Morello Sour Cherry Liqueur Food

CHERRY LIQUEUR

Steps:

• Mix vodka, brandy and sugar in a large glass measure or medium mixing bowl; stir well to dissolve.
• Cut each washed cherry slightly to open, leave in pits.
• Place cherries in two sterile, quart wide mouth jars or one larger aging container.
• Pour liquid mixture over cherries; stir and cap with tight lids.
• For the first two weeks, shake jars several times.
• Let age in a cool, dark place for at least 3 months for best flavor.
• Strain off liqueur through a wire mesh strainer and discard cherries.
• Rebottle as desired.
• Liqueur is ready in 3 months.
• VARIATIONS:Almond-Cherry Liqueur: For a more prominent"almond" flavor, pit all or part of the cherries.
• Place cherry pits in a clean cloth and hit with a hammer to break them up slightly.
• Put broken pits and pitted cherries in jars or large container and continue as directed.
• Sugarless Cherry Liqueur: Substitute 1 cup apple juice concentrate, undiluted, for the sugar in the Cherry Liqueur recipe.
• Proceed as directed.
• The"sugars" present will be natural fruit sugars rather than the granulated processed sugars.
• Taste is excellent; aging is the same.

MORELLO (SOUR) CHERRY LIQUEUR

Steps:

• Wash and remove the stems from the cherries.
• Place a layer of cherries in a 4-quart jar and cover with a ½ inch layer of sugar.
• Continue layering cherries and sugar in this manner, ending with sugar.
• Add the spices and vodka.
• Seal jar.
• Place in a spot that receives the most sunlight during the day.
• Leave to macerate for 4 weeks.
• Add the brandy.
• Seal tightly and let stand another 2 weeks, shaking every so often.
• Strain into another bottle.
• Discard spices.
• Put cherries back in the bottle.
• Store in a cool, dark place.
• To serve: Pour into your pretties liqueur glass (the liqueur is ruby-red) and add 1-2 cherries to each glass.

JEREZ CHERRY LIQUEUR

Steps:

• Pierce each cherry three to four times in a row (up and down)on one side of the cherry. I used a sharp skewer. Remove Stems.
• Fill each jar half-full with the cherries. Place a lemon wedge in each jar and top each with a tablespoon of sugar and two tablespoons of Amaretto.
• Fill jars with brandy. Screw lid on tight and shake to combine.
• Put in a cool dark place for 6 months.

LIQUORI CASALINGHI (CHERRY LIQUEUR)

Steps:

• You will need to crush the cherries along with their pits. I found it was easiest to use a heavy duty extra large zip lock, adding a handful of cherries at a time, and smash each cherry with a hammer. Be sure to crust the pit well. Push the pulp to the bottom of the bag and add the next handful.
• Leave covered in a dark place for 24 hours.
• After 24 hours, boil the water and add the sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat.
• Put cherry mixture in a fine muslin bag, or use a fine sieve, and squeeze the juice into a bowl.
• Add the cherry juice to the sugar syrup mixture and set aside to cool.
• Add alcohol to the cooled cherry syrup.
• Pour into a jar with a tight fitting lid and place in a cool dark place for one week.
• After one week, filter into a cool looking bottle, seal, and age it for at least six months before you pop the top.

CHERRY BOUNCE LIQUEUR

Steps:

• Thoroughly clean a 2 quart container with a secure lid. I use an apple cider jug that has been cleaned very well.
• Clean and stem cherries, if using fresh cherries. Thaw if using frozen.
• Crush cherries a bit to release flavor, keeping all juice and adding to container.
• Place remaining ingredients in container.
• Shake until sugar is dissolved.
• Keep in a cool, dark place shaking once a week for 3 weeks to 6 months. The longer it sits, the better it gets.
• Strain and bottle into clean containers of your choice. I use empty beer bottles with a hinged cap.
• Serve as an aperitif, a digestif or in lieu of a dessert wine.
• Also makes a great gift if you can stand to give it up.