This was my first foray into homemade brandied cherries, and they turned out pretty damned well, if I do say so myself.

The recipe was pretty simple, you should really give it a go yourself. These cherries taste 100 times better than those Day-Glo red monstrosities you see on the supermarket shelves. As an added bonus, you can tweak this recipe to your liking, as we did.

The depth of cinnamon and vanilla notes with these little beauties brings a fullness of flavor to your cocktails that is tough to match. See for yourself!

Brandied cherries:

1lb sweet cherries, pitted and stemmed
1 cup Demerara sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 tsp of fresh grated nutmes
2 vanilla beans
750ml of brandy, dark rum, Luxardo, or any combination of the three (I did equal parts of each)

1. In large saucepan, combine sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla beans and liquor. Bring to a low simmer. Simmer, stirring until sugar is fully dissolved.
2. Remove saucepan from heat. Add cherries and stir until coated with syrup. Let cool to room temp, stirring occasionally.
3. Remove to clean canning jars, then refrigerate 4-6 weeks before serving. Cherries should last for up to a year.