Cocktails with Cherry liqueur
Cherry liqueur is a sweetened liqueur flavored with macerated or infused cherries.
ABV20–30%
Substitutes for Cherry liqueur
Cherry has to come from an actual cherry product; everything else is almond. Bottles nearby split into sweet and dry, so a dry one needs syrup half a barspoon at a time, and a sweet one may need none.
Often confused with
Kirsch (cherry eau-de-vie)
A dry, clear distillate rather than a sweetened infusion. Pour it in place of the liqueur and the drink comes out sour and strong unless you add the sugar back.
Distilled from the cherries with their pits, so it tastes of almond where this tastes of fruit; substituting turns a cherry drink into a marzipan one.
Storage
Cherry liqueurs made by maceration on a brandy base hold up considerably better than the neutral-base ones, so the label is worth reading. Either way, keep it out of the light: the red is the first thing to fade.
