Liquori Casalinghi Cherry Liqueur Recipes

LIQUORI CASALINGHI (CHERRY LIQUEUR)

Steps:

• You will need to crush the cherries along with their pits. I found it was easiest to use a heavy duty extra large zip lock, adding a handful of cherries at a time, and smash each cherry with a hammer. Be sure to crust the pit well. Push the pulp to the bottom of the bag and add the next handful.
• Leave covered in a dark place for 24 hours.
• After 24 hours, boil the water and add the sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat.
• Put cherry mixture in a fine muslin bag, or use a fine sieve, and squeeze the juice into a bowl.
• Add the cherry juice to the sugar syrup mixture and set aside to cool.
• Add alcohol to the cooled cherry syrup.
• Pour into a jar with a tight fitting lid and place in a cool dark place for one week.
• After one week, filter into a cool looking bottle, seal, and age it for at least six months before you pop the top.

APRICOT LIQUEUR

Steps:

• Place apricots and sugar in a screw-top jar.
• Add vodka, screw cover on tightly and shake to dissolve the sugar.
• Leave for 5-7 days, inverting the jar daily (test the taste after 5 days and infuse 2 more if you want a stronger flavor).
• Strain liqueur into a decanter through a fine sieve and store in refrigerator.
• Apricots may be saved, chopped and used as a topping on ice cream.

CHERRY BOUNCE LIQUEUR

Steps:

• Thoroughly clean a 2 quart container with a secure lid. I use an apple cider jug that has been cleaned very well.
• Clean and stem cherries, if using fresh cherries. Thaw if using frozen.
• Crush cherries a bit to release flavor, keeping all juice and adding to container.
• Place remaining ingredients in container.
• Shake until sugar is dissolved.
• Keep in a cool, dark place shaking once a week for 3 weeks to 6 months. The longer it sits, the better it gets.
• Strain and bottle into clean containers of your choice. I use empty beer bottles with a hinged cap.
• Serve as an aperitif, a digestif or in lieu of a dessert wine.
• Also makes a great gift if you can stand to give it up.

CHERRY LIQUEUR

Steps:

• Mix vodka, brandy and sugar in a large glass measure or medium mixing bowl; stir well to dissolve.
• Cut each washed cherry slightly to open, leave in pits.
• Place cherries in two sterile, quart wide mouth jars or one larger aging container.
• Pour liquid mixture over cherries; stir and cap with tight lids.
• For the first two weeks, shake jars several times.
• Let age in a cool, dark place for at least 3 months for best flavor.
• Strain off liqueur through a wire mesh strainer and discard cherries.
• Rebottle as desired.
• Liqueur is ready in 3 months.
• VARIATIONS:Almond-Cherry Liqueur: For a more prominent"almond" flavor, pit all or part of the cherries.
• Place cherry pits in a clean cloth and hit with a hammer to break them up slightly.
• Put broken pits and pitted cherries in jars or large container and continue as directed.
• Sugarless Cherry Liqueur: Substitute 1 cup apple juice concentrate, undiluted, for the sugar in the Cherry Liqueur recipe.
• Proceed as directed.
• The"sugars" present will be natural fruit sugars rather than the granulated processed sugars.
• Taste is excellent; aging is the same.

LEMON LIQUEUR

Steps:

• Peel and juice lemons.
• Put juice and peel into a CLEAN gallon jar along with the two liquors.
• Let stand a month.
• Combine sugar and water; heat until just boiling and sugar is completely dissolved.
• Cool completely.
• Strain the liquor off the peels and combine with the cooled syrup.
• Allow to stand at least another two months.
• It will form a cloudy layer at the top; this can be removed and saved for kitchen use, or shaken to resuspend before serving. It will not completely disappear without mechanical filtration, and perhaps not even after several filterings (even coffee filters will not catch it all).

MORELLO (SOUR) CHERRY LIQUEUR

Steps:

• Wash and remove the stems from the cherries.
• Place a layer of cherries in a 4-quart jar and cover with a ½ inch layer of sugar.
• Continue layering cherries and sugar in this manner, ending with sugar.
• Add the spices and vodka.
• Seal jar.
• Place in a spot that receives the most sunlight during the day.
• Leave to macerate for 4 weeks.
• Add the brandy.
• Seal tightly and let stand another 2 weeks, shaking every so often.
• Strain into another bottle.
• Discard spices.
• Put cherries back in the bottle.
• Store in a cool, dark place.
• To serve: Pour into your pretties liqueur glass (the liqueur is ruby-red) and add 1-2 cherries to each glass.