Cherry time at Towerwater

In December, our friend Susan gifted us 2kg Royal Hazel cherries from a cherry farm in Ceres. Cherries ripe at Christmas seem so appropriate with their glistening red orbs resembling Christmas baubles and their long slender stems.

I decided to make brandied cherries and cherries for cocktails with a hint of almond. Nothing can beat a cherry as garnish in a Manhattan, or Old-Fashioned cocktail. Since I discovered how the bright red cherries, that are used by most bartenders are made, I prefer to use our own homemade cocktail cherries. They resemble the darker Luxardo cherries.

A commercial Maraschino cherry, pretty but unnatural

I discovered that the bright red commercial cocktail cherries are first preserved in a brine solution usually containing sulfur dioxide and calcium chloride to bleach the fruit. They are then soaked in red food colouring, sugar syrup, and other ingredients. What it means is that cherries are stripped of their natural colour and flavour and then given an artificial colour and flavour.

A Towerwater cocktail cherry, pretty natural

With our generous gift of fresh cherries, I decided to make the best of it and make some cocktail cherries and some brandied cherries. I like the cocktail cherries to have their stems and I made a jar of cherries with their pips and stems intact. For the next jar I removed the pips from the side of the fruit to keep the stems intact.

The Towerwater cocktail cherries are only infused with alcohol, sugar, and a drop of almond essence for that hint of Maraschino cherry flavour.

Towerwater cocktail cherries

Wash the cherries and dry them. Leave the stems intact. Take a cocktail stick and prick each cherry once if you do not remove the stones. Fill a large jar (the jars I used were about 650ml) with the cherries. Pour in 125ml of demerara sugar. Top up with good quality flavourless alcohol like vodka (I used witblits). Use something you will enjoy drinking. Add a drop of almond essence. Replace the lid and give the bottle a good shake to help it dissolve the sugar. Store in a cool dark place for six months. Shake the jar every second day until the sugar is dissolved. 

Towerwater cherries in brandy

Wash the cherries and dry them. Take a cocktail stick and prick each cherry once. Fill a large jar (the jars I used was about 650ml) with the cherries. Pour in 125ml of demerara sugar. Top up with good quality brandy. Use something you will enjoy drinking. Add a drop of almond essence. Replace the lid and give the bottle a good shake to help it dissolve the sugar. Store in a cool dark place for six months. Shake the jar every second day until the sugar is dissolved. 

In the end I had two jars of cocktail cherries and two large and one small jar of cherries in brandy. Now just to be patient before  we can taste what the magic of time can do for these cherries in alcohol.

For the cherry liqueur and cherry pip liqueur please read Crushed cherries and cyanide