Cherry X-Mas

Photo by Macu ic on Unsplash

The last few years I have made a tradition of setting down some cherry liquor in July that will be ready for christmas. This is my mother and fathers receipt.

Ingredients

• Ripe cherries
• Sugar
• 60% or 40% vodca or perfume free alcohol

Receipt

1. Pick cherries selectively so you will have a nice batch of good looking, ripe and undamaged cherries. Keep just the berries, not stems etc.
2. Optional: Rince in cold water.
3. Fill a clean glass jar almost full that you can seal "airtight" shut.
4. Fill sugar until it just covers the cherries.
5. Fill alcohol until it goes almost to the top of the jar.
6. Mark the jar with what it contains and the date. TIP: make a calendar note 12 weeks from not do drain it (see #11).
7. Keep in room temperatur until sugar is "melted" (no longer to be seen - this will take some days). I prefere to cover the jar so it is not exposed to light.
8. Shake gently / turn upside down and back occationally.
9. Some times the cherries will produce some gass so it might be smart to open the lid gently to let som preassure out a few times. NOTE: make sure to open lid very slowly and have some covering (paper towl) around the opening as the preassure can blast out some cherry juice that can stain the surroundings.
10. When sugar is melted keep in a dark and cool place (basement or similar) for about 12 weeks.
11. Drain off the cherry liquor (as we do not remove the seeds it will put to much of a bitter taste on it if you leave it for too long) into a new container (nice flask that you will be serving it from).
12. It is now more or less ready to drink, but I like to store it dark and cool until December - and serve it as a cherry x-mas digistif or by itself.

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12 weeks later