The Mon Cheri cocktail is, at its root, an Amarena Martini. I am a huge fan of Amarena cherries (more so than even real Maraschino) in drinks and was so happy my local store started carrying them. So on arriving home the first thing I had to do was to make a cocktail. I named the drink mon cheri, which is french for my dear or my sweetheart, but I think you can see the inter-linguistic wordplay I was going for.
I originally wanted to make this Amarena martini an all French drink, to fit with the name, however the only French gin I have at the moment is Magellan and I didn’t want it to affect the final color. Plus the cherries themselves are Italian, so I decided to just stick with Tanqueray.
How To Make The Mon Cheri Cocktail
Ingredients
- 60 ml London Dry Gin. I used Tanqueray but you can use your preferred brand.
- 30 ml Lillet Blanc. It is like a vermouth in that it is a fortified wine, but I find Lillet Blanc to be a great ingredient independent of it’s vermouth association. I also used it in place of vermouth in my blood orange El Presidente.
- 1 tsp Amarena Syrup. You really don’t need a lot as it is quite concentrated.
- 1/2 tsp Orange Juice. I wanted a very tiny bit of freshly squeezed orange juice to add some complexity to the cherry flavor. You can’t really taste it at the end, but I feel like it’s adding a few drops of water to your scotch.
- 2 Amarena Cherries, skewered for garnish.
Add the gin, Lillet, and Amarena syrup to a mixing glass with a few ice cubes. Give a stir to combine and chill. Strain into a cocktail glass and squeeze a few drops of orange juice over. Garnish the Mon Cheri with two skewered Amarena cherries.
Mon Cheri
Equipment
- mixing glass
Ingredients
- 60 ml London Dry Gin
- 30 ml Lillet Blanc
- 1 tsp Amarena Syrup
- 1/2 tsp Orange Juice freshly squeezed
- 2 Amarena Cherries skewered for garnish
Instructions
- In a mixing glass add the gin, Lillet, and Amarena syrup with a few ice cubes and stir everything together.
- Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and squeeze in a few drops of fresh orange juice right on top. Garnish with two skewered Amarena cherries
