Maraschino Cherries Recipe?

[matthewdc]

Tired of the neon red maraschino cherries at the grocery store--they don't do Willet 5 yo rye manhattans any justice. Curious if anyone has a good homemade maraschino cherry recipe. I've seen several variations on the net but wanted to see if anyone on the forum makes their own.

[HighHorse]

No I don't have a recipe .. but .. I did have cause to look up maraschino cherries on google and see what kind of awful stuff they're packed with. If you could come up with a substitute .. patent it.

[tanstaafl2]

No I don't have a recipe .. but .. I did have cause to look up maraschino cherries on google and see what kind of awful stuff they're packed with. If you could come up with a substitute .. patent it.

I confess I am too lazy to make my own and usually defer to the Luxardo cherries. A local bottle shop/restaurant also does their own brandied cherries which are nice. Don't know if they are available outside Atlanta though.

[HP12]

Here's a couple of recipes found online. Pretty simple.

Recipe 1

Recipe 2

[SFS]

Relative to recipe #2 in the previous post:

A) If you use it, make sure you don't miss the almond extract, which has somehow shifted to a justified left position in the article, instead of falling directly under the list of other ingredients for the syrup (the last of which is red food coloring).

Also, the recipe calls for 4.5 POUNDS of sugar into 3 cups of water (plus the 2 oz of additional liquid from the food coloring and the almond extract). That is a lot of sugar. I'm not certain that it will actually go into solution at that ratio, even with the boiling of the water to allow supersaturation.

I haven't made simple syrup in a long time, but the normal ratio for a quick (non-cooked) simple syrup is 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water. For a richer (cooked) syrup, 2 cups sugar to 1 cup water is used. So 4.5 pounds to 3 cups of water is a huge amount.

[tanstaafl2]

Does seem like a lot. 4.5 pounds is 10 cups! Maybe it should be 4.5 cups of sugar?

[ErichPryde]

You don't need nearly that much sugar. I make bourbon cocktail cherries at home.

You need:

1 lb Cherries (pitted)

Juice from 1/2 lemon

one or two sticks cinnamon

clove (optional)

a couple of dashes of homade vanilla extract (I soak a split vanilla bean in 100 mL of GTS for 3 months to make vanilla extract)

1 to 1 1/2 cup sugar

2 cups good bourbon (something wheated works well here, like Maker's, or OWA, or ORVW. Or some blend. Your pick).

Combine your bourbon and sugar on the stove. add the cinnamon, lemon juice, vanilla and clove (if you're using clove). Mix over med heat/bringto a VERY brief boil until your sugar dissolves (add more bourbon if necessary).

Add the cherries and cook for a minute or two.

Let it cool, pour it into mason jars, and seal by placing the jars into boiling water.

Age in a cool dark place or the fridge. Delicious.

[thezenone]

I have tried the first recipe where you just throw cherries into a jar with Maraschino Liqueur, and would recommend passing on that one. I have found that Tillen Farms Bada Bing cherries are a great substitute for the neon cherries. I hope to give the Luxardo brand a try eventually.

[scubadoo97]

Erich, you got me blanching the cherries from my experimental attempts a couple of years ago. Definitely improved the texture of the cherries

Follow Erich's lead. He's done this a few times

[ErichPryde]

I'd strongly recommend the fridge, just because I'm super concerned about food poisoning (even with the presence of lots of alcohol). The cherries seem to have a solid shelf-life of a year to a year and a half. Don't think they ever become dangerous after that, but the texture/taste quality starts to go downhill.

[nd2005]

You don't need nearly that much sugar. I make bourbon cocktail cherries at home.

You need:

1 lb Cherries (pitted)

Juice from 1/2 lemon

one or two sticks cinnamon

clove (optional)

a couple of dashes of homade vanilla extract (I soak a split vanilla bean in 100 mL of GTS for 3 months to make vanilla extract)

1 to 1 1/2 cup sugar

2 cups good bourbon (something wheated works well here, like Maker's, or OWA, or ORVW. Or some blend. Your pick).

Combine your bourbon and sugar on the stove. add the cinnamon, lemon juice, vanilla and clove (if you're using clove). Mix over med heat/bringto a VERY brief boil until your sugar dissolves (add more bourbon if necessary).

Add the cherries and cook for a minute or two.

Let it cool, pour it into mason jars, and seal by placing the jars into boiling water.

Age in a cool dark place or the fridge. Delicious.

[matnab2000]

You don't need nearly that much sugar. I make bourbon cocktail cherries at home.

You need:

1 lb Cherries (pitted)

Juice from 1/2 lemon

one or two sticks cinnamon

clove (optional)

a couple of dashes of homade vanilla extract (I soak a split vanilla bean in 100 mL of GTS for 3 months to make vanilla extract)

1 to 1 1/2 cup sugar

2 cups good bourbon (something wheated works well here, like Maker's, or OWA, or ORVW. Or some blend. Your pick).

Combine your bourbon and sugar on the stove. add the cinnamon, lemon juice, vanilla and clove (if you're using clove). Mix over med heat/bringto a VERY brief boil until your sugar dissolves (add more bourbon if necessary).

Add the cherries and cook for a minute or two.

Let it cool, pour it into mason jars, and seal by placing the jars into boiling water.

Age in a cool dark place or the fridge. Delicious.

Do you have to age them or can you just start using them as soon as you're done? If you have to age them, how long until you use them?

[scubadoo97]

I think it's best if you age them a bit to let the flavors meld

[gooneygoogoo]

Just my opinion but if you use clove, be careful not to overdo it. I'm not much of a cook so I asked my wife's opinion and she threw about 8 whole cloves in the pot. It's just too much for me. I might like it better with either 1 or none. I think it would be great otherwise

[Alphanumeric]

More information than you probably wanted:

http://www.artofdrink.com/blog/maraschino-cocktail-cherries/

[Pudsky]

You don't need nearly that much sugar. I make bourbon cocktail cherries at home.

You need:

1 lb Cherries (pitted)

Juice from 1/2 lemon

one or two sticks cinnamon

clove (optional)

a couple of dashes of homade vanilla extract (I soak a split vanilla bean in 100 mL of GTS for 3 months to make vanilla extract)

1 to 1 1/2 cup sugar

2 cups good bourbon (something wheated works well here, like Maker's, or OWA, or ORVW. Or some blend. Your pick).

Combine your bourbon and sugar on the stove. add the cinnamon, lemon juice, vanilla and clove (if you're using clove). Mix over med heat/bringto a VERY brief boil until your sugar dissolves (add more bourbon if necessary).

Add the cherries and cook for a minute or two.

Let it cool, pour it into mason jars, and seal by placing the jars into boiling water.

Age in a cool dark place or the fridge. Delicious.

I am going to try this recipe!!

[petrel800]

A tasty Sazerac out of my new 4R 125 glass. Local retailer was giving them away if you bought their 4R selection. Nice little glasses.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[petrel800]

Oops, somehow this wound up in the wrong thread.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Pudsky]

I am going to try this recipe!!

Looks like I have to wait till fresh cherries are available. Crap!

[matthewdc]

You don't need nearly that much sugar. I make bourbon cocktail cherries at home.

You need:

1 lb Cherries (pitted)

Juice from 1/2 lemon

one or two sticks cinnamon

clove (optional)

a couple of dashes of homade vanilla extract (I soak a split vanilla bean in 100 mL of GTS for 3 months to make vanilla extract)

1 to 1 1/2 cup sugar

2 cups good bourbon (something wheated works well here, like Maker's, or OWA, or ORVW. Or some blend. Your pick).

Combine your bourbon and sugar on the stove. add the cinnamon, lemon juice, vanilla and clove (if you're using clove). Mix over med heat/bringto a VERY brief boil until your sugar dissolves (add more bourbon if necessary).

Add the cherries and cook for a minute or two.

Let it cool, pour it into mason jars, and seal by placing the jars into boiling water.

Age in a cool dark place or the fridge. Delicious.

I finally got around to making these bourbon cherries and I have to say they turned out great! Just the right sweetness and bite. Thank you to ErichPryde for providing the recipe.

[Pudsky]

I too finally got around to making these cherries. They turned out awesome! Can't wait for them to age for a bit. I did pit the cherries and left the stems on.

[Pudsky]

I dropped one of these and a bit of the sauce in a glass of Very Old Heaven Hill 8yr. Mmmmmm, tasty. Mini Manhattan without the vermouth. These will be even better after they soak for a while...

My mouth is watering thinking about a better bourbon and a proper Manhattan....YAY!!

[scubadoo97]

I finally got around to making these bourbon cherries and I have to say they turned out great! Just the right sweetness and bite. Thank you to ErichPryde for providing the recipe.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]17518[/ATTACH]

Looks great[emoji106]

[Pudsky]

Fresh cherries are available again here in the northland.  I just purchased a "handle" of Makers Mark and am ready to make a few more batches.  Love these Cherries.  The Mother-in-law likes the juice mixed with Coke. That earns me some bonus points.