drink. The flavor is so much better than the pre-squeezed stuff that you'll find at the grocery store.
  • Cherry simple syrup: Cherry simple syrup is just simple syrup that's been infused with the beautiful color and flavor of cherries. Store bought or homemade will work here.
  • Vodka: I used a plain, decent quality vodka for this drink. There's no need to break the bank here, but please also make sure that you're using something that you wouldn't hate to drink straight up.
  • Bitters: Angostura bitters are traditional in a sour cocktail, but cherry bitters would work nicely, too! I've also used lemon bitters.
  • Egg white: A raw egg white is what gives your sour cocktail that beautiful foamy topping. If you aren't so keen on using a raw egg white in your cocktail, check out the FAQs for some alternatives.
  • Garnish: I garnished each cocktail with three maraschino cherries on a cocktail pick. But you do you!
a 45 degree angle view of 2 coupe glasses full of cherry vodka sours.

👩🏻‍🍳 How do you make a Cherry Vodka Sour?

It's not very difficult to make, though it does require twice as much shaking as you may be used to when making a shaken cocktail.

You'll start out by adding all ingredients (minus the garnish) to a cocktail shaker WITHOUT ice. Cap the shaker and shake shake shake for 30 seconds. I realize that you don't usually shake cocktails without ice. But trust me; this is what will give you that super thick foam on top of the cocktail.

Next, you'll uncap the shaker and add ice. Cap it again and shake shake shake for an additional 30 seconds. Fair warning: your hands will get pretty cold when shaking the cocktail once you've added ice. This is a good thing! It means that your drink is getting to be frosty cold.

After that, you'll strain your cocktail into a coupe glass and garnish it with a cocktail pick and as many cherries as your heart desires. Mine desired three.

a cocktail shaker pouring a cherry vodka sour into a coupe glass.

🔗 Other delicious recipes that use vodka

In search of more vodka-based cocktails? Check out these other recipes from A Nerd Cooks and other bloggers. You won't be disappointed. This Cherry Amaretto Sour is a particularly good option.

  • strawberry vodka in a nick and nora glass.
    Strawberry Vodka
  • a coupe glass with raspberry vodka.
    Raspberry Vodka
  • a bottle of black vodka.
    Black Vodka
  • cherry vodka in a coupe glass.
    Cherry Vodka
  • Vodka Sours from A Nerd Cooks
  • Classic Dry Martini from The Gourmet Bon Vivant
  • Dirty Shirley Cocktails from A Nerd Cooks
  • Lemon Hot Toddy with Vodka from Slow Living Kitchen
  • Strawberry Cucumber Gimlet from A Nerd Cooks
  • Pear Vodka Sours from Mitten Girl
a hand holding a coupe glass full of a cherry vodka sour.

❓FAQs/Tips and Tricks

Do I have to use egg whites in this cocktail?

Nope, egg whites are not mandatory. If you're vegan/can't eat eggs/opposed to the idea of it, you could also use aquafaba (the liquid that's in a can of chickpeas) as a substitute! This blog post will tell you how to do it.

Does it really need to be shaken TWO TIMES?

Yes! If you are looking to achieve a thick layer of fluffy foam on top, then I definitely recommend shaking this drink twice (first the dry shake, then the wet shake). It's a bit of an arm workout, but 100% worth it.

Can this drink be made using a different liquor?

Sure! There are many variations out there on sour cocktails. I have a recipe for Tequila Sours, in fact.

What if I don't have a coupe or sours glass?

You can drink this cocktail out of pretty much any kind of glass. The coupe and sours glasses are just particularly well suited to these kinds of cocktails.

Can I make this drink a different flavor?

Yes! Since this cocktail is flavored with an infused simple syrup, you can feel free to swap in any number of flavored syrups if you want to change things up. Just as suggestions, take a look at my Blueberry Simple Syrup or Raspberry Simple Syrup recipes.

✨ Recipe

2 coupe glasses full of cherry vodka sours.

Cherry Vodka Sour

Lauren Pacek
A Cherry Vodka Sour is a delicious riff on the Vodka Sour, a classic cocktail. It retains all of the great qualities of the original drink, but incorporates sweet cherry flavor and gorgeous color.
5 from 4 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 3 minutes mins
Cook Time 0 minutes mins
Additional Time 0 minutes mins
Total Time 3 minutes mins
Course Sours
Cuisine American
Servings 1
Calories 779 kcal

Equipment

  • Cocktail jigger
  • Boston shaker
  • Hawthorne strainer
  • Cocktail picks
  • Coupe glasses

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ounce lemon juice freshly squeezed
  • 1 ounce cherry simple syrup
  • 2 ounces vodka
  • 3 dashes Angostura bitters
  • 1 egg white
  • 3 maraschino cherries for garnish (optional)

Instructions
 

  • Add all ingredients (minus the cherries) to a cocktail shaker WITHOUT ice. Cap it and shake for 30 seconds.
  • Uncap the shaker and add ice. Recap it and shake again for 30 more seconds.
  • Strain the cocktail into a coupe glass and garnish with cherries on a cocktail pick.

Notes

  • You can use a bit of aquafaba (the liquid in a can of chickpeas) as a substitute for the egg white, if desired

Nutrition

Serving: 1Calories: 779kcalCarbohydrates: 163gProtein: 4gSodium: 67mgFiber: 1gSugar: 160g

Disclaimer: Nutritional information is a generated estimate and is not guaranteed to be accurate.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

📌 Pin this recipe for later!

pinterest pin for cherry vodka sours.

More Delicious Sours Cocktail Recipes

  • 2 coupe glasses with vodka sour cocktails in them
    Vodka Sour
  • a tequila sour in a coupe glass, a hand holding a cherry above the glass
    Tequila Sour
  • Blood Orange Bourbon Sours | A Nerd Cooks
    Blood Orange Bourbon Sour

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Comments

    5 from 4 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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  1. Richard Lunsford

    September 01, 2022 at 4:37 pm

    Could grenadine be used instead of cherry simple syrup?

    Reply
    • laurenpacek

      September 01, 2022 at 4:48 pm

      Sure you can try using grenadine! Just keep in mind that grenadine is actually a pomegranate syrup (or at least the good quality stuff is), so the flavor won't be exactly the same as if you use a cherry simple syrup. But for the convenience factor alone, grenadine ought to work out well!

      Reply

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Hi, I'm Lauren! I'm the recipe developer, photographer, and writer here at A Nerd Cooks. I'm a 30-something wife, mom, and scientist with a passion for mixing cocktails, brewing buzzy coffee drinks, and making other delicious beverages at home.

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