Bourbon Cherries

Liquor soaked cherries packed in homemade cherry liqour

Liquor soaked cherries packed in homemade cherry liquor

These are really, really strong and yet still taste amazing. The final cherry liquor made from the packing liquid is fantastic added to many cocktails or as a stand alone drink.

Use really fresh cherries and a wide-mouth 24-ounce mason jar. Use a good quality (but not too pricey) bourbon for this. I like Knob Creek or Maker’s Mark. The easiest way to pit a cherry is to slice around the pit with a sharp knife then twist the halves apart. If the cherry is ripe it will separate and the pit can easily be popped out of the one half.

Bourbon Cherries

  • About 1 lb pitted cherries
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • Bourbon
  • Simple Syrup

Fill mason jar with cherries. Pour in sugar and mix well with a spoon. Fill to top with bourbon. Seal jar and place in refrigerator. Let stand for one week shaking jar once a day. After a week pour liquid into a pan and measure. For every cup of cherry flavored bourbon add 1/3 cup simple syrup. Mix well and pour back into the jar with the cherries. Cherries are ready to be eaten. Any leftover cherry liquor keeps well in the refrigerator.

To make simple syrup bring equal parts sugar and water to a boil until sugar dissolves. Cool completely before using.

About Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide

This blog attempts to collect some of the things I try to create with food and booze. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I fail. My hope is to entertain and maybe help people think a little harder about what they decide to eat and drink.
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14 Responses to Bourbon Cherries

  1. Ruth says:

    Beautiful color and I am sure they are divine.

  2. ChgoJohn says:

    Years ago, Dad had a friend who did something similar using moonshine. Yikes! 🙂

  3. sallybr says:

    I think I got a little tipsy just looking at the picture… My former mother-in-law (born in Germany) used to make a cherry liquor and give bottles at Christmas…. it was outstanding, but in those days I was a lot stronger as far as drinking was concerned.

  4. Jueseppi B. says:

    Reblogged this on The ObamaCrat™.

  5. Jackie Saulmon Ramirez says:

    I grew up in NC where “white lighting” was brewed in the woods. My father made what he called Cherry Bounce by adding maraschino cherries and the juice to a 50 gallon glass jug of white lighting. Once you make Cherry Bounce you let it set until the cherries lose almost all their color and float to the top.

    My young daughter watched as he mixed a batch and lost her breath from the fumes. That stuff was so strong, about 180 proof.

  6. Love this and I have some cherries in the fridge. How long will this keep?

  7. Now that’s just cruel – am missing the Spanish cherries from the local village 😦

  8. Eva Taylor says:

    Oh yes. I would like these. Very beautiful colour.

  9. Cecile says:

    Love this ! And I love the drink you make with it…. Pinning both, as usual !

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