This post, Tart Cherry Old Fashioned, is sponsored on behalf of the The Cherry Marketing Institute. Thank you for supporting the brands that I love and that help make Jelly Toast possible. All opinions are, as always, my own.

Since having kids, my husband and I have spent most of our Valentine’s Days opting for a date-night-in. The tradition started out of necessity when our kids were babies, but in recent years, we have realized that we often prefer to stay in and that there is something wonderfully romantic about preparing an awesome meal at home, sipping cocktails and spending time together in the kitchen.

While the menu has varied over the years, each Valentine’s Day dinner has involved some fabulous cocktails.

This year, to play to our current love of classic and well balanced cocktails, we are going to be serving up Tart Cherry Old Fashioned cocktails.

You simply can’t go wrong with the classics.

When we make a classic Old Fashioned, we typically use Rye with a twist of lemon and orange peel, along with Angostura bitters. But for this version, I wanted to infuse this classic cocktail with a bit of tart cherry juice and adjusted the other ingredients accordingly.

This Tart Cherry Old Fashioned cocktail uses bourbon to bring some vanilla notes that balance nicely with the tart fruitiness of the cherries. Then cherry bitters, Demerara sugar, and a twist of orange add enough depth to make this cocktail rich, but still allow all of the individual flavors to shine.

I have seen tart cherry cocktails that use muddled cherries, however, I opted for the use of tart cherry juice to keep the drink’s striking amber color and garnishing with some lovely ruby red tart cherries.

This slow sipping cocktail is the perfect start of any Valentine’s Day dinner.

Speaking of dinner, I have teamed up with The Cherry Marketing Institute and some of my favorite bloggers to bring you an entire Cherry infused Valentine’s Menu.

So if you, like me, are planning a festive Valentine’s Day dinner in with your sweetie or group of friends, you are going to love this menu!

My Tart Cherry Old Fashioned is kicking things off but there is so much more to this meal.

Be sure to head over to ChooseCherries.com for the rest of this Montmorency tart cherry infused dinner menu!

Appetizer

Cherry & Goat Cheese Bites from A Couple Cooks

Side/Vegetable/Salad

Tart Cherry Glazed Root Vegetables from Cookin’ Canuck

Entrée

Rosemary Roasted Cornish Hens with Pears and Tart Cherries from Love & Zest

Dessert

Tart Cherry Tartelettes from Love & Lemons

Happy Monday!