Fresh Cherry and Cinnamon Infused Rum For Father’s Day

Yesterday was my husband’s first Fathers Day as a daddy, and my father’s first Fathers Day as a grandpa! I am missing my husband so much. I have only cried twice since Jonathan has left for Navy Boot Camp, and both times I was standing in the greeting card aisle of Walmart reading sappy Fathers Day cards. (Just doing my part to fulfill every stereotype that I can over the remaining three months of pregnancy. Pregnant lady sobbing into a card in the Hallmark aisle of a supermarket? Check!)

Since my handsome husband is off serving his country and making me proud this Father’s Day weekend, I can only really focus on doing something special for my poppa this year. My dad is one of the coolest, craziest, most amazing men you will ever meet. Everyone who knows my dad loves him. One of the only gratingly annoying things about my father is that he doesn’t really WANT anything. And the things that he does want are so random and obscure that it makes gift giving a nightmare. His idea of a “gift” is just sharing a cup of coffee while he beats you at chess. Which is kind of lame for the aspiring gift-giver.

But over the years, I have discovered a couple of fall backs when it comes to making my dad happy with tangible gifts. And one of those is specialty boozes. For my dad’s birthday this last year I made him some homemade Spiced Whiskey, which he loved. But I wanted to try something a little different this weekend. I got to thinking – it’s cherry season, and my dad has been all over fresh cherries this month…

So why not make a Fresh Cherry and Cinnamon Infused Rum? This isn’t really a “recipe” so much as it’s a “throw things into a jar and then wait” tutorial. But for those who would like to give it a whirl –

You Will Need:

Mason Jars

Fresh Cherries

Cinnamon Stick

Rum of Your Choice

1. Wash and prepare the cherries.

After washing the cherries you can score the surface of them, or cut little slits into the flesh of the cherries to speed up the infusion process – or you can just toss them in whole and intact. Both ways work, one just takes longer to flavor the rum. I decided to leave the stems on so it’ll be easier to fish the little buggers out when it comes to nom nom time.

2. Fill the mason jar.

Toss a stick or two of cinnamon into the mason jar. Then fill the jar to the top with cherries. Pour the rum over the cherries and cinnamon until it reaches the brim.

3. Store your cherries, then play the waiting game.

Put the lid tightly back on the jar and let it sit (away from direct sunlight) for 7 days to a full month. You can keep them soaking for upwards of eight months, but who has the patience for that, really? Keep in mind, the longer you let it sit, the stronger the rum will become infused with the cherry flavor and cinnamon flavor.

You can periodically taste the rum to see when it’s acquired a flavor to your liking. It should have a fresh, clean and lightly spiced, woody taste from the cinnamon. As the rum will soak up the cinnamon flavor faster than the cherry, if you intend to keep the mixture brewing for more than two weeks you might consider pulling the stick out early.

At the end of a week or two, you will have a homemade batch of Fresh Cherry and Cinnamon Infused Rum! And, of course, you can munch on booze-infused cherries when you’re ready to drink your new concoction. You can get creative and use your rum infused cherries in dessert recipes, jams or sauces, top them on ice cream sundaes – or just eat them straight from the jar like my dad will most likely be doing.

And that is pretty much it! Enjoy!