Bottling day! My sour cherry liqueur:
200 g. pitted Montmorency cherries (a few with pits left in for flavor)
150 g. sugar
2 T. cherry brandy
Vodka to fill a one-pint jar
While it didn’t appear to have much sediment to the eye, I still strained and filtered the liqueur before filling the little bottles. There might have been a fifth bottle, but I spilled a bit setting up the filter arrangement. Next time I’ll have a better idea of how best to do that. As it is, there was a little snort left over for the Bottler In Chief to have as aperitif tonight.
What I tasted appealed to me more than sweet cherry bourbon I have made in the past, which I find saccharine-sweet. The sour-cherry concoction, still sweet, tasted a bit fresher.
The spent cherries, while not particularly attractive and otherwise without much wow factor, were too good for me to toss. I froze them, and will chop them up at a future date for a baked good of some kind.
The cherries did not ferment during the 40 day soak, but some blueberries I have going did. I had to de-gas the blueberry jars for 5-6 days in a row before they settled down. Something to look out for.
If I can score some blackberries this year, I’ll try those, as well.
If the fruit liqueurs are well received at the holidays, I’ll make bigger batches next year.
