Homemade cherry tincture recipe

Cherry liqueur in Russia is not as popular as a drink made from its closest relative, the cherry. Indeed, until recently, cherries were considered exclusively a southern tree. Another reason is a lack of acid and contrast.

Is it possible to make liqueur from cherries?

Many even doubt whether it is possible to make a tasty liqueur from cherries.But in Europe, cherry liqueurs are very popular, and in some Mediterranean countries they have been producing cherry wine for a long time. But liqueurs are not so far removed from liqueurs: they may be a little sweeter, but in terms of preparation technology they are practically no different from liqueurs infused with strong alcohol.

As for the prevalence of cherries in Russia, Yuri Dolgoruky began to plant the first cherry orchards on the territory of modern Moscow. And given the level of development of selection today, getting good harvests of this berry in the middle zone and preparing delicious liqueurs from it, among other things, is a piece of cake.

Secrets of making cherry liqueur at home

In ancient times, liqueurs were prepared exclusively from fruits and berries using natural fermentation. Subsequently, the drink was often strengthened by adding vodka or alcohol. Currently, there are two main options for preparing cherry liqueur:

• by infusing strong alcoholic drinks;
• without adding alcohol-containing liquids, using natural fermentation.

The latter are characterized by a milder taste, but have a low strength (no more than 12%).

Cherries must be selected that are fully ripe, but without signs of rot or various stains. The color of the berries is important only when making liqueurs with alcohol or vodka, since lighter varieties will not give such a rich color and aroma. To make liqueurs using natural fermentation without alcohol, a variety of any color is suitable.

The biggest controversy is whether you should use whole berries with seeds or whether it is better to remove the seeds.

There are recipes for making liqueur with seeds, but their taste is intended for amateurs. Therefore, in most recipes, the pits are removed from the cherries.

What can you infuse cherry liqueur with?

There are many alcoholic drinks that you can use to infuse cherry liqueur:

• vodka;
• moonshine;
• alcohol;
• rum;
• cognac;
• brandy.

Exotic alcoholic drinks are practically not used.

Cherry liqueur with vodka

This is perhaps the most common option for preparing an aromatic and tasty drink from moderately strong cherries.

• 1 kg of berries;
• 500 g sugar;
• 2 liters of vodka.

Preparation:

1. It is advisable to wash the berries, remove the seeds and stalks, and place the pulp in a glass jar.
2. Pour the amount of vodka prescribed according to the recipe, seal tightly and place in a warm and dark place.
3. For 10 days, shake the drink once a day.
4. After this time, filter the drink through cheesecloth, squeeze out the pulp and place it back into the glass container.
5. Cover with sugar, cover with a lid and place again in a warm place (18 to 25 °C) for a week, shaking the contents daily.
6. For now, the strained liquid is stored in a separate hermetically sealed bottle in the refrigerator.
   
7. After infusing the berry pulp with sugar for a week, filter the resulting juice again through several layers of gauze and add it to the liqueur, stored in the refrigerator.
8. At this stage, you can taste the drink and add sugar if desired.
9. The liqueur is bottled, sealed with stoppers and stored in a dark place with a temperature of no more than 10–16 °C for about 3–4 months.Such aging can significantly improve the taste of the liqueur. Its strength is about 29–32 degrees.

Cherry liqueur with alcohol

You can replace vodka with alcohol. To obtain the required concentration, you need to dilute 1 liter of 95% alcohol in 1.375 liters of water.

The cooking process is the same.

Cherry liqueur with moonshine

Instead of vodka, you can take home-made moonshine and follow the same recipe. You just need to have an idea of ​​the strength of moonshine in order to use less or more of it if necessary.

Cherry liqueur with cognac

A drink made according to this recipe can surprise even true gourmets with its taste, color and aroma.

• 500 ml cognac (maybe not of the best quality);
• 600 g cherries;
• 50 g sugar;
• spices to taste (cinnamon, cloves, cumin).

Preparation:

1. Wash the berries, prick with a toothpick or needle to release the juice and place in a glass jar.
2. Add spices there too.
3. Fry the sugar in a dry frying pan without oil, stirring all the time, then add it to the same jar.
4. Pour in cognac, which should cover all the berries.
5. Mix the contents of the jar well, close the lid tightly and place in a dark, warm place for 2 months.
6. Filter the finished liqueur through cheesecloth, pour into bottles and store.

Cherry liqueur without vodka and alcohol

Our great-grandfathers prepared liqueur in a similar way, when strong alcoholic drinks were very rare. The liqueur is obtained as a result of the natural fermentation of fructose from cherry juice and sugar added according to the recipe, and is a bit like wine.

• 2 kg of berries;
• 800 g sugar;
• 250 ml water.

It is also necessary to prepare a sterilized dry three-liter jar and a water seal. Instead, you can use a regular medical glove and use a needle to poke a hole in one of its fingers.

Preparation:

1. The berries are freed from seeds.
2. About 200 g of sugar are poured into the bottom of the jar, after which cherries and the remaining sugar are added in layers.
3. Everything is filled with water.
4. Place a lid with a water seal on the jar or put on a glove, which is tightly secured with an elastic band and tape.
5. The jar is placed in a warm and dark place for fermentation. This process usually lasts from 25 to 40 days. You can track it by the state of the glove: first it will inflate and rise, after the process is completed, it will deflate and fall.
6. At this point, strain the liqueur using cheesecloth, squeeze out the pulp completely and pour into bottles, sealing them tightly.
7. Let stand in a cool place for about 2–4 months to improve taste.

Of course, the resulting liqueur is much less than when using the alcohol component (about 1 liter), but it has a richer taste. The strength of the drink is about 10–12%.

Recipe for homemade cherry liqueur with honey

This recipe makes a rather strong, but tasty, slightly tart drink.

• 1 kg of berries;
• 750 ml vodka;
• 1 liter of alcohol;
• 1 liter of honey;
• 1 g each of vanillin, cloves, cinnamon.

Preparation:

1. The cherries, washed and freed from seeds and branches, are placed in a glass jar, spices are added and poured with alcohol.
2. Insist 4 weeks in the sun.
3. The drink is filtered, placed in the refrigerator for temporary storage, and the remaining pulp is poured with honey, covered with gauze and again placed in the sun for 4 weeks.
   
4. The honey syrup is carefully squeezed out, mixed with the original infusion and kept for a day in a dark place.
5. Every other day, the liqueur is passed through a filter, bottled and sent to infuse for 3-4 months in a cool place.

Cherry liqueur with pits

This recipe is considered quite simple, since it does not involve pitting the cherries, and is therefore the most common. Thanks to the seeds, the drink acquires a light almond flavor.

• 1 liter of vodka or moonshine;
• 1 kg of fruits with seeds (preferably dark flowers);
• 300 g sugar.

When changing the amount of one of the ingredients, it is important to maintain the overall proportion of 1:1:0.3.

Preparation:

1. The berries are placed in a jar.
2. Vodka is thoroughly mixed with sugar.
3. Sweet vodka is poured into the cherries in a jar, covered with a nylon lid and placed in a sunny window.
4. The jar needs to be shaken a little every 2-3 days.
5. After two weeks, the liqueur is filtered through cheesecloth and bottled.

Tincture on berries and cherry leaves

This recipe uses cherry leaves, which will give the liqueur an additional herbal aroma.

• 50 dark cherries;
• about 200 cherry leaves;
• 1 liter of vodka;
• 1.5 kg sugar;
• 1 liter of boiled water;
• 1.5 tsp. citric acid.

Preparation:

1. The leaves and berries are washed, and the seeds are removed from half the berries.
2. Add water and cook over low heat for 15 minutes.
3. The broth is filtered.
4. Add sugar and citric acid to it and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes.
5. After cooling, add vodka to the syrup, mix everything well and pour the resulting liqueur into glass containers with airtight lids.

Infuse the drink in a cool, dark place for about 20 days.

How to make liqueur from frozen cherries

Since cherries are a seasonal berry, ripening in early summer, they can be frozen to make liqueur at any time of the year. A drink made from frozen berries is practically no different from the traditional one. You just need to first defrost the berries at room temperature, spreading them on a flat surface, such as a baking sheet, in one layer.

To remove excess moisture from thawed berries, it is recommended to place the baking sheet with the berries in the oven at low temperature (70 °C) for 4–5 hours. After this, prepare the liqueur according to any recipe.

A simple and quick recipe for cherry liqueur

There is an old recipe for making cherry liqueur in just one day. True, the conditions of a “cooling Russian oven” with maintaining a constant temperature in the region of 60–70 °C are best suited for this. If the oven is capable of maintaining a similar mode, then you can use it.

Cooking process:

1. 1 kg of cherries is poured with 2 liters of vodka.
2. Place the container with the future liqueur to simmer at the above temperature in the oven or oven for a period of 12 to 24 hours. During this time, the liqueur acquires a dark brown color.
3. It is filtered, 500 g of sugar is added and bottled.

You can use it immediately, but after infusion it will improve its taste.

How to make yellow cherry liqueur

Yellow cherries have a richer, spicy taste than their sisters, but most of all, replacing the berries will affect the color of the finished drink. It will turn out to be an attractive golden hue.

• 730 g yellow cherries;
• 365 ml of well-purified moonshine or vodka;
• 145 ml water;
• 155 g sugar;
• cinnamon stick.

Preparation:

1. The seeds are removed from the cherries, and the pulp is lightly kneaded to obtain juice.
2. The juice is poured into a separate container, and the berries are poured with moonshine.
3. A syrup is prepared from juice, warm water and sugar and combined with berries doused in moonshine.
4. A cinnamon stick is also added there.
5. In a dark, cool place, the liqueur is infused for at least 10 days, after which it is carefully filtered, removing the berries and cinnamon.
6. The finished drink is bottled and sealed tightly.

Red cherry liqueur recipe

Red cherries are often called pink cherries. To get a drink with a more multifaceted taste, it is advisable to infuse it with a mixture of vodka and brandy.

• 620 ml vodka;
• 235 ml brandy;
• 730 g red cherries;
• 230 g sugar.

It is recommended to slightly cut or prick the berries, but do not remove the seeds.

Preparation:

1. Brandy and vodka are thoroughly mixed with sugar until it is completely dissolved.
2. Pour this mixture over the cherries and close the container tightly. The drink should be infused in the dark and cool for about a month. The first two weeks it needs to be shaken once a day.
3. After a month, the drink is filtered and bottled in hermetically sealed bottles. The berries are removed.

White cherry liqueur

But white cherries combine perfectly in their taste and color with rum.

• 1 kg of cherries;
• 50 ml alcohol 95% strength;
• 500 ml white rum;
• 150 ml honey;
• vanilla bag;
• 5 buds of cloves.

Preparation:

1. Washed and pitted cherries are poured with honey and vanilla and cloves are added.
2. The jar is tightly closed and left in the room for 24 hours.
3. Alcohol and rum are added to the contents, sealed tightly and left in a cool place without light for at least 3 months.
4. After infusion, the liqueur is filtered, the berries are squeezed out and left for 3-4 days to separate the sediment.
5. After the required period, the liqueur is drained from the sediment, filtered through a filter and bottled.
6. They insist for another 3 months if possible.

Cherry liqueur with nutmeg

1. 1 kg of berries is lightly kneaded until the juice is released, but the seeds are not removed.
2. Transfer to a glass jar and leave for 3 days at room temperature without light.
3. Add 1 g of cinnamon and nutmeg, 250 g of sugar to the berries and add 400 ml of vodka.
4. The mixture is shaken and left in the same place for another 7 days.
   
5. Prepare sugar syrup from 50 ml of water and 100 g of sugar, cool.
6. The infused liqueur is filtered, sugar syrup is added to it and the drink is passed through a filter.
7. The finished drink is poured into glass containers and placed for storage.

Cherry liqueur with red wine

The liqueur according to this recipe is infused with vodka, and red wine is added to create a brighter flavor bouquet.

1. Lightly mash 0.5 kg of cherries with pits with a wooden spoon and add 300 g of sugar, half a cinnamon stick, 9 peeled almond kernels, 2 cloves, and grated zest from half an orange.
2. Transfer everything into a glass container, add 700 ml of vodka or 40–50% alcohol, close the lid and place to infuse for 6 weeks in a cool place without light with occasional shaking.
3. At the next stage, the drink is filtered, the berries and spices are squeezed out and removed, but 500 ml of dry red wine is added to it. After which they insist for about another month.

Original recipe for liqueur-like cherry liqueur

• 1 liter of 70% alcohol;
• 800 g mixture of red and yellow cherries;
• 250 g dry red wine;
• 500 ml of sugar syrup (dissolve 300 g of sugar in 200 ml of water);
• 5 buds of cloves;
• 5 g ground cinnamon or 1 cinnamon stick;
• zest from 1 lemon.

As in the previous recipe, berries with spices are infused in alcohol for 3-4 weeks. Then filter, add sugar syrup and red wine, mix. Bottle and infuse again for at least 3 weeks.

Homemade cherry liqueur

The liqueur is prepared according to a recipe very similar to making liqueur. After all, these drinks have a lot in common.

First stage of preparation:

1. To 1 kg of cherries add 500 g of sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla sugar, 3 cherry leaves, 4 clove buds, a pinch of cinnamon and ground nutmeg.
2. The jar of berries and spices is closed with a lid and kept in the sun for about 8–10 days.
3. It must be shaken with all contents daily.

Second stage of preparation:

1. 400 ml of high-quality vodka is poured into a jar.
2. The liqueur is infused for another 4 weeks.
3. The contents are filtered and bottled.

The drink is ready.

Cherry liqueur recipe

Using the same recipe, a liqueur liqueur is prepared from equal parts of cherries and sweet cherries.

All ingredients are taken in the same quantities (500 g of cherries and 500 g of cherries), only the amount of sugar is slightly increased - up to 700–800 g.

The taste of the liqueur is more intense due to the addition of cherries.

Cherry cognac liqueur with oak chips and cinnamon

The liqueur made according to this recipe can taste like cognac.

For it, you can use cherries of any color and even a mixture of varieties.

Preparation:

1. 1 kg of cherries are slightly crushed until the juice is released in the jars and, covered with gauze, placed in a warm place for 3 days. During this time, the liquid should ferment.
   
2. Add 250 g of sugar, 3 g of cinnamon and nutmeg each and stir well.
3. Pour in 500 ml of vodka.
4. Shake everything well and place, covered with a lid, in the dark at a temperature of 21–24 °C for 2–3 weeks.
5. When a clearly defined sediment appears at the bottom, the liqueur is poured into a clean container and filtered if necessary.
6. Pour into bottles, placing 2 fresh oak chips in each.
7. The bottles are tightly closed and left to infuse for 2 months in a cool place with a temperature of 16 °C.

You may need to strain the liqueur again before drinking.

Cherry, blueberry and apple liqueur: cognac tincture

This drink can surprise and delight even sophisticated connoisseurs and connoisseurs of alcohol.

• 800 g cherries;
• 50 g fresh blueberries;
• 50 g sweet apples, grated on a coarse grater;
• 700 ml cognac;
• 50 g brown (unrefined) sugar, melted in a dry frying pan;
• spices to taste (cinnamon, cloves, cumin).

Preparation:

1. The washed berries are pricked in several places to extract juice.
2. Load them into a jar, add blueberries and apples, preferably peeled.
3. Add spices and pour cognac so that it completely covers the berries.
4. Seal tightly and leave in a warm and dark place for 2 months.
5. The finished drink is filtered through a filter and, after bottling, is stored.

Rules and conditions for storing cherry liqueur

Most of the liqueurs described in this article can be stored in cool, dark conditions for up to 5 years.

Before drinking, you should check to see if any sediment has appeared and, if necessary, additionally filter the finished liqueur.

Conclusion

The article provides various recipes for liqueurs from cherries of all varieties with all kinds of additives: spices, leaves, wine.

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