Life is like a bowl of cherries until you turn it into cherry brandy when it gets even better! I just love cherry season when you can come home with punnets of delicious plump cherries and conjure up some amazing cherry recipes.
But who says it has to be something to eat. This recipe is as good as any dessert!
You can underestimate how much flavour and colour cherries have compared to other fruits… you only have to see it in this recipe once 2 weeks have passed when you see how much colour the cherry has imparted to the brandy.
To me, cherry brandy is a winter drink, sipping it by the fire after a nice meal. But of course it has to be made when the cherries are plump and ripe and the longer you leave it the more delicious it becomes. So now is the perfect time to make the cherry brandy in time for Christmas! You can drink it from 6 weeks on, the longer you leave it the better it tastes. I like to leave mine a minimum of 5 months when it turns a ruby-red and is as smooth as silk.
My cherry brandy recipe is a healthier version as I sweeten it to taste with raw honey.
Make sure you buy your ingredients when buying your cherries as this is best made when the cherries are freshly picked. There are only 3 ingredients in this recipe: cherries, brandy and honey. Use a medium good quality brandy. Simply wash and pick the stems off the cherries. There is no need to stone them. Just prick them with a fork and place them into a 1.5 litre jar. Top them up with the brandy, give it a shake and leave it for 2 weeks.
After 2 weeks, or when the cherries have lost their colour, drain the brandy and discard the cherries. Place the brandy back in the jars. Add raw honey to taste by adding one tablespoon at a time. I would start with 2 tablespoons and then shake the jar. After another 2 weeks taste again and add more honey if required. The sweetness is totally up to you, some like it slightly tart and others like the cherry brandy extremely sweet. I like it in between so I add around 3 tablespoons of honey per jar.
When the cherries start to lose colour then decant the brandy and discard the cherries. A week after the last of the honey has been added decant into a decorative bottle and filter off the sediment. Repeat the filtering a second time. Leave for another week then filter through a fine sieve twice. Repeat each week for 4 weeks. Leave the brandy to mature for as long as you can. Three months is best, the longer the better! It still tastes delicious 5 or 6 months later. And is more perfect after a year (if it lasts that long).
If you like the then you will love my recipe for warmed spiced apple drink
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Cherry Brandy Recipe
- Total Time: 28 minute
- Yield: 15 1x
Description
Silky, smooth homemade cherry brandy recipe made with fresh cherries, brandy and raw honey. Left to mature for several months to mature just in time for Christmas!
Ingredients
- 500g freshly picked ripe cherries
- 600ml good quality brandy
- 2–4 tablespoons raw honey
- 1.5 litre jar
Instructions
Wash the cherries and remove the stems. Do not stone them as this keeps them fresh.
Prick the cherries with a fork and place them in a large jar, approximately 1.5 litres.
Add the brandy and shake. Leave for 2 weeks or until the colour has been removed from the cherries.
Drain the brandy and discard the cherries. Place the brandy back in the jar and add the honey to taste. For a sweeter brandy add 4-5 tablespoons and for a less sweet brandy then 2-3 tablespoons. The brandy sweetens more when maturing.
Leave for another week then filter through a fine sieve twice. Repeat each week for 4 weeks.
Decant into a decorative bottle and leave for 6 weeks minimum. It can be left to mature for more than 6 months.
Notes
I advise using a medium to good quality brandy to enable smoothness. However, if using a cheap brandy then mature for 6 months or more to allow for a smoother taste.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: Mature for minimum 3 months
Keywords: cherry brandy recipe
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