Out of the blue, I got a call last spring from a farmer in Michigan.  Jack King of King Orchards in Center Lake, MI called to say that he thought we should make a Sumptuous Tart Cherry from his cherries.

He read about our syrups in Wine and Craft Beverage News and he wanted to be part of the action!  http://wineandcraftbeveragenews.com/growing-farm-to-bar-with-craft-cocktail-syrups/

[ All farm and fruit photos are from Kingorchards.com]

“Brothers John and Jim King, along with their wives Betsy and Rose and their children, have been growing fruit in Northern Michigan since 1980, specializing in Montmorency tart cherries. We are a first-generation farming family growing into the second. We love the farming life and work hard to grow quality fruit.

We actively grow over 180 acres of Montmorency tart cherries which we use for our tart cherry juice concentrate, in addition to Balaton cherries, black sweet cherries, apples, peaches, pears, apricots, plums and nectarines.

Our orchards are located in the heart of Michigan’s famed cherry growing region, atop glacier-formed ridges and rolling hills near Torch Lake and Lake Michigan’s Grand Traverse Bay. Just 35 minutes north of Traverse City and 45 minutes south of Petoskey, our two farm markets offer convenient locations for the majority of Northern Michigan travelers and residents. The quality of our harvest is second to none.”  www.kingorchards.com

“From Blossom to Harvest”

https://youtu.be/N-MleEJbWFs

 

We started the process by exchanging products.  Jack sent me the cherry juice for my Research and Development and I sent him bottles of various flavors of Sumptuous Syrups.  YUM!! all around.

Six months later the first bottles of Tart Cherry syrup were released to the public to delighted customers.  One of my first deliveries was to the bartenders at the Daily Planet restaurant in Burlington VT.  This is the Tart Cherry Margarita they made for me.  So delicious and refreshing – even though it was a cold and wintry night.

The always amazing Christopher James, Bar Manager for Jockey Hollow Bar & Kitchen, one of the finest restaurants in Morristown, NJ, made Tart Cherry Daquaris for me and a friend with his first bottle of the syrup.

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Warren Bobrow aka The Cocktail Whisperer is delighted to get his first bottle of Tart Cherry syrup.  We had to have Sunday morning taste with some very special bourbon to try it out.  Klaus the Gnome approves!

Don Horrigan creates fabulous cocktails. Here is one with the new Tart Cherry syrup for you to try.

Tart Cherry Ol’ Fashioned

2 oz Buffalo Trace Bourbon or other bourbon

1/3 oz Sumptuous Syrups Tart Cherry

dash Dutch’ Spirits ProhiBitters

orange peel

Cheers from your friendly neighborhood barkeep

@Don Horrigan @ssvtdrinxcrftr at Sumptuous Syrups of Vermont