This Cherry Cola Kombucha Smash Cocktail from The Whole Smiths is a refreshing craft cocktail that isn’t overly sweet and heavy. Even the most novice of mixologists can make it!

What makes a good cocktail? 

Back when Brad and I were first together and funds were tight we used to dream about having a well-stocked bar to mix up drinks to our fancy. I’d quit my job to stay home with Cam after she was born and living on one income freaked me out. I didn’t feel spending money on bar essentials was the way to go. So we’d have one bottle (preferably from Costco) on hand that we’d move our way through and mix it with what we could.

Fast forward to now, our reality is a little different. We still have Costco bottles of booze (what can I say, it’s a bargain!) but we have a variety of things we can mix them with. We’ve gotten really into creating delicious cocktails.

With that said, I love me a well-balanced cocktail. As evidenced with my Blackberry Bramble and my Mason Jar Margaritas. For me, a great cocktail isn’t too strong (or at least doesn’t taste too strong) and isn’t overly sweet. I also require that it has some fresh flavors, whether that’s herbs, fruit juice, or natural sweetener and a bit of complexity.

Complexity without a hassle rather.

It needs to taste like there’s real food in it and a recipe behind it. Bottom line, it can’t taste like a neon green bottled margarita. Or a vodka Red Bull. Seriously, what is with that nasty drink and why did I drink so many of them in my 20’s?

Kombucha or soda? 

For this recipe I used Revive Original Cola kombucha. You can visit their site to find a store near you. This isn’t sponsored or anything, I just love their cola kombucha and drink it often.

There are a few other brands of cola-flavored kombuchas but Revive is my favorite. While we’re on the subject of cola kombuchas, it’s a great way to help you kick that ‘ol Diet Coke habit. I used to be a Diet Coke junkie. I’d start every morning with one… how cozy.

While I really enjoyed the taste of it, I knew and know just how bad it is for you and stopped drinking it.
A few years later I discovered Revive’s kombucha and found I was able to enjoy that cola taste without all of the junk. So if you find yourself struggling with this Diet Cokes, it’s something to think about.

Moving on. I understand that not everyone will be able to locate cola kombucha locally so I created this recipe with a cola flavored soda and loved those results too. But I’m not talking about a Coca-Cola cola, I’m talking about a natural soda.

Whole Foods always has a selection. If you choose to use a cola flavored soda know that the cocktail will be a tad sweeter and feel free to omit muddling the honey with the cherries.

Also to note, some cherry juices are sweeter than others. There’s tart cherries and sweet cherries and there’s tart cherry juice and sweet cherry juice. If you use a tart cherry juice you may want to add a touch more honey to sweeten it
up a tad.

Mess-free cherry pitting tips:

Cherries are a great fruit. My kids love them, they taste great and are so fun to cook with. But I hate the mess the cherry juice can make. While I can’t offer too many tips to keeping cherry juice from staining your kids clothes I can offer some tips to keep things clean in the kitchen while pitting cherries.

We have white quartz countertops and they don’t stain terribly easy. However, that doesn’t mean I really love having cherry juice splashed all over them while prepping cherries. First off, having a quality cherry pitter not only makes the process quicker my favorite one has a small “splash guard” to help minimize the splatter. Notice I said minimize, it still will release some.

This OXO pitter never sticks and sufficiently gets the pit out. It also makes cherry pitting a great activity to get your kids on.

Ok, so we have the pitter to help pit these cherries but what about reducing, or rather all together eliminating, the rest of that cherry juice splash?

For that, I pit my cherries inside of a brown paper grocery bag. Mind you, the inside of the bag will look like the opening credits of Dexter, but it works! It keeps the mess contained to the inside of the bag for easy cleanup.

Now that we’ve made cherry pitting all that much easier, wouldn’t you say it’s time to start adding more cherries into your lives? Enjoy this cocktail and let me know in the comments how you like it!

FAQ: 

 I can’t find a cola kombucha but really want to use another kombucha, what would you recommend?

 The good news is you can still make this cocktail with other kombuchas. The
bad news is it obviously won’t have the cola taste to it. But that’s ok! I tried this one out with a ginger kombucha and a cherry kombucha and both were delicious as well.

Can I use frozen cherries?

Yep! Feel free to use frozen cherries. I buy ours at Trader Joe’s or Costco. Both have a sweet dark cherry variety.

Can I omit the bourbon and make this a mocktail?

Heck yah you can!

TIPS:

• I like to sip this one without straw as with any muddled drink the muddled stuff can clog your straw.
• Make a batch of these (quadruple the recipe) ahead of time without the kombucha and store
  them in a mason jar until it is time to serve.
• Splash the kombucha (or soda) over top prior to
  serving.