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Cherry is a healthy and tasty berry. In our latitudes, it can be harvested almost the entire July and early August, but cherries in any form will do for tinctures: fresh, frozen, dried, etc. Well, almost everything that burns is suitable as an alcohol base. An unpretentious, but at the same time excellent taste drink!
In most cases, cherries are sour, so it is difficult to do without sugar. However, there are also sweet varieties that should not be sweetened. We recommend that you first prepare an alcohol tincture on cherries, and then add sugar or sugar syrup in portions, followed by tasting and bringing the drink to the ideal. You should also follow the rule: 1 liter of drink should not contain more than 30% sugar, otherwise it will no longer be tincture, but liquor or liqueur.
Sweet, extravagant and equally unpretentious cherry liqueurs and liqueurs will not leave you indifferent.
Also, try making cherry wine, the recipe of which you will find in this article.
I would also like to say a little about the bones, which, according to rumors, contain hydrocyanic acid. The bones contain amygdalin glycoside (about 0,85%), which, when decomposed in the stomach, forms hydrocyanic acid, the strongest poison for our body. Therefore, if there are cherries with stones, then you can get serious poisoning. There is information that all harmful substances from the seeds pass into the drink only after 5-6 months of infusion. And yet, and this is 100% reliable, cyanide, which is hydrocyanic acid, is neutralized by sugar. At the same time, the stone gives the drink a noble almond taste. We leave the choice to you.
Cherry liqueur will also receive a noble taste with weak drying of the berries. To do this, it is enough to put the cherries in the sun for 3-4 days or hold the berries in a slightly preheated oven (60-80 ° C) for 3-5 hours (heat treatment also contributes to the breakdown of amygdalin). In all the recipes below, the cuttings must be removed.
Bitter cherry tincture on vodka
1,5-2 kg of ripe cherries
0,7-1 l vodka/alcohol/moonshine 40-50%
How to cook:
Dried cherries should be poured into a container of a suitable volume: so that the berries fill it by 2/3 (you can use a 3-liter jar or several bottles). Pour the berries with good vodka, 40-45% alcohol or purified moonshine, while it is advisable to fill the container to capacity so that the alcohol-containing mixture does not oxidize. You need to insist cherries for 1,5-3 months, do not forget to shake every 3-4 days. After the allotted time, strain through a gauze filter and bottle. Sweeten with sugar/sugar syrup if needed.
Bitter cherry tincture
1,5-2 kg dried cherries
vodka / moonshine – as needed
How to cook:
This recipe is perfect for enthusiastic moonshiners who always keep a few bottles of good moonshine in reserve, for example, well-refined sugar. We do everything by analogy with the first recipe, only pour cherries several times: 1 infusion is kept for 7-10 days, 2 – 14 days, 3 – 40-50 days. After, all three infusions are mixed and, if necessary, sweetened.
Cherry tincture on spicy vodka
- 2 kg ripe cherries
- 1 liter of vodka/alcohol/moonshine 40-50%
- 10 clove buds
- 10 Art. l. Sahara
- 0,5 hours. L. ground cinnamon
- 0,5 hours. L. ground nutmeg
How to do it:
Rinse the cherries well and dry a little. Before putting into the bottle, it is advisable to pierce each cherry with a toothpick. Berries need to be laid in layers, sprinkling them with sugar and spices. The bottle should end up being 2/3 full. Then pour in vodka until it completely covers the berries (you can pour it up to the very neck of the container). The container can be tightly corked, or you can bandage the neck with a thick cloth – so the drink will turn out softer. You need to insist spicy cherry tincture for 2 months on the windowsill on the sunny side. It is advisable to mix the infusion every 2-3 days. After 2 months, strain the finished tincture through a sieve or several layers of gauze.
Tincture “Cherry on Cognac”
- 750 g ripe fresh or frozen cherries
- 750 ml cognac (any quality fruit brandy)
- cloves, cinnamon and other spices (to taste)
- 120 g sugar
How to cook:
Rinse cherries, dry, pierce with a toothpick or fork, then transfer to a jar of a suitable volume. Pour 0,5 liters of cognac (not all!) – enough to cover the berries. Leave to infuse for 1 month in a dark cool place. Then the tincture must be filtered, add another 250 ml of cognac and sugar to it. Mix well until the sugar is completely dissolved. Put in the refrigerator until the drink is completely clarified. An extract is welcome.
Tincture-liqueur on cherry “Cherry Dance”
Thanks to our reader Alexander for the name of the liquor.
- 1 kg ripe cherries (you can yellow cherries)
- 1 kg of granulated sugar
- 600 ml cognac (any fruit brandy)
- 350 ml vodka/alcohol/moonshine 40-50%
How to cook:
Sort the berries, rinse under running water. Cut each cherry with a knife to expose the pits. Put the berries in a clean jar and sprinkle them with sugar, let stand for 3-4 hours. During this time, the sugar will draw the juice out of the cherry. Then you need to pour cognac and vodka into the jar. Stir until most of the sugar has dissolved. Close the jar tightly and send it to a dark, cool place for 2-3 months. Occasionally, 2-3 times a month, the tincture can be shaken to enhance the extraction. After insisting, strain the drink and bottle it.
As you can see, cherry tincture is prepared simply and the only thing that will have to be sacrificed is time. By the way, alcoholized berries that remain after infusion can be used in baking or, for example, eat them with ice cream. Here we rely on your imagination …