So, this week Harris Teeter had 1 pound of cherries for sale, so I bought 3 pounds and spent yesterday afternoon and evening pitting cherries.

I’m making 2 pounds of brandied cherries and used the third pound for a Cherry liqueur recipe, because you can’t buy cherry liqueurs in North Carolina due to the liquor laws. (This will become a common theme in my blog.) I hate North Carolina Distribution laws. They’re painful for this mixologist.

I made my first batch of brandied cherries on January 29, 2011. I didn’t write about them at the time, because I wasn’t sure how they would turn out. Thankfully, they were AWESOME. Because Maraschino cherries are poison. Let me repeat this: Maraschino cherries that are hooker red that you purchase in the grocery store are poison. And disgusting.

I know I have some fans of the Marachino cherries out there, but try these instead.

Brandied Cherries

I have to admit that I did not come up with this recipe, I totally stole it. Since I didn’t want to die of Botulism and all.

This recipe is from Thatsmyhome.com

I won’t repeat the recipe, since I know you can click a link and read.

A couple of changes. I let mine sit for about 3 months before I opened them.

Evaluation

Like I said, these are AMAZING. They’re so good. You also get a lot for the price of a batch.

Cost:

The most expensive ingredient is the 1 pound of cherries which you can sometimes find on sale $3.99. If you read my blog, you probably have sugar on hand. Water comes out of the tap, and lemons are $0.50. You’ll use about a 1/3 of a bottle of Brandy, which you can find for $10 for a 750 mL bottle. When I made 2 pounds I got 5 jars out of the deal. You’re total cost will be in the neighborhood of $8. It’s totally worth making.

In some of the next blog posts, I’m going to start writing about what you do with the delicious brandy, cherry juice, and simple syrup.

As always, happy and safe drinking.