Manhattan Lovers, Start Your Cherries!
Tips on preserving cherries for cocktail garnishes and other purposes, plus why it's a worthwhile project
If you’ve followed me over the years, then you know I get pumped when sour cherries are in season. (If you haven’t, hello! Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Amanda and I’m very into cherries.) That’s because cherry season, which is happening now in the Northeast and many other locales, is when it’s time to make cocktail cherries cured in warm sugar syrup and booze. If you do it right they have the potential to last at least a year. Well, that is, if you don’t eat them all first.
Cherry season, especially the window to find good sour cherries, only lasts a scant handful of weeks, so I’m fatalistic (I was going to say “somewhat” but let’s be real, it’s full on) about getting to work the second I spot them at the farmer’s market. It causes a fun adrenaline rush. I get a little giddy. I get a cherry go time high.
Again if you’ve followed me over the years, then you have probably come across my articles about how to prepare the cherries, and the different boozes—added to the base syrup—that I’ve used to preserve them. (If you haven’t… well, you get the idea.) These flavor combinations include, but are not limited to, Rye & Amaro, Brandy, Rum Vanilla, Spiced Bourbon, Shochu Amaretto.
Last year I wrote an updated, comprehensive article for InsideHook about basic cherry prep and 6 of the different recipes I suggest using. I stand by it, so I encourage you to read it here. Using those instructions as a template, it should be fairly simple to explore your own boozy cherry path. Last year since I wrote the article, I have also discovered making bourbon cherries splashed with a little Giffard Rhubarb Liqueur. So good! (Use the basic recipe, then it’s 3 parts bourbon, 1 part liqueur, in case you’re wondering.)
Many of you who have never prepped your own cherries before are probably balking at the idea of pitting all those cherries.
Two sides of the pit or not to pit argument
If you invest less than $18 for a cherry pitter, it makes short work of the job. I can pit a quart of fresh cherries in under 20 minutes. Rinse the cherries, pit them over a bowl and throw the stems in there as well, throw the pitted cherries into another bowl, watch or listen to something entertaining while you’re at it. It goes fast. The pitter also works for olives. It’s a worthy investment. I’ve now had mine made by OXO for 15 years. It’s sold in any good kitchen store or online.
Don’t pit them. You don’t have to. Obviously remember to eat around them, and warn others (if applicable) that they still have pits, but it’s not such a big deal if you plan to eat them individually. They don’t pit the house cherries for garnishes at The Long Island Bar, for example, and, with prior knowledge of course, that sorta makes it part of the charm. If you do think at some point you might cook with the cherries, then just pit them already. It’s sticky work to do it later.
10 Reasons to make your own boozy cherries:
I promise you will smile every time you garnish a home bar Manhattan, Old Fashioned, or other cocktail. I even garnish my home Daiquiris with cherries. Because I can.
The effort is satisfying (see above).
It’s delicious.
You can tailor the flavors and level of sweetness to your own palate.
Did I mention they last for over a year? (To be on the safe side, I sterilize the jars first and keep them in the fridge, not the cupboard. There is a cherry lane in my refrigerator. It’s fun! And yes, I make so many they last all year.)
You will thank yourself in the winter time when you crave that taste of summer. Even though the cherries have been steeping in sugar syrup and spirit, they still have that fresh cherry bite that is hard to come by in store bought cocktail cherries.
The fruit, and splashes of their syrup, are delicious as dessert toppings, especially ice cream or pudding.
They’re really good as a sweetener for afternoon tea, when they also double as a little snack.
If you make enough of them, they’re really good to use in sauces for savory meat dishes, like pork chops or duck breast or vegetarian/vegan meat substitutes.
A wee jar of them makes a great gift and will be a hit at parties!
But what if I just can’t be arsed? Or I missed the cherries this season! Now what?
Fine. Here are some commercial cherries that I like a lot. Most of them are available at specialty grocers or online from various merchants.
Luxardo: a popular classic for a reason. In the early 2000s, these were held up as an example of why proper maraschino cherries, made authentically from that variety of cherry grown in Italy, are better than the waxy, neon pink ones most of us grew up with.
Tempus Fugit: a true cocktail nerd’s cherry, made using a 19th century recipe with Kirsch cherry liqueur and gum arabic. They have this wonderful, chewy bite and not-too-sweet flavor.
St. Agrestis Amaro Soaked Cherries: These are made using the brand’s own Brooklyn-made amaro, and as the name would suggest, have a bitter bite to them. They’re brilliant as Black Manhattan garnishes.
Dirty Sue: this is one of the first new commercial garnish brands that I can remember from the start of the cocktail renaissance. It was either Luxardo or this one for a long time. They’re made from Pacific Northwest cherries using a recipe developed by bartenders.
Copper & Kings: This Louisville brandy distillery branched out several years ago to produce other spirits and a line of bar garnishes and bitters. The cherries, made with their own spirit, are fantastic.
Woodford Reserve Bourbon Cherries: If you can’t make your own bourbon cherries, these are the next best thing, but not a consolation prize by any stretch. Hell, do both.
Alright, cherry lovers. It’s almost July. It’s time. Start your cherry engines!
Yes! Manhattans AND old fashioneds, and we love em cherried-up. I stir a bar spoon of the juice into Wifey’s Manhattans, which makes her so happy.
Thanks, Amanda!
My favorite season! 🍒