I love cherries in all forms but especially cocktail cherries. Ages ago, I started making my own and while it’s been a while since I’ve mentioned it here, I have perfected my method recipe to make it easier, so it’s time to share again.

I make enough to last the year for me and have some to give away. A bottle of whiskey makes 5 to 6 500ml jars. I start off with 2kg of cherries but more than a few of them get eaten on the way, so I would estimate that just under 1.5kg made it into the jars! I give you the recipe per 500g of cherries and you can scale up as needed

What

• Cloves
• Nutmeg
• Cinnamon stick
• Cherries
• Whiskey
• Cointreau or triple sec
• Water
• Sugar

How.

1. Wash your cherries and destalk them.
2. Dry and discard any that are spotty or mouldy or openly split.
3. Stuff your cherries into the sterilised jars with half a cinnamon stick and a clove
4. In a pan add 1 cup of whiskey, three tablespoons of Cointreau, half a cup of sugar, half a cup of water and a grating of nutmeg.
5. Heat until the pan until the sugar has dissolved and then pour into the jars until the cherries are covered.
6. Put the lids on the jars and then leave in a dark cupboard for 6 weeks.

I find that the cherries keep without any problems in the cupboard for at least a year (they don’t last the year) and while I tend to hot water bath tomatoes, I don’t do that to these or to jam. I do keep them in the fridge once I’ve opened them though. If you are worried about hygiene you should keep them in the fridge and use them within 3 months. Alternatively there is a recipe on Foodie with Family that does something similar and has canning instructions.

Once the cherries are done, I either make a syrup from the juice by adding a bit more sugar and boiling it down or I make a drink with it and soda water.