Don’t Judge Me Mondays: Liquid Fruitcake

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I’m just going to say it- I’ve never liked fruitcake.  I typically like flavors in it of molasses, nuts and sometimes rum, all that candied fruit though, is not for me.  I decided maybe it just wasn’t in the right form. I’m sure if it was in liquid form (aka boozy), I’d probably enjoy it. 😉  Hence this drink was born!

I wanted to capture the essence of fruitcake- a deep sweet flavor of molasses, fruit flavors like cherry and currant, along with citrus notes to brighten it up. To do this I used actual molasses to give it that dark flavor, fresh lemon juice to make sure the drink wasn’t too sweet and Rum, Kirsch, Triple Sec and Cassis as the boozy elements. I should warn you that this drink packs a wallop, so sip slowly or make smaller cocktails if you’re worried you’ll drink it too fast and accidentally purchase too many things on Amazon.  Side-note- are you all done with your Christmas shopping already?  I’ve barely even started and am still a little shocked we’re already knee-deep in the holiday season (wasn’t it JUST Halloween?).

Anyway…let’s get to this fruitcake already!

You’ll start by mixing together the lemon juice and molasses in a small bowl.  This will make the molasses less sludgy, which will help it mix in better with the rest of the ingredients.  Now set that aside to let it dissolve.

Fill your cocktail shaker about a third of the way with ice.  Pour in the rum, Kirsch,Triple Sec, and Cassis.  Cassis is a bit more obscure (other than for this drink I haven’t found much of a use for it yet, I’ll admit).  If you don’t have it, you can substitute Chambord or black currant juice.  If you use juice, you won’t need the bitters as their job here is to help cut down the sweetness.

Now give the lemon juice and molasses mixture a final stir and pour it into the shaker.

Shake vigorously and pour into your favorite martini or stemmed glasses.  Garnish with a Maraschino cherry.  This makes 2 stiff drinks.

Cheers and good luck out there.  I know this time of year is stressful for many of you, so I hope you get a moment to yourselves to relax and enjoy the season!