{"id":5903,"date":"2018-10-03T10:36:44","date_gmt":"2018-10-03T16:36:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/villasentieri.com\/?post_type=recipe&p=5903"},"modified":"2026-09-02T10:58:40","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T17:58:40","slug":"cherry-aperitif","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/villasentieri.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/03\/cherry-aperitif\/","title":{"rendered":"Cherry Aperitif"},"content":{"rendered":"

October 3, 2018<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I apologize for the \u201cradio silence\u201d for the past few weeks.\u00a0 I was traveling in Europe and did not have a reliable internet connection.\u00a0 I was planning on keeping up my regular posting schedule, and I had everything with me that I needed (having cooked and photographed all the dishes in advance) but it just wasn\u2019t realistic to upload pictures at a snail\u2019s pace.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s recipe is a bit of a departure from what I usually post.\u00a0 It\u2019s an adaptation of a recipe from David Lebovitz<\/a>, the only food blogger that I regularly follow.<\/p>\n

How I found out about David, and this particular recipe, is curious.<\/p>\n

Join our mailing list<\/a> and you\u2019ll never miss a recipe again!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

In mid-2016 my business partner, Melinda Orlando, and I sold the health care consulting business that I founded in 1994 and that we built together.\u00a0 We brought our two long-term employees, Joe Kohberger, who celebrated his 20th anniversary with The Mihalik Group this year, and Zorina Granjean, who celebrated her 15th anniversary this year, to Santa Fe for a weekend along with their spouses.<\/p>\n

It was a time devoted to enjoying each other\u2019s company, exploring good food and drink in Santa Fe, and a way for Melinda and I to say \u201cthank-you\u201d to Joe and Zorina for all they did to make The Mihalik Group successful.<\/p>\n

During one of our conversations, Zorina mentioned a recipe for a cherry aperitif that she got from a food blog that she followed.\u00a0 The really interesting part is that the aperitif didn’t actually contain cherries but cherry leaves!<\/p>\n

Based on Zorina\u2019s recommendation, Rich DePippo and I whipped up a few batches in 2017 using leaves from his cherry trees.\u00a0 Truth be told, as much as I like infusing alcohol with different botanicals (see my recipe for Limoncello<\/a>, Melinda\u2019s Drunken Prunes<\/a>, and Liquore al Lauro<\/a> for examples), I would never have tried this recipe based on cherry leaves rather than cherries and cherry pits.<\/p>\n

That would have been a mistake!<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s a great pre-dinner drink served over (lots of) ice, with or without a twist of citrus peel.\u00a0 It\u2019s not very alcoholic but it\u2019s very flavorful.\u00a0 Plus, it\u2019s a cinch to make (assuming you can get a fistful of cherry leaves).<\/p>\n

It\u2019s very good made with just cherry leaves but adding one of the other botanicals changes its character.\u00a0 The cherry flavor is still there but the aperitif becomes more complex.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t use expensive wine or vodka.\u00a0 Pedestrian alcohol works quite well.\u00a0 In fact, I usually use red wine from a Trader Joe\u2019s box.

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Cherry Aperitif<\/h2>\n
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If you\u2019re not into the metric measurements, just toggle to the American ones. Select an inexpensive fruity red wine such as Merlot or Shiraz. Boxed wine is perfectly fine. I prefer to add only one additional botanical per batch so that I get the distinct flavor of cherries along with the added ingredient. If you come up with any good combinations, or other botanicals to add, please post a comment.<\/div>\n
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Prep Time <\/span>20 minutes<\/span><\/span> mins<\/span><\/span><\/div>
Total Time <\/span>27 minutes<\/span><\/span> mins<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n
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Servings: <\/span>1.1<\/span> liters<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Ingredients
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