This Cherry Vodka Cocktail & Shooter is the perfect drink combo for a red Valentine’s Day.
I know this is a recipe post, but I just need to gush. I don’t actually celebrate Valentine’s Day in my personal life, but I just love the color red, so this is one of my favorite times of the year for photography. I mean, just look at this. Not that I’m a big professional photographer or anything, but is there anything prettier than a bright red something (in this case, a delicious, red cherry vodka cocktail) on a white background? (I’m sure many of you are saying, “Yes” and thinking I’m crazy right now. But I just love doing Valentine’s Day photos.)
Anyway.
This cherry vodka cocktail is actually really simple to make and can be made two different ways: as a shooter and as a cocktail.
Cherry Vodka Shooter
- 1 part cherry vodka
- 1 part amaretto
- 1/2 part grenadine
- 1 maraschino cherry (optional)
Put the cherry in first, if you’re adding one, and then add each liquid on top of it. Done!
For the vodka, I used UV Cherry Vodka which…is not good. I wouldn’t buy it again. It kind of tastes like cough syrup on its own. When it’s mixed, it’s fine. I actually only bought it for its red color (which the grenadine would achieve for you). If I did this again, I would get a different brand. (I know Smirnoff tastes fine, so I’d probably go with that). But! This shooter tastes pretty good, even with a sub-par vodka brand. So it’s bound to blow you away if you get a brand you know you like.
Anyway, I know “part” isn’t very specific, but how much you use will depend on how large you want your shooter to be. My shooter glasses are about 3 ounces, so I used 1 ounce of vodka and amaretto, and then 1/2 an ounce of grenadine. You can go with a full ounce on the grenadine if you want, but I wanted room to add a cherry. 😛 Also, I think a full ounce of grenadine would be too syrup-y for my tastes.
Next!
Cherry Vodka Cocktail
- 1 part cherry vodka
- 1 part amaretto
- 1/2 part grenadine
- Cherry 7UP
- maraschino cherries (optional)
Just like with the shooter, you’re going to add the cherries to your glass with some ice and pour the liquids over them. Then, fill your glass with 7UP to taste.
This is essentially the same as the cherry vodka shooter, but with the addition of 7UP it becomes a bubbly cocktail. If you don’t like 7UP, you can use something like Coke instead. It’s still delicious (I’ve done it both ways), it just won’t be red anymore.
This is a drink you’ll need to be careful with. Once the 7UP is added, you can’t taste the alcohol, which makes it easy to drink way more than you intended.
Want a dessert to go with this? Try my Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake! Be sure to also check out the Date Night Jar featured on my own blog. Even if you don’t want to keep a jar around, the post has a really cool list of some date night ideas, organized by affordability.
Enjoy!
Cherry Vodka Cocktail and Shooter
Ingredients
For the shooter
- 1 part cherry vodka
- 1 part amaretto
- 1/2 part grenadine
- 1 maraschino cherry (optional)
For the cocktail
- 1 part cherry vodka
- 1 part amaretto
- 1/2 part grenadine
- Cherry 7UP
- maraschino cherries (optional)
Instructions
For the shooter
- Put the cherry in first, if you’re adding one, and then add each liquid on top of it. Done!
For the cocktail
- Just like with the shooter, you’re going to add the cherries to your glass with some ice and pour the liquids over them. Then, fill your glass with 7UP to taste.