Cherry Liqueur

23 June 2014

It doesn’t get simpler than this!

– Freshly picked cherries (either sweet or sour) to fill the preserving jar you have to hand about two thirds full – I sterilise the jar with boiling water and then stone the cherries into the jar so that the stones stay with them for flavour purposes. When I come to filter off the liqueur in the winter I then have really boozy ready-stoned cherries which I dip in chocolate for people who have been nice to me during the year…

– Add an amount of sugar equal to about one third of your jar’s capacity

– Pour in enough brandy to properly cover the cherries in the jar

– Seal and store in a cool, dark place, for several months, turning the jar occasionally. The sugar will gradually dissolve in the alcohol.

– When the evenings start to close in and you feel in need of a glass of cherry cheer, strain the liqueur into bottles, discarding the stones but keeping the cherries for desserts, decorating and dipping.