Homebrew Underground

There are two main varieties of cherries for making liqueurs. There are dark, sweet cherries and there are sour (or tart), red cherries, the latter being used most often in making cherry pie. These make two distinct varieties of liqueur. This is my recipe for dark cherry liqueur.

This recipe is made with vodka only. I have seen many other recipes for cherry liqueur that use brandy in addition to vodka … some with more brandy than others. I have made it both ways, but I feel that this recipe makes a more pure, clear flavor than if made with brandy. The cherry liqueur I have made with brandy is okay and it mixes well with cocktails (see the recipe for the Singapore Sling), but the flavor is drier and heavier than this recipe. The whole trick is to allow enough time for the liqueur to age. Don’t serve it right away after macerating. Immediately after macerating, the liqueur will be very one dimensional and will lack depth. Allow it to age for a few months.

I have made this recipe with fresh cherries and with frozen cherries. I got the best results with fresh, dark, ripe and juicy cherries. At the time, local fresh cherries were out of season (it was Winter here in Southern California), so the ones I got were from Chile.

Here is my recipe for Dark Cherry Liqueur:

Making The Liqueur

First add the cherries, sugar and vodka to the Mason jar, then shake thoroughly to dissolve the sugar:

This recipe uses the pits from some of the cherries. If cherries are not in season, then you will have to wait, or obtain the cherry pits by some other means and make the recipe with frozen cherries. The pits add a nutty flavor and gives the liqueur an added dimension and depth. I pitted some fresh cherries, then washed and dried the pits, then cracked them open with a pair of pliers:

Washing the pits is very easy. Use an ordinary stainless steel mesh colander. Place it in a sink filled with about 3 to 4 inches of water. Add the pits to the colander, then scrub them against the wire mesh to loosen and separate the cherry flesh from the shells. Place them on a paper towel and blot the pits, then allow them to dry.

Chop the kernels using a chopper:

Using the chopper is fast and easy and makes finely chopped kernels:

Add the chopped kernels to the mixture, screw on the lid, then shake the jar.

Here is shot of the jar after adding all the ingredients at step one. It is ready to begin maceration. Cherry liqueur takes a little more time to macerate than Blackberry liqueur and it takes a few months to age to really bring out the flavor.

Now we wait for 8 weeks while the liqueur macerates. In the next post, I’ll go over the filtering and straining.

Continue to Cherry Liqueur Recipe – Part II

In a previous post on making blackberry liqueur, I mentioned that you could save the strainings when straining and filtering the liqueur after maceration. In this post I will show you how to make Blackberry Liqueur Pie.

In this example I used ready-made, refrigerated "unroll and bake" pie crust for 9 inch pies – available in the refrigerated section of your local supermarket. This is fast and convenient, but you can also make your own crust. Later, I will give you my recipe for a better organic pie crust. You will need two crusts for this pie.

Step One: Mixing The Ingredients

First, preheat the oven to 375°. Next, add the sugar into a medium sized bowl.

Add the thawed berries and then the leftover strainings, mix together partially then add the corn starch. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly.

StepTwo: Preparing The Pie Shell

Line a metal pie pan or glass pie plate with one of the crusts. Just unroll it and gently press it into the plate. Dot the bottom of the crust with butter, then pour the mixture into the pie shell. Then dot the top of the pie filling with butter before putting on the top crust.

Roll out a second crust onto a cutting board, then using a knife, cut it down the middle, dividing it in half. Then, divide each half into 4 strips, approx 1 1/4 inch wide each.

Peel out 4 of the strips from one of the halves and place them onto the pie in a parallel arrangement, placing the longest strips near the center and the shorter strips towards the edges. Repeat the process for the other 4 strips in a crosswise manner.

Turn the overlapping edges under the pie shell that lines the plate, then crimp down the edges all the way around for a neat crust.

Step Three: Baking The Pie

Bake the pie for about 45 minutes, or until the crust is slightly browned. Cool for about 30 to 45 minutes at room temperature and serve … you’ll never be able to get this at Marie Calendars!

Organic Pie Crust

In a previous post, the blackberry liqueur was set aside to allow it to macerate. During maceration, the fruit flavors are infused into the vodka. Infusion is the basis of all home liqueur making. After 2 weeks, it’s time to strain and filter the liqueur.

In this recipe, we added sugar and sugar syrup before maceration. Some recipes call for adding sugar and sugar syrup after maceration. It is generally faster and easier to strain and filter without sugars or syrups because this tends to make the liqueur thicker and more difficult to filter. Nevertheless, I didn’t find it too difficult. Please see the article on straining and filtering here on the website. There is a lot of useful information in that article which will help when straining and filtering blackberry liqueur.

First: Using a Kitchen Strainer

Get a saucepan or pot that is big enough to use with a kitchen strainer. I like to use stainless steel. Make sure it is clean so it doesn’t impart any off flavors to the liqueur. Open the Mason Jar and carefully pour all the contents into the strainer.

Tip: Save the blackberry strainings and put them in a jar and refrigerate. They are very delicious and can be used to make pastries: Blackberry Liqueur Pie and Blackberry Liqueur Turnovers.

Second: Using a Metal Filter

Rinse out the Mason Jar and turn it upside down on a paper towel to let all the water drain out. Place the coffee maker funnel over the jar and place the metal filter inside the funnel. Slowly pour the contents of the saucepan into the filter. When the filter becomes clogged, pour the remaining contents back into the pan and rinse out the filter, then repeat until all the contents have been filtered. Repeat the process with the metal filter once more. This second time should go much faster with less stopping for rinsing.

Third: Filtering with Paper Towels

Pour the contents back into the saucepan or pot. Line the funnel with a paper towel and slowly pour the contents into the paper towel. When it becomes clogged, carefully remove it, then squeeze any excess back into the pot, then discard the soaked paper towel. Repeat this step for the remaining contents.

Fourth: Final Filtering with Paper Filters

Pour the contents back into the saucepan or pot, then place a paper filter into the funnel:

Slowly pour the contents into the paper filter. When it becomes clogged, carefully remove it, then squeeze any excess back into the pot, then discard the used filter. Repeat this step for the remaining contents.

Finally: Blending

My recipe calls for blending 1 part 100-proof vodka to 8 parts strained and filtered liqueur. I like to use Smirnoff No. 57. It is very smooth and contains very little impurites (congeners) so I use it for blending. It will enhance the flavor of the liqueur.

After straining, filtering and blending, you can transfer the batch to a 1 qt. Mason Jar. Let it settle and age for several weeks before bottling. Typically, the bottom 1/4 to 1/3 of the jar will be foggy after aging and clarification. This is mostly comprised of fruit pulp that slipped through the paper filters. The finished liqueur can be served neat as an after dinner cordial or as an ingredient in a cocktail such as a Blackberry Zinger.

A couple of weeks ago, when going through my refrigerator, I found about 3/4ths of a cup of blackberries in a Mason Jar that I had forgotten about. They’d been in there for a month or so. I opened the lid and smelled them and it was obvious they had started to ferment … so I thought … I wonder if this could be made into Blackberry Wine?

I took a little taste … then added 2 teaspoons of sugar, then put the lid back on then put it back into the refrigerator and let it ferment for awhile longer. After about a week and a half to two weeks, I strained it and drank it. It wasn’t bad!

Next time, maybe I’ll try to do it right, and see if I can make Blackberry Wine for real!

Drinking Your Homebrew!

After bottling, waiting 3 to 4 weeks before sampling your homebrew will seem like the longest wait, ever. Chill ‘em in the refrigerator and when the time is right, pop open a bottle and pour it in a glass. It should have a nice head on it and it should taste goood!

This batch is mellow amber ale … not too light and not too dark … just right!

Sweet!