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January 23, 2024
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January 24, 2024
This drink was created by Derek Brown for the National Archives, and it is named for Washington's orders to provide his troops with rum and whiskey.
The General's Order
Ice
1 ounce aged rum
1/2 ounce rye whiskey
3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
1/2 ounce simple syrup
1/2 ounce of Cherry Bounce
1 dash Angostura bitters
Fill a tall glass of your choice and a shaker with ice. Into the shaker, add rum, whiskey, lemon juice, simple syrup, Cherry Bounce and bitters. Shake with vigor, then pour over the ice in the glass. See the recipe George Washington used for Cherry Bounce on the following page. You can also substitute Cherry Heering liqueur for the Cherry Bounce.
Cherry Bounce
Cherry Bounce was a wildly popular drink that was created by Rutherford County's own Amos Owens. He was one of the state's most notorious moonshiners, and his Cherry Bounce was his specialty. It was made in the old world style, with the cherries mashed by the feet of his beautiful daughters. His popular drink made the rounds, and soon versions of it were found all over the new nation.
The following Cherry Bounce recipe was found in Martha Washington's papers, marked with George Washington's watermark. You can find a modernized version at the site: www.almanac.com/recipe/george-washingtons-cherry-bounce. Note that cherry pits contain cyanide, and they are not included in the modern recipe. Do not attempt to use cherry pits.
"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 bruisd 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.”
