Foodie Finds: Mess Hall & Co. Cocktail Cherries

By Anthony Todd in Food on Feb 11, 2013 9:30PM

Foodie Finds is a recurring series with our friends at Zagat where we explore products created by local artisans. Some weeks, we both give our take on the same product. Check out Sarah Freeman's feelings about fancy cherries here.

Admit it. You're envious of those fancy barmen with the vests and the armbands. What do they have that you don't? You've got a shaker, booze, ice; if you're a guy, you can even grow a fancy mustache. You've got it all, except for the fancy cherries they put in the bottom of your delicious cocktail. Thanks to Mess Hall & Co., you can even have those.

Mess Hall & Co. is the brainchild of Marianne Sundquist, the former chef at In Fine Sprits (may it rest in peace). The line of products includes teas, a ghost pepper mustard, apple butters, fruit preserves and the cherries. Oh, the cherries.

They are made in small batches and preserved in sugar, bourbon, cinnamon, peppercorns, vanilla and star anise, and they taste like the cherry pie filling your grandmother might have made if your grandmother was Julia Child's long lost twin. Tart and complicated, these cherries aren't made for munching - two or three at a time is about all we can handle. Which is great, because that's exactly how many go into the bottom of your glass. They aren't cheap at $10 a jar, but unless you are drinking manhattans like they are going out of style, one small jar will last quite a while.

if you want to get even more value for your buck, add a teaspoon of the preserving liquid to your next manhattan. Just in case you care, our favorite recipe includes 2 oz rye, 1 oz Carpano Antica, a dash of Peychauds bitters and a dash of Luxardo. Drop in a couple of cherries and you'll feel just like those fancy bartenders.

Buy Mess Hall & Co. products online or at your local fancy food store. In Fine Spirits often carries them, as does Provenance Food and Wine.