Summary: Hello summertime and drinks outside!

Yield: 2 cocktails

Ingredients:

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
1 cup sour cherries, pitted
1 ounce fresh lemon juice
1 ounce vodka (I like Tito's)
1 ounce mint simple syrup (that you'll make with the first three ingredients)
1/4 ounce St. Germain liqueur
4 frozen, minty cherries

Instructions:

In a small saucepan, combine the water, sugar and mint leaves and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat and, stirring regularly, cook until the sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from heat, and after 10-15 minutes, strain out the mint leaves. You should have a scant 3/4 c of simply syrup. Remove a quarter-cup of the syrup and set the rest aside to cool (on the counter or in the fridge if you won't use it until later).

In the same saucepan, pour the 1/4 c of syrup and the 1 cup of cherries. Heat to a simmer and cook just a few minutes, until cherries are soft but still hold their shape. Cool, strain the cherries and freeze them in a single layer. Reserve the minty cherry juice for another purpose!

In a cocktail shaker, pour the lemon juice, vodka, mint simple syrup and St. Germain. Add about 8 ice cubes, put the shaker top on and shake vigorously, about 20 times. Strain into two coupe glasses, and garnish with two frozen minty cherries and a mint sprig.

Go outside! Relax! Enjoy!