A Stephenson House Christmas: Making Cherry Bounce
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 24 ноя 2021
- Cherry Bounce is a cordial drink made using cherries, sugar, spices, and rum/brandy/whiskey. George Washington favored cherry bounce and is known to have carried it in a small canteen on occasion. There is a wide variety of recipes available online. Jeanne Spencer (historic interpreter and researcher) has been making this tasty drink for several years. She was kind enough to share it with us in our first 2021 holiday video. It’s easy to make and very low maintenance. We hope you enjoy this recipe and wish you all Happy Holidays.
Cherry Bounce
The following excerpt is reprinted with permission from “OH, THE GLAMOUROUS LIFE! AN EPISTOLARY BLOG” by Miss Mina Murray
To view more from Miss Murray and the full recipe post, visit missminamurray.wordpress.com/...
“Cherry bounce is made with cherries (or any stone fruit, though you’d have to change the name…), sugar, and liquor. Washington liked his with brandy, but you can also use rum or whiskey or vodka. Each adds its own characteristics to the bounce. Sometimes the fruit is used whole, sometimes it’s pressed for its juice. You can also add spices or even fresh herbs. For a lower proof, add some water. I’ve seen so many variations.
Take a big glass jar with a lid. Add a pound of sugar and then a little rum to dissolve. Add a pound of cherries and mash them a bit. Pour a quart of rum over it all. Let it sit in a sunny place for a week, then store in a dark place for at least a month. Strain the liquid and pour into bottles.
We made two versions, each with 2 pounds of sugar, 2 pounds of cherries, and a 1.75 L bottle of rum. The first was a white rum and we put the cherries in whole and then bashed them around with a spoon after the rum was added. The second was gold rum and we bashed the cherries into the sugar with a potato masher before adding the rum.
We let the jars of bounce sit for a week in the pantry and I would stir them every day to make sure the sugar stayed in solution and further bruise the cherries. Then we stashed them in a cabinet for about 2 months. I strained out the cherries and poured the bounce back into the jars. The white rum bounce is pretty clear, but the gold, where the cherries were crushed, has a lot of sediment. I need to find some attractive bottles to decant the bounce into. When I bottle it, I’ll strain it too (coffee filters work well for that).”
Martha Washington’s original recipe (original spelling included), if you want to give it a try:
“Excellent Cherry Bounce”:
“Extract the juice of 20 pounds well ripend Morrella cherrys. Add to this 10 quarts of old french brandy and sweeten it with White sugar to your taste. To 5 gallons of this mixture add one ounce of spice such as cinnamon, cloves and nutmegs of each an Equal quantity slightly bruis’d and a pint and half of cherry kirnels that have been gently broken in a mortar. After the liquor has fermented let it stand close-stoped for a month or six weeks then bottle it, remembering to put a lump of Loaf Sugar into each bottle.”
Visit us online at
Website - www.stephensonhouse.org
Facebook - / 1820stephensonhouse
Instagram - / benlucystephenson
Twitter - / stephenson1820
Excellent way to expand creativity in the kitchen beyond traditional cooking and food prep. Plus, I personally derive a great deal of satisfaction from the historical aspect of these recipes. Making an authentic and historic drink recipe like this allows us to experience something from over 200 years ago. Not quite time travel, but maybe just a tiny bit ;)
Thank you! And, well said! We feel the same. It's great discovering recipes that aren't just for cooking. There are moments when it feels like we've stepped back in time, so we totally get it. ❤️
Cherry Bounce for all!
Interesting, a shame the audio is not up to par
Is there really any way this actually ferments? The proof seems way too high for natural fermentation.
Yes, it ferments but not the same as say wine. It's more of an infusion, really. The alcohol eats the sugar, which will expel gas. The bottle either has to have holes in the cork, use an airlock, or have cloth over the opening (like we used), otherwise, it would build up.
Sounds yum.
ALOT of orbs in this episode.. not ash orbs. Is the house built on historical land? Are many of the household implements original? Or alot of remakes?
Besides that I'm loving the series incl Justine and Ron
The house sits on its original location. The contents are a mixture of antiques and reproductions. We don't have a lot of items original to the Stephenson family though...only four original family pieces in our collection. We pride ourselves on being a hands-on museum so most of our items are used on a regular basis unless they are to fragile. Thanks for watching.
hey, the woman on the right, have you ever worked at the Boone home?
Yes, she has.