Cheerwine
A cherry-flavored, deep-red carbonated soft drink from the Carolinas, used in cooking mainly as a sweet, fruity braising or glazing liquid. As it cooks, the carbonation disappears and the sugar concentrates, so it behaves more like a sweet reduction than a simple liquid -- it thickens and intensifies in sweetness the longer it simmers.
Buying guidance
Buy it in cans or bottles rather than a diet or zero-sugar version for cooking, since the sugar is what drives a glaze or braise's texture and caramelization; a sugar-free version won't reduce or glaze the same way.
Substitutions
- Cherry cola -- closest available substitute in both color and cherry-cola flavor.
- Regular cola plus a spoonful of cherry preserves or juice -- reasonable stand-in for the sweet, fruity profile; scale back other sugar slightly since preserves add extra sweetness.
- Cherry juice plus a splash of club soda -- less sweet and less cola-like, but keeps the cherry flavor and some fizz before it cooks off.
Tips & common mistakes
Its sugar means it reduces and thickens much faster than a water-based liquid once it's simmering, so left unattended once it's already reduced partway, it can go from a glossy glaze to scorched and sticky quickly. Because the sugar is doing real work in how it thickens and browns, account for that sweetness elsewhere rather than adding it on top of an already-sweetened dish.
Storage
Once opened, it goes flat within a day or two, but flat Cheerwine works just as well for cooking as fresh -- the carbonation isn't doing anything for a glaze or braise the way it would in a glass over ice.