Cherry liqueur at home – 5 cool recipes

The famous Roman historian Pliny the Elder writes that the Greek city of Kerasunda (“Cherry”), today’s Turkish Giresun, is the birthplace of sweet cherries. Cherry trees were brought to Europe by the Roman commander Lucius Licinius Lucullus. Perhaps he brought them exclusively for his magnificent gardens, but let’s imagine for a moment that Lycullus was just an admirer of Bacchus and simply conceived a delicious cherry liqueur …

There were not so few fans at the sweet cherry. For example, in Russia this tree appeared thanks to Yuri Dolgoruky, who planted cherry orchards in Moscow. For a long time it was the first and only fertile tree in the capital. This berry is not just considered a symbol of the coming summer. You can burst it with buckets, which is not only tasty, but also healthy. Cherries are rich in vitamins A, C, P, PP, B, B2 and B9, which improve the functioning of the nervous and cardiovascular systems, as well as strengthen bones, teeth, eyesight, etc.

In general, I am not a master of beautiful words; the venerable Don Anointed succeeded in this. Fortunately, the other day he put a small batch of cherry wine, and then tinctures and liqueurs. So we are waiting for his reports and recipes, seasoned with witty remarks and a literary style loved by many. I took the liberty of sharing with you several recipes for liqueur from this wonderful berry, dry and without bright epithets. Hope it worked out well.

Homemade cherry vodka liqueur

Rinse the cherries under running water, remove all cuttings. Transfer the berries to a large bowl and lightly mash with a wooden masher to release the juice from the cherries. Add sugar, half a cinnamon stick, cloves, peeled almonds, zest of half an orange without white streak. Transfer everything to a container for infusion, pour vodka (you can use Kirschwasser), cork tightly and let it brew in a dark, cool place for 6 weeks. During infusion, it is advisable to shake the contents of the container several times a week.

About 2 million tons of cherries are harvested annually in the world.

After 6 weeks of infusion, drain the fragrant water through a sieve into a separate container, squeeze the berries well. If you decide to add red dry wine, then it’s time. Just add it to our infusion and wait another 3-4 weeks before you start tasting. If you do not add wine, then you can drink this delicious cherry liqueur with a delicate spicy aroma in a couple of days after filtering. Enjoy!

… another variation of this vodka + alcohol liquor:

• 500 g cherries
• 300 g sugar
• ½ cinnamon sticks
• 3-4 pcs. carnations
• 10 pcs. almond
• 500 ml of vodka
• 250 ml alcohol 95,6%

Alcoholic cherry liqueur

Pitted cherries, sorted and washed, put in a jar of a suitable volume, add spices and zest from one lemon. Insist in a dark cool place for 3 weeks. Then strain the infusion through cheesecloth, squeeze the berries well. Add simple sugar syrup made from 1 part sugar and 1 part water. Add dry red wine, mix well. Pour into bottles, seal tightly. You can start tasting after 3 weeks of aging. I recommend to cool the liquor before tasting. Enjoy!

Liquor “Cherry Rum”

Sort the cherries, wash them, remove the cuttings and seeds (you can leave a dozen). Transfer the berry to a jar, add chopped vanilla (or the equivalent in the form of vanilla sugar or vanilla concentrate, more here), cloves and pour everything over with honey. Close the jar and leave it like this for 24 hours. Then add rum and alcohol, seal the jar tightly and leave it for at least 3 months in a dark, cool place. After 3 months, strain the infusion through a couple of layers of gauze, squeeze the berries well. Leave it for 4 days to precipitate, remove from the sediment, filter through cotton wool or coffee filters. Pour the finished liquor into bottles. The optimal exposure is another 3 months. If you prepare a drink in June, then it will gain its full taste just in time for the New Year.

Sweet cherries on cognac №1

Sort out ripe red cherries, rinse, remove cuttings and seeds (you can leave a couple of dozen). Cut the berries in half and pour them with sugar syrup made from 800 g of sugar and 400 ml of water. After a day, drain the syrup (set aside the berries), add vanilla or vanilla sugar, cinnamon. Put the syrup on low heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, cool, add cognac, strain and pour this mixture over berries. Let stand for a couple of weeks, strain and bottle (berries can be bottled for beauty). The strength of the drink is around 18%.

Sweet cherries on cognac №2

Prepared according to the proportions of the first recipe on cognac. Prepare the berry in the same way, add spices and immediately pour cognac (you can use vodka) so that it completely covers the cherry. Infuse for 4 weeks, then strain through several layers of gauze and squeeze well. Add 1 kg of powdered sugar for every 0,5 liter of drink, stir well until the sugar is completely dissolved. Filter through a cloth, bottle over the remaining berries. Before tasting homemade cherry liqueur on cognac, let it age for at least 2 weeks for better maceration. The strength of the drink is around 20%.

The Germans, French and British never came up with any name for the sweet cherry. They contrast it with sour cherries, calling cherries sweet cherries. That is why it is very difficult to find recipes for cherry liqueur in German-French-English-speaking countries.

It only remains to add that all the recipes from this article can also be used to make cherry liqueurs. At the same time, all recipes for cherry liqueurs (as well as tinctures and liqueurs) are practically not applicable to cherries – after all, the berry is less bright than cherries. We are looking forward to the last season, stocking up on alcohol.