Cherry Liqueur Recipes

CHERRY LIQUEUR

Steps:

• Mix vodka, brandy and sugar in a large glass measure or medium mixing bowl; stir well to dissolve.
• Cut each washed cherry slightly to open, leave in pits.
• Place cherries in two sterile, quart wide mouth jars or one larger aging container.
• Pour liquid mixture over cherries; stir and cap with tight lids.
• For the first two weeks, shake jars several times.
• Let age in a cool, dark place for at least 3 months for best flavor.
• Strain off liqueur through a wire mesh strainer and discard cherries.
• Rebottle as desired.
• Liqueur is ready in 3 months.
• VARIATIONS:Almond-Cherry Liqueur: For a more prominent"almond" flavor, pit all or part of the cherries.
• Place cherry pits in a clean cloth and hit with a hammer to break them up slightly.
• Put broken pits and pitted cherries in jars or large container and continue as directed.
• Sugarless Cherry Liqueur: Substitute 1 cup apple juice concentrate, undiluted, for the sugar in the Cherry Liqueur recipe.
• Proceed as directed.
• The"sugars" present will be natural fruit sugars rather than the granulated processed sugars.
• Taste is excellent; aging is the same.

LIQUORI CASALINGHI (CHERRY LIQUEUR)

Steps:

• You will need to crush the cherries along with their pits. I found it was easiest to use a heavy duty extra large zip lock, adding a handful of cherries at a time, and smash each cherry with a hammer. Be sure to crust the pit well. Push the pulp to the bottom of the bag and add the next handful.
• Leave covered in a dark place for 24 hours.
• After 24 hours, boil the water and add the sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat.
• Put cherry mixture in a fine muslin bag, or use a fine sieve, and squeeze the juice into a bowl.
• Add the cherry juice to the sugar syrup mixture and set aside to cool.
• Add alcohol to the cooled cherry syrup.
• Pour into a jar with a tight fitting lid and place in a cool dark place for one week.
• After one week, filter into a cool looking bottle, seal, and age it for at least six months before you pop the top.