Boozy Bourbon Cherries are a great gift for cocktail lovers, and they’re also nice for having on hand to add to cocktails too. Check out the short video below showing you how to make this recipe, then scroll to the bottom of this post and print out the recipe so you can make these at home.
Bourbon Cherries
I have had this Bourbon Cherries recipe bookmarked in The Family Calendar Cookbook for several months now. I knew it was something I’d want to make in the summer… when cherries are affordable and plentiful and delicious! My husband enjoys making the occasional Manhattan or Old Fashioned, and he was very excited to learn of my plans to make some homemade boozy bourbon cherries!
The recipe is so simple, and it has just three ingredients (bourbon, sugar and cherries). I opted to use an average priced bourbon since these are mostly going to be used as cocktail garnishes. It’s a fun recipe to make. And I’m excited to gift one of my two jars to our next door neighbor. What a fun surprise for a summery gift, right?
What kind of bourbon is recommended to make Bourbon Cherries?
You can use any brand of bourbon you’d like for this recipe. Since it calls for 3 1/2 cups, I wouldn’t recommend using anything all that expensive unless it’s super important to you that the flavor of a particular bourbon comes through. If you’re a fan of bourbon, check out my Maple Bourbon Burger with Bacon Mustard Sauce or my Bacon Bourbon Chocolate Chunk Cookies.
There’s no canning experience needed with this recipe. You simple pour the sugary bourbon syrup into the jar with fresh cherries and keep them refrigerated as you use them. And you can keep them refrigerated and use them a little at a time for up to one year!
Can you use frozen cherries to make Bourbon Cherries?
I have not personally tried using frozen cherries, but some of my readers have made this Bourbon Cherries recipe using frozen cherries. If you are not using frozen “sweet” cherries (and they’re more of the sour variety), then you may wish to add a little more sugar to the recipe.
Can Bourbon Cherries be canned?
If you choose to using a traditional canning method to make these cherries, I think that might be totally fine. If you’re experienced with canning fruits, just go with your gut on this. I’m not trained in how to properly can things, so I can’t offer much advice here.
They make an awfully pretty garnish for cocktails! You can snack on a couple here and there too and I won’t tell anyone 🙂
What cocktails would be good for garnishing with Bourbon Cherries?
Use Bourbon Cherries in a Manhattan or a Cherry Bourbon Smash. You may have some additional ideas for cocktails that might be good with a Bourbon Cherry garnish. Or just nibble them on them on their own!
Boozy bourbon cherries :: Make some and impress your friends with this super simple recipe!
Here are a few more boozy fruit recipes you might enjoy:
- Rum-Soaked Pineapple Pops by Domestic Fits
- Vodka- Infused Melon Balls by Healthy Nibbles and Bits
- Tequila- Soaked Watermelon by RecipeGirl
Boozy Bourbon Cherries
Ingredients
- 3½ cups bourbon
- 2/3 cups granulated white sugar
- 4 cups fresh sweet cherries (washed, pitted & stems removed)
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, bring the bourbon and sugar to a simmer over low heat. Simmer and stir until the sugar dissolves, then turn off the heat and let sit for at least 15 minutes.
- Pack your cherries into two 25-ounce jars (or three smaller ones). Snuggle them into the jars nice and tight without smashing the cherries. Pour the syrup over the cherries in each jar until it covers the fruit completely. If you have any leftover syrup, you can use it to make a cocktail!
- Place the lids on tight and store the cherries in the refrigerator. They should be used within one year.
Notes
- Weight Watchers Freestyle SmartPoints per serving of 3 cherries: 4
- *As the cherries macerate in the bourbon syrup, they will shrink in size. This is normal and they will still taste delicious!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Oh no, no no. This is essentially cherry bounce, an age old recipe in Wisconsin that we make with door county SOUR (hence the sugar) cherries. Don’t cook the booze out. Let it sit for 3 months to meld the flavors…voila, ready to tailgate.
Just made these but won’t taste them until Christmas! I’ll be wrapping them in homemade vanilla fondant and dipping them in chocolate for a remake of my usual Brandied Cherries. I also added cinnamon sticks to the syrup while it simmered and then tucked one in each jar of cherries before adding the syrup. I’m so excited to try these! OH, and I dropped and shattered a bottle of aged whiskey while at the store. Geesh! But it smelled wonderful!
I made these today. 2lbs of fresh cherries, pitted with a cool little tool that was a sinch to use, nothing fancy just a simple one, filled 7 4oz squatty mason jars with cherries. I had 3 mid range bourbons that were on the shelf, so i mixed them together to make a “small batch”. Heated 1/2 cup of the bourbon with the sugar to melt the sugar. Then added the remaining bourbon to the syrup. Topped each jar with bourbon mixture & sealed with the caps & rings. They looked great! Stored them in the refrigerator & have plans for Manhattans & Old Fashions for July 4th (maybe sooner!!!) Yum!
Thank you!!! Great Gifts for special friends
Excellent!
I’m with you Miss Betty! Heat a small amount to just disolve the sugar…yummminess!!!
someone mentioned about the alcohol being cooked off, I wonder if you could just heat like 1/2 cup of bourbon with the sugar, then once dissolved add the rest of the alcohol?
i just came across this recipe on pinterest & i’m sooooo obsessed with this! my hubby LOVES old fashioneds (we’re from wisconsin!) & this will be a perfect last-minute valentine’s day treat!
In what kind of drink would you use the bourbon cherries with?
thnx
My husband uses them for Old Fashioned.
So if we us fresh cherries they you just leave the seed in them or use seedless?
4 cups fresh sweet cherries, washed, pitted, and stems removed
Doesn’t this cook out the alcohol in the bourbon?
Probably not all of it.
Just made a bunch of jars of these! During cherry season there are always so many around I run out of ways to eat them but this is perfect! Thanks for a great idea! I don’t think they will last long 🙂