Drunken Cherries
These easy to make drunken cherries are boozy and intense. Made with just 3 ingredients and 15 minutes of prep this simple pickling method infuses sweet cherries with vodka while simultaneously steeping the cherry’s flavor and ruby red hue into the spirits. They’re great for a tipsy snack or enhancing craft cocktails.
This post has been updated for photos and content since its original publication in 2015. The recipe hasn’t changed.
Table of Contents
What are drunken cherries?
My friend, Nola, introduced me to the concept of soaking fruit in alcohol several years ago with this easy drunken cherries “recipe”. I use quotation marks because it’s less of a specific recipe and more loosey-goosey assembly. This is such an easy DIY to do at home and you won’t believe the results!
Sweet cherries, fortified with sugar and your favorite vodka make for awesome adult snacking. Put out a bowl of these cherries for snacking while you’re playing Euker with your friends and let the fun begin.
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These cherries are POTENT and the longer they soak, the more soused they become.
3 Ingredients for vodka soaked cherries
- Fresh Cherries
- Sugar
- Vodka
Yup. That’s it. 3 ingredients. Easy peasy.
Spiking summer fruit in order to preserve it isn’t a new concept. It’s been around since the 18th century and were known simply as “brandy fruits” to be served after a meal as dessert. Conversely, soaking fruit in alcohol and sugar also infuses the liquor with the flavor and aromas of the fruit making a tasty liquor that can also be sipped at the end of a meal, like a digestif. Italian limoncello is a prime example.
How to make boozy cherries
- Trim the stems of the cherries to about 1/2″ long.
- Pack the cherries tightly into clean jars.
- Fill the jar 1/3 full with granulated sugar
- Pour vodka to the top of the jar and seal tightly with a lid.
- Shake the jar until the sugar dissolves.
- Put the drunken cherry jar in a dark space to rest for at least two weeks (or longer).
How much sugar, vodka and fruit do I need for drunken cherries ?
I haven’t specified the amount of cherries, vodka or sugar — for a reason. It all depends on the size of the jar you’re using. Let’s call it the “eyeball” method.
- Pick your jar (or jars). You can use 8 oz. pint jars, 16 oz. pickle jars (very well cleaned), quart sized canning jars — or larger liter or gallon sized containers. Just make sure they have tight fitting, screw on lids.
- Make sure you have enough cherries to fill the jar(s) with snugly packed fruit.
- After trimming the cherries (you don’t have to remove the seeds), pack the fruit into the jars so that they’re full of the fruit.
- Pour the sugar over the cherries, so that it comes about 1/3 way up the jar). Sugar amounts will vary depending on the size of your jar. For a small 8 ounce jelly jar, you might only need 1/3 to 1/2 cup of sugar, whereas a quart sized jar, could take anywhere from 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups of sugar.
- Add the vodka until it covers the cherries and reaches the top of the jar. (Again, the amount will vary depending on the size of your containers).
The waiting game
Place the boozy cherries in a cool, dark spot and wait. The longer they soak, the more infused the fruit becomes — and the more of the color will leach into the spirits, turning the vodka a deep crimson color.
I’m recommending at least a two week soak. It’s enough time to flavor the vodka and make the fruit taste like a cherry shot. Note, the cherries won’t be sweet — at least, not in the way you might be expecting. They’re more boozy than anything.
My friend, Nola, soaks her cherries in the vodka and sugar solution for 6 months. That means she makes them in July and doesn’t open her jars until Christmas. (In fact, she gives them as Christmas gifts).
The longer the fruit soaks, the more color is given up. In fact, I’ve let my drunken cherries stew in the back of my closet for the better part of 6 months and the fruit actually shrinks and turns a mottled grey-purplish color, while the vodka turns a dark ruby red. Though the drunken cherries don’t look like their former selves, they can still be eaten.
Best cherries for alcohol preserved fruit
Where I live in South Florida, we don’t have bumper crops of fresh cherries, so my cherry choices are limited to sweet black cherries or Bing cherries. If you have broader availability, also try:
- Ranier
- Morello
- Queen Anne
- Montmorency (sour) cherries
Best vodka for drunken cherries
Everyone has their preferences from Smirnoff to Absolut, Grey Goose to Tito’s, so I recommend going with whatever brand of spirit you’re accustomed to sipping. I used Tito’s for this batch.
Use a vodka that you like to drink.
Do I need to refrigerate the drunken cherries?
I get this question A LOT. People are naturally skittish about letting fresh fruit sit at room temperature — especially for weeks or months at a time. I get it.
Keep in mind that these cherries are covered in two ingredients that are specifically used for preserving foods… Sugar and alcohol (a third preservative is salt). Using alcohol that’s at least 40 proof will ensure that the cherries don’t spoil.
I found a related response to that question on ChowHound in an article titled Brandied Cherries Mishap? and thought it appropriate to share with you.
“Nonsense to the naysayers. They don’t need to be refrigerated. You are not going to get ANY bacterial growth in bourbon (or vodka)*. 40% alcohol is enough to kill any bacteria or funghi (I work with microbiologists). They are perfectly safe to eat as well. That said, they will lose some of their natural color. Which is why commercial cherries, even the fancy Italian ones, are always died a dark color. The alcohol alone leaches out the color even on red cherries, though they still taste great.”
Heck, pop one in your mouth. If it tastes even slightly bad (it won’t) spit it out.
The fridge won’t hurt them either, if it makes you feel better.
You don’t have to worry so much about sterile jars. This ain’t jam or pickles, it’s booze. Nothing bad could survive in there.
— via ChowHound from StriperGuy July 23, 2009
FAQ’s
Yes! Try this with peaches, apricots blueberries, pineapple or other types of fresh fruit.
Absolutely! Try with gin, bourbon, rum and tequila.
Theoretically, you could, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Frozen cherries have already been through one transformation (freezing) and they aren’t as firm as fresh, ripe fruit. If you do use frozen cherries, I’d go with a shorter soak time (up to 2 weeks) and enjoy them sooner.
The longer the cherries soak, the more purplish gray they become. They’re still fine to eat.
After just two weeks, these drunken cherries are happily infused with the vodka. They’re not overly sweet, but they do have a bit of tacky syrupy film that settles over them. You can eat these cherries out of hand or use them in some outta-bounds cocktails.
I have a few ideas on that front… coming soon. In the meantime, grab some fresh cherries and get them soaking now.
More ways to preserve fruit you might like:
- Vanilla Bean Pickled Cherries
- Passion Fruit Syrup
- Guava Vanilla Simple Syrup
- Rhubarb Ginger Simple Syrup
- Peach Syrup
More boozy fruit combos you might like:
- Tipsy Fruit Salad
- Passion Fruit Vodka Soda
- Rum Spiked Tropical Fruit Salad
- Rum Raisin Old Fashioned
- Tropical Planter’s Punch
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Drunken Cherries
INGREDIENTS:
- cherries
- sugar
- vodka
Special Equipment
- glass jars with tight fitting lids
- small funnel
DIRECTIONS:
- Rinse the cherries and pick out any bruised, soft or damaged fruit.
- Use a pair of kitchen sheers to trim the stems to about 1/2″ long.
- Pack the cherries into a jar, filling it tightly and to the top.
- Use a funnel to fill the jar about 1/3 of the way with sugar.
- Fill the jar to the top with vodka and seal the lid on tightly.
- Shake and roll the jar in your hands until the sugar has dissolved.
- Place the jar in a cool dark spot for at least two weeks or longer (My friend Nola goes a full six months). Shake or roll the jar every so often a few times if you’re going with a shorter soak and at least once a month if you’re going for longer.
RECIPE VIDEO:
NUTRITION:
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Some of my cherries don’t have stems. Is it still okay to use those?
Absolutely! I only trim the stems in order to jam more cherries into the jar!
I had just cut n removed pits and soaked in some cherry berry juice with some icing sugar and lime when I stumbled across this recipe. So not letting that stop me I just jarred them up added some sugar and as cherries lacked flavour I added brandy cherry liquor and melon vodka… Can’t wait to try them. Thanks for the inspiration. Julie
Pitting the cherries is fine, but be aware it will really drain the color in 6 months, better to leave them whole for visual appeal
Yes, the color fades completely.
I made these back in August- just checked on them and they look great! Any cocktail recipes? Might crack a small jar for Thanksgiving. Save the rest fo Christmas!
This is a good one — though not on the blog yet: 2 ounces cherry infused vodka, 1 ounce fresh lemon juice, .5 ounce simple syrup, 2-3 drops bitters – shaken in with ice for 30 seconds and strained into a coupe glass. Garnish with a strip of lemon peel and a few vodka soaked cherries.
I soaked them for 4 months and they were wonderful.
Yes, you should be able to use them after 4 months. The sugar needs to be dissolved in the vodka, and the cherries will lose some of their color, but it makes the vodka a beautiful bright red color.
Excited about this recipe!
When I filled mine, the cherries all floated up to the top so that the top couple of cherries had some skin exposed to air at the top of the jar, and after a few weeks those parts have turned brown. I’m worried that since that part wasn’t soaked in the alcohol it could have rotted or grown something…
I don’t think it could rot because it’s submerged in alcohol — it’s pickled… But if there are one or two you’re unsure of, you can toss them. The jar should be FILLED with the vodka, though.
I soaked unpitted cherries in brandy 25 years ago. The seal is in great shape so I’m not so worried about spoilage bacteria, but what about the amygdalin in the pits that converts to cyanite in your stomach. Would the amygdalin be extracted out of the pits by the brandy over the 25 years of storage making the alcohol dangerous to drink? I’hate to just throw it all away. Any help?
25 years, you say?! Wow! I’ve heard about the amygdalin before. I would think that if the pits are still intact it would be ok to drink/eat the cherries (not pits). But I don’t have a chemistry or medical degree, so there’s that.
I soaked pitted cherries in vodka for the 6 months for cherry cordial. Then I took the cherries drained on paper towels to air dry. I then dipped them in chocolate for boozy chocolate covered cherries. OMG !!!!
I eat low carb. Id love to do this with rum and cherries only-no sugar. Would that work? And Id like to give as gifts. How long until edible? And as long as refrigerated, how long would they last with no sugar added?
I’ve never tried it without the sugar, but there’s enough sugar in this recipe that it probably wouldn’t be the same if you left it out… The sugar lends a syrupy quality that wouldn’t come through if you just soaked cherries in alcohol.
Could you use these cherries for a black forest cake to give it more flavour but change the alcohol to brandy ??
You could certainly use brandy, but for Black Forest Cake, you wouldn’t need to soak the cherries for nearly as long. Maybe just a few days…
I know this is an older comment but in case anyone else has the same question, us Russians make a drunken cherry cake and it is my favorite cake! Moms dish.com has a recipe for it that I love!
Could this be done with any other fruit? Say peaches?
I’m assuming you mean, peeled and quartered or sliced peaches and not the whole fruit. You probably could, but they wouldn’t need to soak for 6 months… Maybe a week would be sufficient.
I put cherries in vodka several years ago and then stored in the fridge. Now I’m wondering if they are still safe to eat. Thoughts? Thanks!
Vodka is alcohol and germs don’t grow in alcohol. I would think it would be safe to eat, but kind of curious how they’d taste.
Just discovered this recipe, I love cherries and I like my booze sweet, this looks amazing, would like to try can I add 1/2 a vanilla bean to the jar before sealing it?
That sounds fabulous!
These sound amazing! Is it ok to pit the cherries before putting them in to soak?
You could, I suppose, but we never have.
Hi.
Great recipe but want to also try a dark rum, dark sugar variant. Will dark rum work?
Yes, you should be able to do that. Sounds good.
We recently bought 20 lbs of tart cherries from a local farm market. I snagged some that didn’t get into recipes or freezer bags and soaked them in Pinnacle Whipped Cream vodka for the weekend.. Left them tart and sweet. May have to try it on the 6 months plan…..
Jealous of your farmers market — the whipped cream vodka sounds great!
Would love to get your thoughts on something! There’s a super fancy restaurant near me that finishes the meal with these delicious chocolate-covered brandied cherries and they talk about how the cherries marinate for 6 months. Every few years I call to buy some from them but they are crazy expensive (and actually eating there is even more expensive!). Sounds like maybe this recipe could be the base of it and then I’d just have to figure out how to chocolate-cover them after the marinating? I just deconstructed one while eating it. They do have a definite burst of brandy liquor inside the chocolate shell, in addition to the cherry itself – which is shriveled and yellow in color with pit still inside – having a pronounced boozy taste. Would love to figure out how to make these myself as it would be a huge money saver and a great gift to give folks.
Well, that sounds AMAZING! I would think you could do the same thing with brandy as I’ve done with the vodka in this recipe. Covering them with chocolate would be the trick. You’d need to temper the chocolate and thoroughly dry the cherries before dunking so that it would adhere to the cherry. Plus, when you introduce water to melted chocolate it can seize, ruining the chocolate, so perhaps rather than dunking the cherry, you’d want to pour the chocolate over the cherry.
Years ago I used to make cherry cordials . We soaked the cherries in brandy lime this , dried them off then popped them in fondant ( not the kind you roll out on cakes ) then dipped them
In chocolate. You have to have a waterproof shell so for the chocolate to adhere to The booze will melt the fondant inside of the chocolate shell
What is the purpose of cutting the stems back? I recently tried a different recipe with sugar and bourbon, left the stems on and pitted the cherries. Also, heated the liquor just until the sugar was dissolve. Tried one jar after a week, couldn’t wait, and they tasted good, but didn’t seem to have any kick. Did I cook the alcohol away? Going to try your recipe next time!
Trimming the stems allows you to stuff more cherries into the jar, while still giving a small “handle” to grab them. You may have dissipated some of the alcohol by simmering, but I think you just need to give it more time. These cherries actually leech their color into the vodka the longer they sit — & they are POTENT.
I did this last year and we waited six months to use and holy cow they pack a punch! I used 180 proof vodca from Russia and I might just have to make more
Can you tried using frozen cherries?
I’ve never used frozen cherries before. If you do it, I’d start with a small batch so you’re not wasting a lot of ingredients in case it doesn’t work.