I can’t be the only person that has fallen in love with tart cherries and then scrambled to use what I greedily hoarded, right? I wanted to have enough to make whatever I wanted, but the reality was that I had a sea of bright red cherries that filled my largest colander. As you know, I started with Mini Sour Cherry Hand Pies, which might be the tastiest recipe I’ve made this year, but I still had a pound and half of pitted sour cherries left. I put them in a plastic freezer bag with the intent to freeze and then I thought of it: boozy cherries.
Marc and I like whiskey and bourbon cocktails, but Marc is the more serious fan. He drinks whiskey, bourbon and scotch neat, which is pretty baller. I like a good old-fashioned and I’m glad Mad Men has inspired a new wave of bourbon and whiskey love. But don’t abuse alcohol and ignore your children like Don Draper. It’s not cute. I owe my whiskey love to a few stolen sips of my parents’ 7 & 7’s growing up.
These cherries are sitting in my refrigerator and after 6 weeks, it’s on.
Will I be there in six weeks??
Probably! 🙂
What do you know, I’ve got pitted tart cherries in the fridge as we speak…and brandy too. Woo hoo!
Go for it, Renee!
yum. these sound divine.
Thanks, Shoko! I can’t wait to put 10 of them in a Manhattan 🙂
Love this, Nicole! It could turn me into a whiskey drinker!
Ha, yes! You’re living in the perfect spot to start testing the waters 🙂
This recipe looks great, but I have a question… Won’t the alcohol evaporate during cooking? I’ve seen other recipes like this, but the brandy (rum, vodka, etc) is always added after the cooking process is complete, right before canning.
Hi Kari! That’s a great question. This was my first time making brandied cherries and the recipe I looked into made a brandy syrup that was cooked for the sour cherries. I assure you that the syrup the cherries soak in is still quite strong and boozy despite the cooking. It doesn’t evaporate all of the alcohol and my brandied cherries lasted for a year in the refrigerator and only improved with age. I hope that helps!
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can I use frozen sour cherries (defrosted)?
Hi Tina, I’ve never used frozen, defrosted cherries before. I think the recipe would work and they would taste fantastic, but I’m not sure if they would hold their shape and be the prettiest cherries for cocktails, if that matters to you. But maybe I’m wrong about that! Let me know if you try it!
Hello,
Thank you for the response. I wanted to let you know that I’m finally making them tomorrow so that they’ll be ready this Christmas. I will let you know how they turn out.
Hello Nicole,
I made them from frozen and tried tonight they were very good. I was worried that they would have no texture but they were great. Thank you for such a great recipe, I’m giving out some jars for Christmas. Thanks again!
That’s wonderful, Tina! Thanks so much for posting your results and letting me know! That’s a wonderful idea for Christmas gifts.