Soaked in a spiced vanilla almond simple syrup and bourbon, these homemade cocktail cherries are a great addition to cocktails, or spooned over ice cream. They also make for a lovely DIY gift!
Have you seen how expensive a jar of Luxardo Maraschino Cherries is these days?! I've seen them up to $40 for just one jar. Sure, they taste good, but when you can make a batch at home that's equally (if not more) delicious, why wouldn't you?
We didn't want to have to buy a bottle of Luxardo liqueur for this recipe, so we used bourbon and a little tart cherry concentrate instead. The end result is absolutely fantastic. These are so good that it's hard not to just eat them straight from the jar!
This recipe is part of our 2025 Recipe Advent Calendar. If you missed the first few recipes, try our Partridge in a Pear Tree Cocktail or Mistletoe Mojito next!
What You'll Need For This Recipe
- Cherries: You can use fresh or frozen dark sweet cherries. You can also use tart cherries, but this will significantly change the flavor profile (they will be much more tart instead of sweet).
- Granulated sugar & water for the simple syrup.
- Orange and lemon peel to add flavor to the simple syrup.
- A cinnamon stick and whole cloves to add some subtle spice.
- Tart cherry concentrate: A small amount adds a big boost of cherry flavor without watering down the syrup.
- Lemon juice for acidity.
- Vanilla and almond extract: You can use just vanilla, but almond extract is our secret ingredient that makes these extra delicious!
- Bourbon is our alcohol of choice. You could also use brandy or cherry kirsch.
How to Make This Recipe
Add the water, sugar, orange peel, lemon peel, cinnamon stick and cloves to a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves, and simmer for 1-2 minutes.
Remove from heat and let sit to infuse for 10-15 minutes. Use tongs or a slotted spoon to remove the citrus peels, cinnamon stick and cloves.
Return to medium-low heat and add the cherries, tart cherry concentrate and lemon juice. Cook for about 5 minutes, then remove from heat. (Don't go over 5 minutes if using frozen cherries. If using fresh, you can go a bit longer until they start to soften.)
Stir in the vanilla extract, almond extract and bourbon. Cool to room temperature, then transfer the cherries and syrup to a 16 oz jar. Keep stored in the refrigerator for up to a month. Use them to garnish cocktails, pour over ice cream, cakes or other desserts!
Storage
Keep these stored in an airtight jar in the refrigerator for up to one month.
For longer term storage, you could definitely follow a canning procedure to make these last for months!
Lexi & Beth's Best Tips
- Fresh cherries are ideal for the best texture, but they can be hard to find outside of summer. Frozen work perfectly fine, but keep in mind that they will be a bit softer and may look a bit more wrinkly.
- Let the syrup infuse for at least 10-15 minutes for extra flavor. If you have more time, 30 minutes is even better.
- If you're looking for a few cocktails to pair these with, try our Cherry Old Fashioned or Cherry Negroni.
More DIY cocktail gifts
Recipe
Homemade Cocktail Cherries
Ingredients
Method
- Add the water, sugar, orange peel, lemon peel, cinnamon stick and cloves to a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves, and simmer for 1-2 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let sit to infuse for 10-15 minutes. Use tongs or a slotted spoon to remove the citrus peels, cinnamon stick and cloves.
- Return to medium-low heat and add the cherries, tart cherry concentrate and lemon juice. Cook for about 5 minutes, then remove from heat. (Don't go over 5 minutes if using frozen cherries. If using fresh, you can go a bit longer until they start to soften.)
- Stir in the vanilla extract, almond extract and bourbon. Cool to room temperature, then transfer the cherries and syrup to a 16 oz jar. Keep stored in the refrigerator for up to a month. For maximum flavor, wait a few days to use them (to give the cherries time to soak up some of the bourbon).
Roy says
I actually have Luxardo Maraschino in my cabinet, so I divided the recipe - half using bourbon, half using Maraschino - for comparison. You know what? There wasn't anything to compare, both were fantastic!
Kristin says
Excited to try this! I’d love to gift this to friends. Is there anything I’d need to adjust in the recipe (acid, sugar, etc) to safely water bath can them? Or is the recipe good as-is?
Brenna says
Can you make these and let them marinate a few days? Planning on making them tonight 12/22 and gifting on 12/25. Let me know your thoughts
Amy says
This may be a silly question, but do I pit the cherries before I cook them or after?What is the best method for pitting a cherry
Lexi says
Before! A cherry pitter is definitely the easiest way, but here's an article with some other methods if you don't have one: https://www.thekitchn.com/3-ways-to-pit-cherries-without-a-cherry-pitter-221160
Debra Fajkowski says
Fantastic! Thank you for this awesome recipe!!!!
Grace says
If I use fresh, should I pit them?
Lexi says
Yes!
Shelli Lange says
First, Thank you for the recipe. My son will love these!
Question, do the cherries go in frozen or defrosted?
Thanks again!
Lexi says
Frozen is fine!
melona will says
OMG! Amazing. The smell is absolutely delicious. i didn’t have whole cloves so i used ground cloves in a cheese cloth. I want to make this again in a few days and i will buy whole cloves. I used frozen cherries .i had a 600g bag so i wasn’t sure how to measure 8 ounces but i used about 2 cups. These are super easy and super delicious Tha k you !
Tj says
Can I add the bourbon earlier so the alcohol burns off? My kiddo loves Luxardo cherries so I was looking for a good alternative, but getting around the bourbon is throwing me for a loop on this recipe.
Lexi says
Sure! You can also add less bourbon.
Shannon says
This looks incredible, and I can’t wait to make it. Question about the tart cherry concentrate. Is this juice concentrate that you’d find in a grocery store, or something different? Could you share a link to the concentrate you use for the recipe?
Lexi says
Yes, you find it in a grocery store! This is the brand we use: https://amzn.to/4p1RnU6
Shannon says
Thank you!
Hannah Smith says
Can I skip the cherry concentrate? It's the most expensive part of the recipe and I only need a tablespoon...at that point I'd just buy store bought cocktail cherries.
Lexi says
Sure, just keep in mind that the cherry flavor won't be as strong.
Patty Uffelman says
Where do I find tart cherry concentrate? These look sooo yummy.