How to Make a Nutella-Filled Cherry Garnish

Why do olives get to have all of the fun?

For years, martinis have had an edge over their darker, richer sister, the manhattan. And their preeminence comes in the form of their weirdest and most labor-intensive garnish: the irresistible blue cheese stuffed olive. Historically, manhattans have no garnish that competes; neither a cherry nor an orange twist has the moldy cheese-stuffed castelvetrano quaking on its cocktail pick. If you (correctly) believe that you deserve a tasty little snack to go with your manhattans, old fashioneds, vieux carres, or black manhattans, try out this decadent Nutella-filled cherry garnish. It’s easy to make and even easier to enjoy.

What you’ll need for this cherry garnish: Nutella, dark Italian cherries (Luxardo and Amarena are good options), and a food grade syringe. Here’s where you can order everything on Amazon.

Step 1: Insert your empty syringe into your Nutella and then pull back the syringe plunger to fill it. You will likely need to perform a number of pulls to get the syringe amply filled (N.B. warming up the Nutella a bit can make this easier).

Step 2: Next, insert the tip of your syringe into your dark Italian cherry. Fill the cherry with Nutella, and repeat two more times. You should ideally aim for three cherry garnishes per cocktail.

Step 3: Finally, drive a cocktail pick through your cherries and add them to your cocktail. I recommend not putting the cherries directly into the drink, but rather balancing the pick on the rim of your glass (because the oil from the Nutella might not be appetizing in your cocktail). This cherry garnish best complements rich, dark drinks like old fashioned and manhattan variations.

Enjoy!

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