Hunter's Cocktail

By
Colleen Graham
Photo of Colleen Graham
Colleen Graham
Freelance writer and cocktail book author Colleen Graham is a seasoned mixologist who loves sharing her knowledge of spirits and passion for preparing drinks.
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Updated on 07/22/21
Hunter Cocktail

Maximilian Stock Ltd. / Photolibrary / Getty Images

Prep: 3 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Total: 3 mins
Serving: 1 serving
Yield: 1 cocktail

The hunter's cocktail is an easy whiskey and cherry brandy sipper. It's perfect for hunting season, which most often takes place in autumn. With that chilly weather, you are going to want a simple drink to warm you up from the inside out and this one definitely fits the bill.

This lowball drink has the hunter in mind. Easy to mix up with just two ingredients, it's a perfect way to relax after a day of hiking through the woods.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 ounces whiskey

  • 1/2 ounce cherry brandy

  • Maraschino cherry, for garnish

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. In an old-fashioned glass with ice, pour the whiskey and cherry brandy.

  3. Stir well.

  4. Garnish with a maraschino cherry. Serve and enjoy.

Tips

  • Bourbon is customarily the whiskey of choice for this cocktail. Almost any style of whiskey will do, though. Pour a spicy rye whiskey if you like or enjoy the smooth taste of a blended whiskey, such as those from Canada.
  • Many of the cherry brandies available today are sweetened, making them more of a liqueur than a true brandy. It works very well, though you will notice a difference if you pour a brandy that's an eau-de-vie (distilled directly from the fruit's juice).
  • For the maraschino cherry, any cocktail is improved by using real maraschinos (e.g., Luxardo) or cocktail cherries. The neon red maraschinos are actually bleached then dyed and artificially flavored, leaving them anything but natural.
  • You can also make your own maraschino cherries by soaking fresh cherries in maraschino liqueur. Brandied cherries are another great homemade option.

Recipe Variations

  • If you prefer, shake this cocktail with ice in a cocktail shaker, then strain it. Skip the ice if you like because it will be perfectly chilled.
  • Pour equal parts of whiskey and cherry brandy if you like.
  • Switch to a flavored whiskey (these will also typically be liqueurs) to give the drink more flavor. Apple and cinnamon "whiskeys" are great companions for the cherry brandy.
  • The huntress cocktail is a companion recipe. It uses the same whiskey-cherry combination (equal parts of 1 ounce each) then adds 1 ounce of cream to soften the drink just a little bit.
  • Rather than cherry brandy, you can use any cherry-flavored liqueur.

How Strong Is a Hunter's Cocktail?

Most cherry brandy liqueurs are somewhere around 70 proof, and 80-proof is the standard for the majority of whiskeys. Adding those two together, the average hunter's cocktail will have an alcohol content of 31 percent ABV (62 proof). It's definitely not a weak drink, but more along the lines of a whiskey Manhattan.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
147 Calories
0g Fat
6g Carbs
0g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1
Amount per serving
Calories 147
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 1mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 6g 2%
Dietary Fiber 0g 1%
Total Sugars 6g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 1mg 3%
Calcium 4mg 0%
Iron 0mg 0%
Potassium 20mg 0%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)