Sip + Swoon

Jack & Cherry Coke + Real Love by Rachel Lindsay

Happy Friday! To get the weekend started I thought I would introduce a fun new post idea — Sip + Swoon! I was thinking of a different way to feature upcoming romances, and pairing them with a fun drink sounds like a delicious and challenging task! I am always perusing new recipes on Pinterest, and looking at Target and my local Specs for interesting drinks or ingredients (alcoholic and nonalcoholic). I thought why not try and pair a new drink with a new book!

The book I am featuring today just came out this week — Real Love by Rachel Lindsay! It is an opposites attract romance that is just as much about Maya finding herself and what happiness really is to her as much as it is a fun romance. I love how she included a Bachelor inspired reality tv show, and thought her tight group of girl friends and sister really brought Maya into her own and were pivotal in her finding herself. I also love how she learned to lean on her sister and found a new relationship with her as an adult.

For the drink of this Sip + Swoon I thought I would do a fun twist on Maya’s favorite cocktail. She loves the classic Crown and Coke, and to make it more my taste I did a Jack Daniels (our household bourbon of choice) and cherry Coke! Give me cherry coke over regular all day long, and while bourbon and coke isn’t one of my preferred drinks, I thought it would be a fun task to try and make it more suited for my taste.

Jack and Cherry Coke

INGREDIENTS:

– Ice
– 1 shot of Jack Daniels (or bourbon of choice)
– Cherries (fresh or frozen & thawed)
– 1/2 -1 oz Simple syrup (depending on how sweet you want it)
– Coke (or Diet Coke)

In a shaker/glass add cherries and simple syrup and muddle them. Strain and set aside

Add ice to your glass, pour in Jack Daniels and strained cherry syrup.

Top with coke or Diet Coke and stir gently. Throw a cherry in there and enjoy!

This drink is still pretty bourbon heavy, but I love the subtle cherry flavor to sweeten it up just a tad. If you wanted to go more the artificially delicious cherry route (I mean yum, right?!), grab yourself a jar of the maraschino cherries when you’re getting your coke and substitute that for the fresh cherries & simple syrup!

I hope you enjoyed this — I’ve already got a couple more drinks up my sleeve and can’t wait to share them with you! Cheers!