This photo shows a marbled countertop with a jar of Orasella Tiki Cherries and a drink next to it. The drink is in a clear glass with ice, and it's a cola/rum drink. In the background, is a teapot.

Rumming Wild: Rum and Cherry Cola with Rum-Soaked Cherries

This photo shows a marbled countertop with a jar of Orasella Tiki Cherries and a drink next to it. The drink is in a clear glass with ice, and it's a cola/rum drink. In the background, is a teapot.

Push a barrel of rum under a cherry tree. Do it! You’ll be so happy. I’m not sure if that’s how the Orasella Tiki Cocktail Cherries were invented, but I’m glad someone thought to combine rum and cherries and sell them at a farmers market that Nate and I visited last weekend. While there, we picked up a jar of dark rum cherries—made specifically for rum drinks.

But first, we had to sample the cherries straight up, out of the jar—perhaps slightly shaken, but not stirred to oblivion (there is no room in the jar for stirring because it’s plum full of delightfully drunk morsels).

The problem is, you can’t eat just one, which is so bad because there is a LOT of rum in that jar. One jar would probably set you back two tropical island vacations—neither of which you’d remember.

But it’s not a bad problem to have, really. The Orasella Tiki Cocktail Cherries are gloriously soaked through and through with top-quality dark rum. The people running the Orasella Cherries stand even gave us a recipe card for a drink, but I lost the card, so I just made a rum and Coke—but with cherry cola. (Recipes are on their website, though.)

Here’s my “recipe:”

Place ice in a glass and pour in one ounce of dark rum. Add 2-4 ounces of cherry cola and stir. Garnish with two Orasella Tiki Cocktail Cherries—but dunk them in the drink before eating—and maybe garnish with more—or eat the whole jar. Did I mention how hard it is to NOT eat the whole jar?

Results: The drink was great, but the cherries were incredibly memorable. As in, I know/remember they’re in the refrigerator right now, and they would go well with a chocolate bar, too, but I would be too useless to finish this post.

Serve this drink with:

  • More Orasella Tiki Cocktail Cherries (actually, just fill a glass with them, forget the drink)
  • The ghost of Jimmy Buffett (still looking for a lost shaker of salt)
  • All the chocolate you bought from the farmers market (I saw you)
  • At least 20 banana trees from Flower World
  • A boat filled with paper umbrellas
  • A trip to Cherry Blossom Fun Land (a place I invented in my mind that has a “spirit-forward” river boat ride through cherry trees that sing, “Rum, rum, rum your boat.”)

Your Turn: Have you been to a farmers market recently? What did you sample/bring home?

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Published by ckennedy

Author of the DIY blog: Fixin' Leaks and Leeks. Paper/Rock Writing Consultation, Sole Proprietor.

16 thoughts on “Rumming Wild: Rum and Cherry Cola with Rum-Soaked Cherries”

  1. We have a regular farmer’s market but I haven’t purchased anything recently from there. I do most of my buying once the orchard fruits start coming in.

    There are lots of good things for soaking cherries, but especially vodka because it’s a blank canvas and you can get the flavour profile you want. Watch out for the kick, though!

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    1. That sounds wonderful! When we first moved to the Greater Seattle area, there was a ferry that would take you to another market nearby, and they had fresh oysters–and Alex learned how to shuck oysters for the first time. It was really hard to convince him to leave and look at the other market stalls. So fun, though.

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  3. The farmers market used to be right here in the Square where I live. But several years ago they moved it farther away and not at all handy for me:( Guess I should check on the current location, now that you mention it!

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  5. Cherry blossom fun land sounds like fun! The last farmer’s market I went to, I bought chocolate cake and bhel puri (look that up!), both delicious. Btw, did you know you can make your own natural vanilla by steeping a couple of vanilla beans in a bottle of vodka for a few months? It’s really nice, especially in icecream!

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  7. I haven’t been to one in a very long time, but now I must find one and find out if they have some drunk cherries. Also, can you blame me for buying that much chocolate? Isn’t that what you have money for?

    Hope you’re having a good weekend! 😉

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    1. Ah! But really, who could resist that chocolate? No judgment here. My weekend has been great! Full of good weather and fun family times. Hoping your weekend has been fun as well. Cheers!

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