Has anyone made brandied cherries? My question is whether it's best to

I made them twice; once using a recipe quite similar to this one and here is what I found

Pat, you don't need to pit the cherries but it does make it harder later when you want to use them. The reason you don't pit them is because the fruit will hold together better whole.

Here is another really good recipe- I tried it- it aims you more toward the liqueur than the cherries but it is delicious and so are the cherries- I just use the cherries instead of squeezing the juice out:

Whole Cherry Liqueur
from "Homemade Liqueurs"

2 lbs ripe Bing cherries
2 tbsp powdered sugar
lemon zest from 1/2 lemon
2 c brandy
1 c vodka
1/2 cup simple syrup (sugar syrup)

Pull stems from half the cherries. Cut the stems from the other half of the cherries just at the top so the inner fruit is exposed. Pierce all the cherries down to the stones with four or five holes. Place cherries in quart jar. sprinkle with powdered sugar and let dissolve. Add lemon zest. Shake gently. Add brandy and vodka to cover. Close jar and store in a warm place about 75 degrees for 6 weeks undisturbed. Strain and filter. Squeeze all the juice from the cherries. Add sugar syrup. shake well. Mature for at least one week. Yield: approx. 4 cups.

Options: add 5 cloves or 1/2 pc cinnamon stick or 1 pinch mace.

 
I make a similar recipe, Pat. I don't pit- fruit holds together and I like them better unpitted in

Manhattans.
I also processed mine in a water bath, but only because I'm obsessive about being certain it's safe to eat.

 
How timely, I was just going to do a search for a liqueur. Bings are 99 cents/lb this week and I got

carried away. ;o)

 
I've made brandied cherries before but this time I decided to use vodka instead

I thought the cherry flavor would be purer. After all, I've made limoncello which has a pure lemon taste. So far so good. I'll see how it turns out. I didn't pit them. I just tried a sample. Cherries rapidly losing flavor but the liquor tastes great!

 
Glad to. But didn't use a recipe. I filled a jar, about a pint with washed...

unpitted cherries. Dissolved about 2 tablespoons of sugar in a bit of hot water. Added this to the cherries and filled the jar with vodka. I've stored it in the fridge and it's getting better by the day. You can use more sugar if you like. Enjoy!

 
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