Have you ever tried homemade liqueur? It’s super delicious and surprisingly easy to make and you only need four ingredients – sugar, fruit, water and alcohol. Plus, how awesome would it be to treat your guests to a shot of homemade liqueur during the holiday season or offer your family and friends a bottle as a gift?
Today I’ll show you an old family recipe with step by step photos for Homemade Sour Cherry Liqueur. I remember my grandparents making their own liqueur every year. In fact, there was no summer/fall without some type of homemade liqueur, brandy, wine and țuică (a traditional Romanian spirit made of plums).
I love Sour Cherry Liqueur because I find it much more flavorful with a slight bitter-almond taste that comes from the pits. For an even stronger flavor you can add a few crushed cherry pits together with the sour cherries. If you’re not into sour cherries or you can’t find them easily, you can choose any other type of flavor from sweet cherry, blackberry, blueberry or raspberry to apricot, lemon and orange. Of course the sugar to fruit ratio would be different since some fruits are sweeter than others. If you’re interested in other types of liqueurs leave me a comment below and I’ll give you the ratio.
Before we move on to the recipe, a few important things to know! The traditional recipe asks for refined alcohol which has 95% alcohol content but I can’t seem to find this in Canada. You can find Spirytus at some LCBO stores which has 76% alcohol content or just use regular Vodka. Also, fresh fruit is always best but you could use frozen fruit as well.
Ingredients for 2.5 -3 litres of liqueur:
- 0.5 litres alcohol / Vodka
- 5 cups (1 kg) sugar
- 750 ml water
- 3.3 lbs (1.5 kg) ripe sour cherries
Equipment
- A large glass jar with lid or a carboy/demijohn (I used a 4 litre jar)
- Cheesecloth or a very fine mesh strainer
- Small funnel
- Glass bottles for the final product
Directions:
Rinse the sour cherries and pick off any stems and leaves.
Wash your jar with soapy water and rinse well.
Place a layer of sour cherries in the bottom followed by a layer of sugar another one of sour cherries and so on. The last layer should be of sugar.
Pour the water and alcohol over and cover the jar. For the next 7 days, stir everything with a long handled spoon every day until the sugar is melted. Here’s a quick look at how my liqueur looked like from days 1 to 7. By day 5 there was no sugar left but it might take longer if you store the jar in a cold place. And not sure if it’s noticeable, but by day 7 the liqueur becomes darker in color.
You can enjoy your liqueur after day 7 but the longer you keep it the tastier it would be. I would recommend letting everything infuse for 5-6 weeks.
Strain the liquid and pour it into the bottles through the funnel. Seal the bottles tightly.
If you prefer a stronger liqueur mix up the strained liquid with an equal quantity of alcohol and cold sugar syrup made of 1.5 cups (300 g) sugar & 200 ml water for every litre of strained liquid. So if you have 3 litres of strained liquid add 3 litres of alcohol and sugar syrup made of 4.5 cups (900 g) sugar and 600 ml water. To make the sugar syrup only heat the sugar and water on low-medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Then give it sufficient time to cool. Mix everything up and after a month strain it again and bottle it up.
Hi! Your recipe is probably the best looking and the easiest one Ive come across! Cant wait to try it. We have frozen cherries we picked a few months ago from the back yard. Would it be ok to use defrosted cherries? And also what do you think of putting in a single stick of cinnamon? Do you reccommend it?Because I wont alter it if you say so 🙂
Loads of love,
Esra
Yes, it should work with frozen cherries as well :). I haven’t tried it with cinnamon but if you’re really curious, make a separate, smaller batch with cinnamon too. Perhaps just let the cinnamon stick to infuse for 1-2 weeks only… I think that will be enough time to give the liqueur a good flavour.
Let me know how it turns out if you decide to experiment :).
How would cranberries be with this?
thanks for sharing this recipe. just back from romania where i enjoyed these fruit brandies.
i was under the impression that you shouldn’t add the vodka at the beginning with the fruit and sugar because it will impede the fermentation process…can you let me know your thoughts on this? thanks.
Please send the ratios for other fresh fruits. Thank you so much .
I love the colour that yours has come out. I make mine using just sugar and I have to use dried sour cherries as I can’t get hold of fresh ones. I use gin instead of vodka too, but from a litre I get back 750ml as the cherries literally drink the rest and it comes out a deep rich red almost black in colour. Very different.
Hello! I’m not sure if you’ll see this since this post is so old, but does it matter what kind of bottle you use? Does the seal need to be airtight? I was thinking of going to Michael’s and getting some of those glass bottles with the clip/lever thing you use to close it. Would something like that work??? Thank you!!
Hi, can I use stevia instead of sugar?
Thanks!
I haven’t tried it with stevia so I’m not sure what to say. But if you do give it a try let me know if it turns out good :).
What do you do about maggots in cherries? I just did my picking, washed cherries, found a glas 4litre container, bought vodka and sugar and followed the dirrections and now I have small fruit maggots swimming to the top.
I’ve made this before coming across your recipe. Only difference is I didn’t use any water. Just cherries, sugar and vodka. It’s very tasty, and easy to drink.
I’m glad you like it, Thomas! Enjoy!
Hi roxy can I ask why our add water to yours as iv never added water to any of my infusion recipes and they have all come out great eg ras gin blackberry whisky etc. Does it make the liquid thinner. Also great post.
Hi, thanks for the great recipe. I do have 97% alcohol how much alcohol shall I use with this?
Many regards from Switzerland 🙂
You can use the same amount but your liqueur will be much stronger. Or you can add less alcohol (e.g. 250 ml). Depends how you prefer it :).
Hi Roxy,
When you said you could continue to infuse everything for 5 to 6 weeks, did you mean you can leave the cherries in or do you need to strain the liqueur and then let it set in the jars for the additional time?
Can’t wait to try this – thanks!
Theresa
Leave the cherries in.
I make sour cherry liqueur every year without the vodka; just cherries, sugar and some water. At first it was an accident. I am happy to know it is the pits that make that wonderful almond flavor. I sometimes get it and sometimes don’t. I guess by accidental pits left in. IN the future the pits will stay in! And, I dry the cherries too. This year I am going to try to use them in a fruit cake of some sort. 🙂
Hey Roxy, great recipe! Thanks for posting.
Just for clarification – you recommend letting everything sit for 5-6 weeks… does that include the cherries?
Thx!
Yes, that includes the cherries.
Hi roxy i am in australia and cannot get sour cherries. I am going to use canned cherries so i wont need syrup just alcohol. What ratio of canned cherries 500g to alcohol please
WHEN I MAKE THIS LIQUEUR DO I HAVE TO TAKE THE PITS OUT?
No, you don’t have to.
Just wodering if you’d have any idea of the alcohol content of the finished product. We used a 44% vodka..
hi
i did it
vodka 750 ml,cherrys 500gr,sugar 250gr
infuse for about 3 month , taste as alcohol about 15-18%
This is superb, thank you so much I’ve just sampled my batch and 😍, I’m guessing my friends are going to love there Xmas prezzis this year👩❤️💋👩👩❤️💋👩👩❤️💋👩👩❤️💋👩
Hi Roxy, we live in Alberta and we found something called Everclear, 95% alcohol. I’m not sure if LCBO carries it but that’s something you could look for or maybe special request it. I just thought I’d mention it.
Thanks for letting me know. We’ll definitely look for it this summer.
Roxy, looks great! Thanks for the recipe. What is the shelf life on the liquor? Thanks!
It should last for years as the alcohol helps preserve everything. It might change in color after a while but it won’t go bad.
Could you put this in oz and cup measures for me please?
are the cherries pitted? many more cherries to be had but pitted 40 qts already. the liquer looks like a great idea if i don’t have to pit them too
They are not pitted.
There are no sour/tart cherries available to me in central California. How would frozen cherries change things? Would they release juice when thawed? I would love to experiment, but I’m not intuitive.
It would work with frozen cherries as well. If you’re worried that the juice released will dilute the alcohol level just add a little less water.
This sounds super, I make sloe gin every year and Pontac from elderberries.
You got any advice on rhubarb liqueur quantities?
Many thanks. Fi x
Sorry, I don’t have a recipe for rhubarb.
Hi
Thanks for your nice recipe.I made it 3weeks ago and I pour the liquer in to a bottle and used the sourcherries again to make new one.now after one week I opened it and it’s gassy ! Tiny bubbles comes out of the jar and make sound like a soda! The taste is ok ,not sour or bitter.and some of the sourcherries are full of gas like balloons.what happened to my liqueur? Is it spoiled???can I drink it? Tnx
I just opened mine with the same observation! Wondering why it became fizzy and if it is ok to drink.
The quantity of vodka listed for your homemade cherry liqueur is not clear
0.5 l alcohol / Vodka is this in liters?
please explain
Thank you
Yes, it’s liters.
Quite interesting and we will definitely give this a try. A friend of ours has done it with Metaxa. 1 lb of cherries, 1 lb of sugar and cover with Metaxa. Put in the sun for 30 days.
We have Tart cherries but they are a little sweeter than the Montmorencies. Brix averages between 18 and 22. I guess we would add less sugar??
Navigand pe internetul romanesc uite ca am nimerit pe saitul dumeavoastra.
Trebuie sa apreciez ca sunt placut surprins de calitatea articolelor de pe acest
sait si va urez cat mai mult succes!
Hi. I have just strained off some of your recipe liquor. It seemed to have a slight fizz when I opened the demijohn. Is this ok? Also will it get richer and stronger if left for six months before drinking? Thanks.
Hi Roxy,
I want to make this and give it as Christmas gifts to my relatives! Can I make it now and leave it till around Christmas to strain it or is it best to strain it into bottles after the 5-6 weeks? Will it keep till Christmas? Hope that makes sense! Can’t wait to try it! Thank you!
Would this work with frozen cherries? Have you used the same recipe with other fruits? I’m excited to try!! Thanks for sharing.
Yes, it would work with frozen cherries as well. I’ve used this recipe or a variation of the recipe with other fruits as well. Depending on the sweetness of the fruits you might have to adjust the sugar to fruit ratio. I’ve provided some of the ratios and other recipes in my comments below.
Here are some of the other ratios:
Strawberry: 2.5-3 cups (500-600 g) for 3.3 lbs (1.5 kg) strawberries, depending how sweet they are
Blueberry: 2.5 cups (500 g) for 3.3 lbs (1.5 kg) blueberries
Sweet Cherry: 3 cups (600 g) for 3.3 lbs (1.5 kg) cherries
Apricot: 2 cups (400 g) for 3.3 lbs (1.5 kg) apricots, use very ripe ones and remove the stones
Hi Roxy,
I made the cherry liqueur this summer (2015) and it was fantastic!! Cherry pie in a glass.
I grow blueberries and made two batches from them. I thought after tasting it that adding more sugar would improve it, but that may just be my taste. It was OK, but not as delicious as the cherry.
Also, I noticed the blueberries seemed to ferment and fill with a gas that gradually dissipated over several weeks. The berries eventually sunk to the bottom.
I also grow raspberries and will use the fall crop to try this again.
Thanks so much for the recipe! It was really fun to do!
Di
How about peaches? And I’m confused about making it stronger in alcohol content….
Hi Roxy!
I located a product, Everclear, which is 95% alcohol (190 proof) in Alberta. In some stores you need to ask for it.
http://www.luxco.com is the bottling company website
Now to wait for my cherries to process :p
Kim
just had my first taste of this. Wow! The flavour is incredible! Now I’m going to wish I had made more, it’s going to be hard not to drink it all up! Next year!
Hi Roxy, I have found some cherry trees near to me, there are 3 varieties and I have no idea what they are called, the first are dark and sweet and can be eaten fresh, very delicious, the second type is almost black in appearance and very juicy but bitter to taste, they are softer and need to be handled gently, the third is a red orange in colour and sour to taste, they are not Morello as they are prolific on the tree and it has to many leaves on the tree to be a Morello, I am going to give them all a go with your recipe, will let you know the results later in the year.
Have you ever made Sloe Gin Roxy? if you haven`t give it a go, it is to die for, I make it every year and have to admit, it is better than the stuff you can buy, many thanks, Tel.
That’s great, Terry! Let me know how it turns out. I’ve never made sloe gin before but I remember my grandparents used to make something similar out of sloes when I was a kid…it might have been this one :). I’ll check it out, thanks for the suggestion!
Hi Roxy ,I’ll start by saying you’ve got some cool stuff on your page ,and I love reading your recipes.
My name is James and I’m trying to preserve Cherry juice in Demijohns after they’ve been through my juicer ,can you please tell me if you have a tip to do so please .
I have an abundance of Cherries as I live on a cherry farm ,but the waste that comes back from the whole sales is ridiculous so I thought I might have a go at making some cherry cider,and some Liqueurs .
I’ve been given 8 Demijohns and I’m excited about getting started .But would love your input .
The cherries I have are Kordi and vergina ,don’t think that’s how you spell them but basically they are both sweet .
Also If you have any recipes for cherry cider that would just be great ,
Many thanks Roxy
James
Ps. Can you give me the ratio for sweet cherries Liqueur please it sounds lush .
many thanks again x
Thanks for your kind words, James… I’m glad you enjoy my recipes. I haven’t preserved cherry juice so far so I don’t have tips on this. But I’m thinking that you would need to can them in jars/bottles and process them in a waterbath… if you just add the juice into the demijohns you might end up with wine rather than fresh sweet juice :).
The sugar to cherries ratio for the sweet cherry liqueur is 3 cups (600 g) sugar for 3.3 lbs (1.5 kg) cherries.
We’re about to give this a try thanks to my awesome Nanking cherry tree out back. ..just to check- this is half a liter of good vodka and approximately 6 or 7 cups of cherries?
Might be too late for my reply but it’s about 9 cups of cherries…at least that’s what google says 🙂 https://www.google.ca/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=how+many+cups+are+in+a+pound+of+cherries
Nanking cherry is not the same thing as a cherry. They are cherry like when they are raw, but the taste very different when processed. I think it is a different family. You will never get the almond flavor either.
hi I am about to try your recipe but my concern is that I just came from B.C. and had just bought a box of fresh cherries from a farm now they are a little sweeter so… less sugar? I was also thinking of using a brandy for another jar just to see how it turns out, should the sugar be the same as the vodka?
thank you
Hi Roxy,
How do you seal the bottles? Is there a special bottle you use? Also, where do you store your bottles after the liqueur is bottled? On the shelf or refrigerator?
Thank you so much,
Mari
I don’t use any special bottles, I kept mine in jars covered with a lid. I also like these bottles from Ikea – http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/40227983/
I use them to store my tomato juice as well :).
…and I keep them on the shelf, not in the refrigerator.
Thanks Roxy! Can’t wait to get started! Now I just need to find some sour cherries.
Regarding the liqueurs lifespan.. How log will it be good if left out on a shelf vs being refridgerated?
It should last for years as the alcohol helps preserve everything. You don’t need to refrigerate it. It might change in color after a while but it won’t go bad. I’m sure it won’t last for more than a year though 😉
Do you have a recipe for currants or elderberry?
I don’t have one for now, sorry…
Hi Roxy, I had a question about the cherry mixture. You stated that after 7 days you can strain it and then if you would like s stronger mixture to add more alcohol and water with sugar them let it sit for a month and restrain it. I was just wondering why you would have to restrain it. Do you put the cherries back in it?
No, you don’t have to put the cherries back in. The reason you have to restrain it is because a yeast deposit might form on the bottom of the jar so by straining it you remove any impurities.
Love your recipe! I notice it doesn’t mention pitting the cherries first. I have a question about homemade cherry brandy, vodka, and bourbon. We had a bumper crop of delicious Bing cherries one year ago, and I researched many different cherry liqueur recipes. Most recipes called for using whole cherries with the pits left in. I placed the cherries on the bottom and added a quality alcohol; making three different batches as above. It’s been 10 months, and I’m ready to strain the liqueurs into bottles. Now I’m reading that the pits may have released cyanide into the liqueur(?) Any truth to this concern? I’d hate to waste perfectly fine liqueurs. Thank you!
We’ve been making this liqueur for many many years and never pitted the cherries…. we never had problems but not sure what to tell you about the cyanide, I’ve never researched this topic :D.
hello Jane just read your comment today I hope you did not throw out your liqueur I grow sour cherries in Alberta Canada and have done a lot of research on cherries looked in one of my books when I read your comment and found that it is only pin cherry and chokecherry pits that contain toxic substances this info is from the university of Saskatchewan they are big into fruit research . sorry don’t have a link right now but if you Google it there is lots of info there . I hope this helps.
Bert
How much water and brandy for oranges?
For the orange liqueur you actually have to use the zest. Mix orange zest from 3 oranges & 1 litre of alcohol mixed with water or you can use brandy as well – it should have about 45% alcohol content.
Let everything infuse for 4-6 weeks, strain the liquid & mix it with a sugar syrup made out of 1- 1.5 cups (200-300 g) sugar & 100 ml water, depending on how sweet you like it (the syrup should be cold, this is very important).
Strain everything again – use paper coffee filter as this will help get a well refined product. Pour it in bottles & seal them tightly.
So to make sure. Sugar syrup is sugar ,water dissolved and cooled. Then add alcohol ?
Yes, that’s correct! And you mix everything with the strained liquor you made initially.
Sounds yummy ! I have made Kaluha before. Defiantly going g to try. Now to decide on fruit.
Love Kahlua, great idea to make it at home!
What would the ratios be for raspberry or blackberry? I can’t wait to try this!
Hi Kerry, I have the one for blackberries: 2 cups (400 g) for 3.3 lbs (1.5 kg) blackberries. For raspberries it would be kind of similar though. If they are sweeter than your blackberries maybe just add a bit less sugar.
Gorgeous drink! I love it.
hi, would like to make an orange liqueur as citrus fruits are readily available here. could I please get the ratios/ also, can I use brandy or distilled gin instead of vodka and what’s the shelf life? thanks
Hi Omotayo,
For the orange liqueur you actually have to use the zest. Mix orange zest from 3 oranges & 1 litre of alcohol mixed with water or you can use brandy as well – it should have about 45% alcohol content. Distilled gin would not really work in this recipe as it has only 37.5% alcohol content. Also, it would probably change the taste of the liqueur so I prefer staying away from using gin in this kind of recipes.
Let everything infuse for 4-6 weeks, strain the liquid & mix it with a sugar syrup made out of 1- 1.5 cups (200-300 g) sugar & 100 ml water, depending on how sweet you like it (the syrup should be cold, this is very important).
Strain everything again – use paper coffee filter as this will help get a well refined product. Pour it in bottles & seal them tightly.
Regarding the shelf life, it should last for years as the alcohol helps preserve everything. It might change in color after a while but it won’t go bad. It usually doesn’t last for more than a year around here :).
Hope this helps!
I am very interested in making a strawberry liqueur. I would love the correct ratios, if you have them. Blueberry, sweet cherry, and apricot sound intriguing, also. Thank you so much!
Hi Laura, Here are the ratios:
Strawberry: 2.5-3 cups (500-600 g) for 3.3 lbs (1.5 kg) strawberries, depending how sweet they are
Blueberry: 2.5 cups (500 g) for 3.3 lbs (1.5 kg) blueberries
Sweet Cherry: 3 cups (600 g) for 3.3 lbs (1.5 kg) cherries
Apricot: 2 cups (400 g) for 3.3 lbs (1.5 kg) apricots, use very ripe ones and remove the stones
Hope this helps :)! Let me know which one you decide to make and if you liked it!
I never thought about trying anything like this, but I think I just might! You’ve definitely piqued my curiosity. I pinned it for future reference!
Thanks for pinning Michelle! It’s worth giving it a try, trust me! You’ll make it every year after that 🙂 .
My game plan is to let the cherries really drain till they are almost dry. Then pit them. Take some small cupcake wrappers and coat with chocolate. Mix sugar and water add cherry . drop into chilled chocolate wrapper and cover with chocolate. Back into fridge. 2nd gift for the holidays out of 1 batch. Just a thought to do as much as possible.