Cherry Caipirinha

* 1/2 lime, quartered
* 4 pitted sour or sweet cherries
* 3/4 ounce simple syrup
* 2 ounces cachaça

Chill a rocks glass with ice. Place the lime quarters and cherries in the bottom of a mixing glass, add the syrup, and muddle, extracting the juice and the oil from the lime quarters. Add the cachaça to the mixture in the mixing glass, dump the ice from the rocks glass into the mixing glass, and shake well. Pour the entire contents of the mixing glass back into the chilled rocks glass and serve.

After buying cherries at our farmers’ market recently I’m finding myself looking for interesting things to do with them. I made a batch of brandied cherries and Sarai made a cherry tart; next up was this fresh twist on the classic Caipirinha, which is usually made with just limes. The addition of cherries gives it a fresh new flavor and provides it with both a little sweetness and a different sort of tartness.

We’re kicking around the idea of traveling to Buenos Aires this year, but drinking Caipirinhas, the national drink of Brazil, makes me want to extend that trip to São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro in order to go straight to the source of these cocktails. This variant isn’t Brazilian, but the traditional version is just as good.

Recipe from The Craft of the Cocktail.