Homemade Luxardo cherries will change your life

There are a few ways you can amp up your cocktail cred, and this one tops our list. Making your own Maraschino cherries to dunk in nearly any cocktail you can think of brings instant posh to your drinks.  Its super simple, and they can last for months in a sealed jar in your fridge.  Forget the neon red, mealy cherries you see in American grocery stores, this effort pays off big time.

The shot above is from the current jar that lives in our fridge.  Photobombing the cherries is one cinnamon stick, and half a vanilla bean. We've given this crop a home for four months and the taste of these jewels continues to get better with age.  

The other good news is that your investment in Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur can be the secret to many delicious drinks. It can be pricey, but a few ounces of it in a cocktail can also raise your cocktail game.  I've used brandy as a substitute for this recipe, but the Luxardo-which is made from cherry pits- truly focusses the flavor.

Here is the recipe we use for Homemade Luxardo Cherries:

LUXARDO CHERRIES

2 lbs fresh cherries, stemmed and pitted* (sour cherries preferred)
1 c white sugar
1 cinnamon stick
Half a vanilla bean, split open
1 c water
2 c Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
Juice from 1 lemon

Combine sugar, cinnamon stick, vanilla bean, lemon juice and water in a larger non-ionized pot. Bring to a simmer over low-medium heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.  Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
Stir in cherries and return to a simmer for 3 minutes.
Remove from heat and add the liqueur. (We've seen recipes that remove the cinnamon stick and vanilla bean at this point, but our experience is that they continue to enhance the cherries as they marinate in the fridge.)
Ladel the mixture into a quart-sized sealable jar.  (We use a very clean mason jar with a fresh lid and ring.)
Let it cool before placing in the fridge.

You want to let this age a bit before using.  The longer the better, but I've lost patience about three days after brewing these and I was very happy with that amount of brine time.  As I said above, the current jar in our fridge has only improved with age over the last four months.  My guess is this batch will last us a couple more months when we'll have to make a new one.

This labor of love will result in months of delicious cherry flavor and grown-up bling in your drinks.  Nothing better than throwing a couple into a Manhattan, followed by a teaspoon of its briny liqueur.  Try it!

*We have had great success using commercially available bottled sour cherries, with no added sugar.  The last 32 oz jar I found in a Polish market.  I drained the brine from the bottle and added the cherries to sugar mix above.  I continued with the recipe and would absolutely do so again.