Carolyn J. Braden • 4 Minute Read
How to Make Cherry Bounce a Summer Recipe for Christmas Joy
I love the show Sweet Magnolias and in season four, the show inspired me to try Kintsugi and Cherry Bounce. Kitsugi is a Japanese tradition of mending broken pottery with gold to represent the healing we do in our own lives. This spoke to me as I’ve been healing from many life traumas with the help of a therapist and EMDR therapy and it’s been AMAZING!
Cherry Bounce is a drink or dessert recipe that is meant to be made in the summer months with cherries (frozen or fresh) to consume at a later date Feeling “Christmas in July” vibes, I decided to come up with my own version of Cherry Bounce to consume at Christmas and here is my recipe.
What is Cherry Bounce?
While we aren’t big drinkers in our family, we wanted to make this cherry-infused cordial or dessert (which is on record as being made and consumed by George and Martha Washington) as my husband loves cherries and there is a family connection too. There are many stories around George Washington and his cherry tree, and this reminded me of my grandmother (my Nani) who loved her cherry tree in her yard.
Day one and two of Cherry Bounce
We often picked and ate fresh cherries off her tree and if she had known about Cherry Bounce then, she would have made many jars with the abundance of cherries to give as gifts for the holidays. Read more about the history of Cherry Bounce on the Southern Living website here.
Cherry Bounce Recipe Variations
I’ve researched and learned that Cherry Bounce can be made many different ways. Some sweeten it with honey, some add vodka, or rum or bourbon. It usually has cinnamon, cloves, allspice and nutmeg. In our house, we love orange and decided to use a mixture that has orange and lemon from mulling spices to our Cherry Bounce.
My Cherry Bounce has orange and lemon in it
If you add sweet cherries, your results will give you a sweet cherry cordial, whereas tart cherries will give you a bit more of a tang. I plan to serve mine over a small bowl of ice cream at Christmas, however, you can put a little in a glass and serve it as a drink to share with loved ones at Christmas like they did on the show Sweet Magnolias. If you haven’t seen the show, it’s heart-warming, full of love and friendship and southern traditions that is based on a book. Learn more about Sweet Magnolias here via Netflix.
An easy summer cherry recipe
Christmas in July Traditions
Christmas has brought a lot of joy to many people over the years. The significance of Christmas plays a big part in many religions, but to me, Christmas is about coming together with loved ones. I currently don’t have a lot of Christmas traditions in place, but am starting to make some new holiday traditions that are fun which help me start to look forward to Christmas. At Christmas, being without family on Sanibel, we have been invited to our neighbor’s house to enjoy her Christmas Pudding that last couple of years.
Christmas Pudding
My neighbor starts making her pudding (it’s a fruit-cake like dessert that is rich, moist and delicious!) in the summer and we consume it at Christmas. I owe her a nod to starting a happy tradition like this in my home and perhaps if you don’t want to make Cherry Bounce, you could consider my neighbor’s recipe of Christmas Pudding that she shared with me. This is the recipe here and you can see a 1-minute video of my neighbor lighting it on fire and talking about it below or via our YouTube channel @carolynjbraden:
How to Use Cherry Bounce
Serve it alone to be sipped
Pour it over lemon-lime soda (think: Shirley Temple for adults)
Spoon over ice cream, chocolate cake (cherries and chocolate go well together!), or another dessert
Add it to a cocktail like a Cherry Old-Fashioned or a Cherry Manhattan (my grandpa’s go-to sipping drink)
Add the cherries to a fruitcake or other cake
Cherry Bounce Recipe MUST READ:
Here’s MY version of Cherry Bounce. I threw it together with what I wanted and while I haven’t consumed it yet (I made it on June 30th, 2025, and it needs at least 3 months to infuse/ferment), I KNOW it will be amazing. Technically, I can open it around September 30, but I am going to let mine sit until Christmas. In my research I’ve read that the longer it sits, the more the alcohol flavor dissipates, and this is what I want.
Some people make it in June for Labor Day gatherings. Some people make it to consume at Thanksgiving, some let it sit until Christmas. Some make it a year in advance. Just make a note of when you made it (perhaps in your calendar or mark it on the container you put it in with a permanent marker like I did).
Tools:
Measuring spoons, measuring cup, air tight glass container that seals tightly (I got mine at Marshall’s, but Amazon has a similar one, get a large one if you are doubling my recipe), knife for cherries
Servings: 10+
The ingredients I used for Cherry Bounce
Click the button above for the free printable recipe card.
Ingredients I Used (double the recipe if you want it to serve more than 10, but I started with this smaller amount as we aren’t into eating and consuming as many sweets as we used to):
2 cups Four Roses Bourbon (Being from Kentucky, I used bourbon but you can use vodka or brandy instead, and George Washington did not have bourbon in his time period so some make it with a 50/50 rye and brandy mixture to make it historically correct, you could also try what you like such as Evan Williams bourbon)
½ lb sweet cherries (fresh or frozen, use sweet for a cordial-like drink or tart for a tangy treat)
1 ¼ cups cane sugar (some people use honey or white sugar)
1 tablespoon mulling spices (mine is from Whole Foods, but this one on Amazon has the same makeup…cinnamon, orange, allspice, cloves, minus the lemon peel)
1 clove (if you use mulling spices that have clove, you don’t need extra, but I added ½ tsp more as we love clove in our house)
Pinch of nutmeg (omit if you don’t like nutmeg)
Instructions:
Rinse your cherries and take a knife or fork and poke a few holes in the tops of the cherries to help them release their juices. This can get messy, so wipe away cherry juice as you see it so it doesn’t stain. If you are using frozen cherries, just let them thaw before adding them to the jar WITH their juices. You can remove the pits from the cherries with a cherry pitting tool, but I did not. I will warn those consuming it that there are pits.
Poking the cherries
Place the cherries, alcohol and sugar in the jar.
Adding the sugar
Add the mulling spices.
Adding the mulling spices
Add the extra cloves IF you want. Add a half of cinnamon stick too if you love more cinnamon
Adding some extra cloves
Add the nutmeg.
Nutmeg is optional
Close the jar and shake until the sugar is mostly dissolved.
Seal the lid and shake once everything is in the jar
Put it in a sunny and warm location (in front of a window, perhaps) in your home for 1 week. I shook mine a bit during this time to dissolve the rest of the sugar. At day 2, I could already see it turn from the brown color from the bourbon to cherry red!
Day one of the Cherry Bounce
Then put it in a dark and cool place in your home (maybe a pantry or cooler closet) and let it sit, undisturbed for at least 6 weeks. I may shake mine from time to time as some recipes state this can enhance the flavor. After 6 weeks, it will be ready for consumption in a drink, on a dessert or alone as a cordial.
Day two of the Cherry Bounce
You can transfer it to a refrigerator, while some people report you can leave it out at room temperature as long as the cherries are in the alcohol. They can mold if they are not submerged.
Some recipes say you can leave it to infuse for 3 months, but I am going to wait until Christmas (which will be 6 months) to let the alcohol flavor mellow more. Some recipes state you can let it sit for up to a year! I will update my post at that time with my final take on this recipe.
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Carolyn J. Braden is the owner of Carolyn’s Blooming Creations is a regular contributor and editor for CBC. She has been featured in numerous media publications such as InStyle Magazine, on HGTV, on Bustle.com, and more. She is the author of the books Georgia McMasters in Amethyst Lake Cemetery, How To Be Yourself: 3 Ways To Help You Being You, and the illustrator for the children’s book Bridging Connections. She is a former classroom teacher that now dedicates her life to educating others on how to live their most healthy, creative and happy life. Learn more about her visiting our About Us page.