Last summer I made so many of these cherry limeades. The only difference was I did the lazy version: a glass of sparkling water with lime juice squeezed in and some cherries smashed up with my straw. It really only gave it a hint of cherry flavor but it was fun to eat the cherries at the end. For this version, I decided to actually take some time (5 whole minutes) to give this a stronger cherry flavor and make it turn a pretty color.
I think I started liking cherry limeades simply because they were served with a lime garnish. I used to order just about any drink if it came with a lime (margaritas?...yes please!) and loved the huge cherry limeades from 54th Street. The little lime wedge was like dessert. Have you ever had just hot water with lemon or lime? Wow, I made that sound appetizing. But it's really good and refreshing. I'll just squeeze a good amount of lime juice into a mug and add hot water. I always "steep" the squeezed lime wedge along with it too.
If you haven't picked up on this yet, I really like sour things. I didn't sweeten this with anything other than the cherries and it was the perfect balance of sour and sweet for me, but my husband thought otherwise. I warned him but it resulted in him making horrible faces while I sat at the kitchen table laughing at him. Don't let that happen to you, it's embarrassing (and funny). If you don't like sour then add honey, stevia, maple syrup, high fructose corn syrup (just kidding), or whatever sweetener you like. But come on, it's a limeade. It has to at least be a little sour!
There's something I'm kicking myself for not doing. Do you remember when I made grilled limes? I should have used grilled limes in this. Of course, it wouldn't be 3 ingredients and it would take longer than 5 minutes but I love the flavor of grilled limes and I think it would make for a really unique summery drink. I'm going to try it next time we grill and if it turns out, I'll post the recipe.
How many people do you know that can write four whole paragraphs about limes and limeades? If I didn't have this blog as an outlet for this stuff, I probably wouldn't shut up about food. People would think I was obsessed or something. That's just ridiculous ;)
PrintRecipe
Sparkling Cherry Limeade
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 5 mins
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 10 oz cold sparkling water
- ½ C cherries, pit removed
- ¼ C lime juice
- honey or other sweetener to taste (optional)
Instructions
- Blend together your cherries and lime juice as well as your sweetener if you're using it. If you're using a Blendtec, select the "whole juice" option.
- Add ice to two serving glasses and evenly divide the cherry mixture between the two glasses (strain out any remaining solids, if you prefer).
- Add 5 oz of sparkling water to each glass and stir.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
I really liked this drink without any sweetener but I absolutely love sour things. It may or may not need honey, it just depends on your personal preference.
Instead of pitting all those cherries myself, I just bought frozen organic cherries and thawed them in the microwave.
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