Making Cherry Brandy Simple and Delicious
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- Опубліковано 10 жов 2019
- This video shows a simple step by step method to make Cherry Brandy. The techniques shown apply just as well to sloe gin, blackberry whisky and other fruit spirits.
Music credits:
UA-cam
and
Artist = Earth Tree Healing
Composer = Claudine West
Website = ua-cam.com/users/redirect?q=ht...
I like the wax finish to the bottles,nice touch.
Thank you
Thanks for the video. Just picked a bunch of Morellos, and will be pitting them and infusing them with brandy today.
Save me a glass 😁👍
I'm in Scotland and I've been doing a lot of foraging lately. I've made loads of jam and chutney and was trying to figure out what else I could do with all this lovely fruit I have. Today I bought some Brandy, Vodka, Dark Rum and Gin and I've decided to give your infused fruit alcohol a go. Wish me luck.
I don't drink alcohol myself but these fruit infused drinks will make lovely Christmas presents.
Thank you for your inspiration 😀
It's nice to find someone on here in the UK. Usually its all Americans and everything is in cup sizes, but you are a breath of fresh air.
Thanks again 😀
I think you will be very popular at Christmas! Cherry brandy, bramble whisky, damson vodka and sloe gin are all lovely 🙂
Sounds lovely! Can't wait to give this a try!
Its lovely at this time of year 😊
So glad you did this .it means alot that you did. Much joy.
and to you. Hugh
That's my Saturday morning taken care of - cherry brandy - yes please ! Great video thank you .
Have fun John, time to get it made for Christmas!
*Thank You.* This is the most helpful (and entertaining) fruit brandy tutorial on UA-cam. I've got some frozen sour cherries to use up & you've given me the courage to try this.
Oh definitely go for it! I can do it and I lack any measurable talent - yet it still tastes great! Merry Christmas!
Definitely gonna try this.
You won't regret it!
Defo going to try this!!!! Had so many cherry’s this year. Thankyou
Please let me know what you think of it! Hugh
It is absolutely delicious!!!
I'm delighted! You've made an old man very happy 🙂
Ah - found it. Delightful and thanks!
Enjoy! Its a wonderful flavour. A favourite of my Mum who will get a bottle next week!
I'm from Russia, it was really interesting to compare your recepie with domestic way to make russian cherry vodka... Almost the same, so thank you for your interesing lesson and with open heart I wish you luck!
Exactly at this moment I'm in process of KirshWasser preparation for Russian Cristmas (it come at 7-th of January 2024), so wish me luck to...
Definitely. Good Luck & Merry Christmas 🎄
I was so excited about the cherry brandy 🍹and then you shared your recipe for the leftover cherries 🍒! No waste and lots of yummy ice cream 🍨 topping!
Hope you like it! Hugh
Great video mate. Central Wisconsin guy here. Going to try this tomorrow with raspberries. Thank you
Thank you. I love it with currants - like cranberry sauce, but better 😉
Thank you! Great video
Thank you! Hugh
Enjoyed your video! Can’t wait to try making some!
Thanks Rose! I really hope that you enjoy it
This is great! Thank you so much.
Glad you enjoyed it! It looks like being a good year for cherries here!
I love your videos!! I’m just starting my allotment and I love seeing what I can do with the produce!!
Thank you Eleanor, thats very kind & it means a great deal!
Absolutely awesome video. Thank you. I have cherry and plum wine fermenting as I type. Also plum jam waiting to be eaten. Plums from our trees. I’m def going to make cherry brandy. I love giving home made gifts such as these. Our neighbours love us lol.
Definitely home made is so much nicer & more interesting than shop bought!
Wonderful video!! Thanks, for posting this. Shared it, as well, and a thumb's up, too. Cheers, from the U.S.!!
Glad you enjoyed it
wow nice , great house to spend christmas with cherry brandy and a log fire
It is now although we had a lot of work to do to get it thus way. You can see the work here! Hugh
ua-cam.com/video/u1SGnezFWfE/v-deo.html
What a great video a really easy recipe to follow cannot wait to get started.
Thank Nigel - it really is delicious 😋
Perfect... given me lots of inspiration and so well executed.. thank you
So nice of you Jacinta - I hope the end result is delicious!
Hmmm sounds good might have to try that, cheers
You won't regret it!
Hi Hugh looks amazing. My cherry trees are full and ripe at the moment can’t wait to try this recipe. Thank yoy
Do let me know what you think Jayne?
Great video. Thanks
Glad you liked it!
What an excellent channel.
I'll try this and some other ideas from videos but I largely enjoy watching them for the ASMR enjoyment
That's really kind Luke, thanks. Hugh
Great I needed this
I'm glad you liked it 🙂
Fabulous. My mum used to make this, but lost her recipe!
So glad to offer you a reminder 🙂
I have a cherry tree in the garden and they are cooking cherries. I will try this recipe this weekend
Hope you enjoy, its a firm favourite here. Hugh
Quality video!
Glad you enjoyed it
Going to give the cherries away as gifts, this coming x-mas! So this is a double treat!
Great idea!
Awesome video
Glad you enjoyed it
great video.
Thank you
Informative video, enjoying discovering your channel and its contents, good year for sour cherries here but they all went for wine and jam will certainly try this next year. All the best and thanks.
I tend to do this one to use up a couple of pounds of oddments at the end of the season 😉
Thanks for the kind words!
I've heard using a simple drinking straw can be great for pushing the stones out if you don't have a de-stoning tool but have never tried it. It seems like it might actually be faster. Thanks for the instructional video, you are very pleasant to watch.
I'm going to have to try that next cherry season!
Alas our cherry tree is still young so only a few cherry's this year. I hve Just made my blackberry whisky for next year, and have a couple of bottles from last year waiting for the cold wet evenings in front of the fire, i do like the idea of adding the sugar at the end thanks
Blackberry Whisky is a wonderful choice!
Awesome video mate thanks
Glad you liked it Nickie!
I'm gonna make a start on it in the next couple of days your video have helped me loads doing this 👌
@@nickies9383 Excellent! Do let us know how you get on?
Okay, I’m off to pick my cherries before the birds get them. Really looking forward to making my own cherry brandy as I’m already an avid brandy drinker. I think I might be a bit worse for wear though after doing the add a little then taste as I will probably use a tea spoon rather than a ladle, lol. Thanks for a great instruction video!
I had to take a friend home in a wheelbarrow after one sweetening session!
Great video, thank you. Would a ball jar with a tight fitting screw top work the same?
It definitely would John
Thank you for sharing sir. Some details are quite important and do make a difference. So, syrup at the end of the whole procedure. By the way, lovely video really enjoyed it.
Glad it was helpful! Thank you so much!
I tried adding the sugar syrup at the end of the process after first seeing this and it is now the way i prefer to do it now. I also bought cherry pitter but mine doesn't have the guard to stop the pips from flying out all over the place lol. I use the cherry afterwards to make jam, put in the odd dessert and today I am going to look into drying them out!?! It would be great to have some advice and more ideas for using the left over cherries 🍒
Great video sir! take take love from Bangladesh. Drinking here is illegal. Bummer for me. Someday I would love to use this recipe. Stay Safe!!!
Oh that's hard. You might need a holiday abroad 😉
I would have liked to see how you put the string and sealing was on top, it looked mint.
I will try and make a short video on it next time 👍
Nice one ! This is exactly the video I was looking for! I'm using frozen cherries 🍒 and vodka for this experiment. I recently brewed some tea wine which came out at a very high ABV about 18%. I may see if I can add something to the wine by back sweetening with the wine with some of the cherries. Frozen cherries have a higher sugar content so I am told. Thanks again I have ' smashed the subscribe button ' for your channel 🌻
Thanks Liesl 🙂. We do talk a lot about blending wines and spirits along with back sweetening in this blackberry port series. Hugh
ua-cam.com/video/WrQ1iKTHBq4/v-deo.html
@@EnglishCountryLife Thanks for the tip Hugh 🙂 I'll check out the video 🌻
Just done first batch, frozen 2kg of cherries so if it’s good I can start some more. if you don’t have a cherry de stoner or whatever it’s called, I found an alen key worked well, or just any blunt tool, pushed it through, takes a few to get to the hang of it but I was blasting through them. I’ve been binge watching this playlist. My expertise lie in rhubarb Gin, got to the point where I’m growing different varieties and experimenting that way, just an excuse to have a few batches on the go :)
I do love rhubarb!
One of the must makes every year. I make the same way no sugar until the end as the sweetness of the fruit also plays its part. I have some sloes to go and pick shortly. However you can freeze the residual fruit and use it in the bottom of a trifle or chop the fruit up a bit more and add melted chocolate. or indeed make a ganache and make individual chocolate cherries just before Christmas. I had a cherry tree in the bottom of the garden which I regularly used to get over 40lb of fruit a year. Next door neighbour complained about it and we came home to the tree having been stripped of all its branches. It killed it. I was not a happy bunny (by the way we rent). The tree was a superb Stella which in fairness was supposed to be a dwarf variety it was bought in memory of an aunt. One day I will have another or two or three as we all love cherries a real favourite. Rumptopf is very good too. Tricia
Fabulous. For me cherries vary hugely. These Morellos are a sour cherry, so they need sweetening. We also grow Sunburst. They are so sweet that no sugar is needed! Hate to think of people killing that tree 😦
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Hi Hugh i made this cherry brandy last year it was amazing. Just finished my frist batch for this year. I am going to try the apricot brandy as well, is it the same principal half fill the jar with fruit half brandy.
Yes indeed, then sweeten only to taste. Blackberry whisky is superb too!
Hi Hugh,
my cherries have been soaking away for getting on for 3 months now, and i seem to remember from your video that you mentioned keeping the cherries after the brandy has been bottled for use as an 'adult' dessert. we intend to use it on ice-cream, or adding some to a cherry crumble to give it a different dimension, however my question is this - how should i best preserve the cherries, should i mix up a sugar & water syrup and use that in a kilner jar so that it covers the fruit? if so what proportions, is it 50/50 (which sounds like it would be very sweet), or less - what would you recommend? or do you do it differently. thanks.
Hi Bob! Freezing works very well but a sugar syrup is very effective. I would go 2 parts sugar to 1 water for a heavy syrup and put into heated sterilised jars. Hugh
What type of brandy do you find us best to use? We made damson gin for the first time last year which was absolutely gorgeous 😊
I wouldn't use VSOP cognac! I really like this one (Amazon Affiliate link)
amzn.to/390yzR6
If you want to visit a store, this one from Aldi is ideal
www.aldi.co.uk/chevalier-cognac-vs/p/041466237383301
Hugh
Hi Sarah. just to add my two penneth, soberano is great if you like a sherry hit (i do) and i used a mixture of that and regular brandy when i started my own cherry brandy about 3 months ago, which is happily soaking away ATM, I had a small sip to see how it was getting on, and dont expect it to last long after we bottle it. GL
Hello. Can I use rum to make this wonderful recipe? I have lots of it.
Only just found your channel and love it, you got another sub 👍 one question do you use a good brandy or a cheap one as the brandy flavour is being masked with Cherry's and sugar. Thanks
Hi Jimmy! Use a decent, budget, drinking brandy like E&J Gallo or three barrels. Nothing like Remy or Hine bug nit the stuff that will blister varnish either 😁
@@EnglishCountryLife thanks, my cherries are being hammered by the birds so going to be trying this out asap
@@jimmyh8090 There is a sweet moment between cherries ripening and birds stealing them. It lasts 22 minutes 😁
Looking great. My son was in Tesco today in Hungary smiling he came back and showed me a photo of some brandy they were selling. It's called opium liquor! Poppy seeds in brandy. Well it made us smile .. I joked and said I bet it would help medicinally with back pain!! We grow a large amount of poppy seeds for bread toppings and poppy seed cake. Hungarian cakes. My husband loves them. So I'll try your recipe. And I'll try a batch with poppy seed too. ! I was wondering about the syrup.. could you descant off some of the brandy. Heat it to dissolve the sugar then add in what you require ? So it's not watered down by the water ??
You absolutely could dissolve the sugar in brandy (even without heat), it just takes a little longer! Poppy seed contains fairly minimal active ingredients, most of them are in the pod and stem 😉
John how long will it keep? love your vid. will be following your recipes
Hi 🙂
It will keep pretty much forever - 10 years easily!
Thank you for the recipe! Can you tell me if this can be made with frozen cherries? :)
Absolutely you can, it works well. Hugh
Hi Hugh,
I’ll be bottling my first batch later this week. I notice you use a cork to bottle, just like a wine. I wonder, how do you reseal the bottle after it’s been opened?
Hi John, I normally pour it into a decanter 🙂
Love the video!!! Where did you purchase your cherry stemmer?
Its an OXO good grips cherry stoner. You should be able to find it on Amazon or an online kitchen shop. Hugh
Great vid as usual Hugh, thanks. How would you think it would turn out using frozen cherries? i was thinking about using dark sweet cherries so i probably wouldnt have to sweeten at the end, as adding raw sugar to spirits just doesn't sound like something i would personally like lol. BTW when sweetening my wine, i measure out 50ml from the demijohn, and use a pipette to drop 1ml of syrup in at a time until im happy. I then scale it up to work out the total needed based on 4 litres (multiply by 80) and mix it in, making a fine adjustment right at the end if needed. maybe this will help anyone who like me just doesnt want to run any risk of over doing it. GL
Fab idea with the sweetening test Bob! It works fine with frozen fruit, the freezing breaks skins & cell walls releasing the juice. People always suggest freezing sloes for that reason! Hugh
@@EnglishCountryLife the wife's off to the supermarket tomorrow, if she remembers to get me some i'll start off making a litre in a kilner jar i think, using some of that left over xmas brandy !!. cheers
@@Bob-ts2tu Leftover Brandy...... I've heard of it but......😁
@@EnglishCountryLife I made some this morning :) I thawed 1 packet of frozen 350g Dark sweet cherries from morrisons into a 1ltr kilner, added 100ml of three barrels (used for obligatory xmas snowballs), then added 100ml of an excellent 12 year old and spanish brandy done in sherry casks called soberano, followed by topping the rest up with 400ml of a very nice martel. it clears some shelf space to buy others lol, and will be tasted at easter(ish). BTW i also bought another 4 packets of the same dark cherries, which have just cooled and had pectolase added ready for pitching yeast tomorrow. i feel that never mind covid, life is a bowl of cherries at the moment !! GL
@@Bob-ts2tu Superb! I've used Soberano. Its a bargain!
Do you freeze the used charries? And which sugar to use??
For this I use simple white granulated sugar or a Demerara - nothing too dark . The cherries are delicious with ice cream 😉
Loved your video. Ideas very clearly presented but I do have a question about your process. If I were to add an indeterminate amount of syrup to the brandy-cherry solution the final proof is now indeterminate too, so sometimes my cherry brandy might be 40 proof and sometimes it might be 45 while at another time it might need enough water (syrup) to drop the final proof to 30 (which is basically a wine - 15% ABV). You don't think that it is as important to determine the final proof as it is the amount of sweetness? And if so wouldn't that suggest that you need to find some way to add whatever amount of sugar you think that any specific batch of cherry brandy might need (given the sourness of the cherries) and so independently add the amount of water you want to reduce the proof to the level you want? Thanks
For me the process is about taste not strength. However given the original ABV of the brandy (40%) and the dilution involved (less than 500ml added to 2 litres) the ABV is likely to be between 30 and 35% as a finished item. If this bothers you, do just add sugar a little at a time, ensuring that it fully dissolves.
@@EnglishCountryLife Totally understand that taste is front and center but my "concern" is that some people following your protocol may end up with a drink that is incredibly strong (people this side of the Atlantic often use 190 proof grain spirits (illegal in NY, I believe but available in many other states) or that is incredibly "weak" and as a home wine maker, I think as important as taste is balance. And balance includes % alcohol , tartness, sweetness, intensity of flavor and "tannin-icity"
I can see that. Over here infusing spirits with fruit is very common (sloe gin, bramble whisky etc.). Most spirits are 40% ABV to start with here (roughly), and, if using a concentrated syrup (two parts sugar to one part water) it would be horrifyingly sickly before diluted to wine strength 😉. I agree though that Everclear etc. is certainly not the way to go here. The difficulty of course when adding fruit and dissolving sugar is that a hydrometer calculation of ABV isn't going to be effective so measuring final alcohol level at home would be tricky.
and I think adding 500 ml to 2000 ml *40 % = 32 % or 64 proof
Yup but there may be some diminution from the cherries themselves and it was less than 500ml , I didn't add the full amount😉. With sweet cherries it would be a lot less added. I guess a volume check pre and post infusion and another post sweetening would give a fair estimate.
Love your attitude. Can i come by for some booze? I bet you two have some great stories!
Booze is always best shared! We have some neighbours who share some hilarious stories 😁. The retired District Nurse and her husband the clinical pathologist should write a book! I'm looking forward to the long summer evenings of friends, fire pit, stories and some medicinal spirits. The ex policeman's wife makes amazing plum brandy. Pull up a virtual chair 😉
Thanks for video, Is it possible to do this with handmade vodka? Alcohol is banned in our country and cannot be found.
Fruit infused vodka is wonderful, Damson, sloe & cherry are all delicious. Hugh
Revisiting this video. Would sweet cherries work as well?
Definitely, I just eat the sweet cherries 🙂
Thanks, Hugh!
Bravo 👍🏻 , can I do it in plastic jar ? Thanks
Yes you can! Hugh
English Country Life thanks ✌🏻🥂
Hi which thing add in cherry lequed bottle......any body ans plz thx
I'm sorry I don't understand the question?
Could one use a sugar substitute ? Trying to manage my carb intate
The sugar doesn't ferment so yes, you could
@@EnglishCountryLife That is what I was thinking ... and a very early good morning to you sir ... thank you
@@ph5832 Good morning 😁
What's the alcohol strength? looks good
It usually ends up around 30%ABV 🙂
@@EnglishCountryLife wow pretty strong then! 😯👍
Would this work with frozen cherries Hugh? We have some in the freezer from last summer and thought we could give it a try. They’re already pitted and ready to go!
It absolutely will, in fact freezing can rupture cell membranes which improves the infusion process. Hugh
English Country Life excellent news! We’ll give it a go. Thanks Hugh.
English Country Life Just made our first batch with last season’s frozen and pitted cherries - should be ready just in time for Christmas! 👌
@@geoffanddebshipton6797 Outstanding, let me know what you think when you try it?
English Country Life absolutely! If it’s as good as I think it will be we will have to make another batch once the new season’s cherries are here to see us through Winter!
I have not yet made this. I have made sloe gin 3 times now & have had very similar thinking on how much sugar to use. Personally I think so many of the recipes out there for sloe gin ask for way more sugar than is necessary. I have found if you use half the amount called for it is still more than enough sweet. Why would anyone want more than that I can't understand.
Could you please tell me what I can do with the left over sloes? I am left with loads every time & don't know what to do with them. They are not de-stoned.
Sloes are honestly not that palatable as a dessert, but if you make a sloe jelly, its amazing with red meat & game like venison.
@@EnglishCountryLife sorry, what is a sloe jelly?
@@motog4-75 Its a fruit jelly usually eaten with meat - rather like cranberry sauce and redcurrant jelly. Happy to post a quick video recipe when the dlies are ready if you like?
@@EnglishCountryLife sure
I have a lot of frozen cherries from our trees. Can i replace fresh cherries with frozen and follow this recipe?
You absolutely can, defrost in a bowl because they often burst when frozen and you want to add in any juice they release!
I’m soooooo curious how so many of you guys manage to get so many of the cherries off your trees lol. Every year as the cherries just begin to turn we are literally on cherry watch as if we don’t spot that they are ripe enough to harvest straight away the birds get them before we can get to them. It’s like they know something that we don’t lol the first couple of years I was lucky to get a handful that the birds hadn’t pinched. Butttttt I’m getting better at it, at least I think I am lol 😂
I also thought this was going to be a clip on how to make kirschwasser😃
I would love to do that - sadly home distilling is illegal here
Does it have to be sour cherries or can one use sweet cherries??
Sweet cherries would be delicious!
Next video lol
Cherry brandy tastes like cough syrup to me lol, but great video
Heathen :). We're doing ginger wine at the moment - hopefully you prefer that?
@@EnglishCountryLife Can't believe I just waltzed in here, thusly proclaiming. Ginger sounds wonderful. Off to see if you have a video
@@rickyanthony Here you go - just finishing the second part now
ua-cam.com/video/XzdDJa-8I1Y/v-deo.html
How often are you actually sober....
Sober?
hello can you explain the recipe in writing my english is not very good. thank you
Pick cherries
Wash cherries
Remove cherry stones
Put cherries in brandy
Leave for 3 months (shake jar each week)
Strain off brandy
Add sugar or syrup to brandy to sweeten +as much as you like)
Put brandy in old bottles
Hope that helps - Hugh
@@EnglishCountryLife thank you I try this.
can eat cherry after?
Yes. They go well with vanilla ice-cream.
IS THE house in the video your house , ?
It is indeed our country cottage 🙂.