The Making of Spirits

It’s been almost three years since I posted about making Limoncello, the Lemon flavored Italian liquor that is bright and flavorful. Since that time, I’ve made at subsequent batches, but none with my own homegrown lemons. My lemon tree has since died, but fortunately, we are able to purchase Meyer lemons in bulk large enough to make the tasty drink.

We also have cherry trees. These trees are outside in our home fruit orchard, and consist of hardy sour cherry varietals such as Meteor and Montmorency. Two years ago I made my first batch of cherry bounce – a cherry flavored liquor – with our own cherries.

Last month, after a request from a friend who enjoyed the liquor, I started another batch. Luckily, I had enough Montmorency cherries in the freezer to make a new container of the Cherry Bounce. What I really enjoy about making these spirits, whether it be limoncello or cherry bounce, is that we can use our own fruit in the concoction! It make the experience all that much more fun and personal!

My recipe hails from Door County, arguably one of the foremost cherry growing areas in the country, and, certainly, in our state. It is really no different than any other cherry bounce recipes I’ve seen. The ingredients are:

sour cherries

sugar

vodka or another liquor of your choice

You combine the ingredients in a glass jar in the proportion designated by the recipe and let sit for at least a month. Every few days you give the jar a shake or swirl to stir the ingredients.

After time has passed, you bottle the liquor.

• 

• 

• 

The first time I made Cherry Bounce, I took the time to make labels for my bottles. Luckily, I have a few left for this year’s batch.

Of course, we have to do a taste test before we give the Cherry Bounce as gifts. My husband tasted, as did I. We both feel it’s a little bit medicinal, akin to cherry cough syrup, but tasty none-the-less. There is a definite warmth that spreads throughout your body after you’ve had a sip or two.

The batch I bottled up yesterday is already spoken for, save a tiny bit that did not quite fill another small bottle. We’ll keep that but the rest will be happily shared with friends.

Cheers to Cherry Bounce!

P.S. I am already investigating what fruit I can use for my next spirit! It’s kind of fun making it….like a giant, edible, chemistry experiment. And, I don’t even really drink the concoctions….I just like making them for gifts!