cherry brandy is a term applied both to a distilled spirit made from cherry fruit or pomace and to what is essentially a cherry-flavored liqueur.
True Cherry Brandy
True cherry brandy is distilled from cherries, which are pressed (the pits are often cracked in the process), fermented, and, generally, pot-distilled. Sour morello cherries (Prunus cerasus) are the preferred varietal, but others can be used as well. The resulting spirit is customarily bottled without barrel aging or added sugar and is strong and nutty, the pits contributing almond-like notes, and of a peculiar deep pungency. The acknowledged world capital of cherry-brandy making is a belt that stretches from Alsace in France, through the Black Forest in Germany, and into the northern cantons of Switzerland, with outposts in Austria and all the way down into Croatia and Serbia. It is also made in the United States. See kirschwasser.
Cherry-Flavored Brandy
The second, more generally popular form of cherry brandy is made by macerating cherries in a grape brandy or other spirit or infusing it with cherry juice and sweetening the result to make a dark-red, often somewhat cloudy cordial. In England, this first appears in the late seventeenth century as “cherry bounce,” with “cherry brandy” following shortly after. Although French brandy was preferred as the base spirit, it was also often made with English “brandy,” a rectified and doctored malt-based spirit. In England’s American colonies, of course, rum was the preferred spirit, although raw whisky or whatever else was available seems to have been considered an acceptable substitute if no rum was to be had. Indeed, a 1777 list of tavern prices from western Maryland includes a line for “all liquors intermixed with cherries” (as well as one for “apple & cherry [brandies],” which suggests that true cherry brandy was also being served).
This cherry brandy was and is not confined to England: as “guignolet,” it is also a specialty of central France. Originally, this had a brandy base, but today beet neutral spirit appears to be more common. Poland and eastern Europe in general also specialize in the spirit, which is there based on vodka and known as wishniak. Much of Europe, however, adopted the English name for the spirit.
The leading historic brand of cherry brandy, Cherry Heering, was founded in 1818 by Peter Heering (1792–1875) in Copenhagen, who at first made it primarily for export. Cherry Heering, as it came to be called, has been produced in Denmark ever since, although today it is based on neutral spirit and is owned by the Dutch DeKuyper company. The Dutch Bols company was also famous for its Dry Cherry Brandy, where the cordial was blended back with plain brandy. Both of these were widely exported and, by the end of the nineteenth century, found extensive use in the “American bars” of Europe and around the world, although rather less in the United States.
maraschino.In Cocktails
Most drink recipes that call for cherry brandy employ the cherry-flavored version, including the legendary Singapore Sling, the Blood and Sand, and the Remember the Maine. See Blood and Sand and Singapore Sling. In recent times, however, bartenders have become more accustomed to using the clear, dry cherry brandies in their cocktails. The Cuzco cocktail, for example, created by bartender Julie Reiner uses kirschwasser as a rinse for the glass. See Reiner, Julie.
Dominé, André. The Ultimate Guide to Spirits and Cocktails. Cambridge: H. F. Ullman, 2008.
Everts, Louis H. A History of Western Maryland, vol. 1. Philadelphia: Louis H. Everts, 1882.
Smith, George. A Compleat Body of Distilling. London: 1738.
Derek Brown and David Wondrich