Make your own Luxardo Cherries!

For those of us that enjoy an adult beverage, the difference between day drinking and enjoying a sofisticated drink is the accessories. The Martini has its olive and a good Old Fashioned has a Cherry. Luxardo Cherries are basically a cherry preserved with Luxardo Liqueure. They are extremely expensive in the store and fairly inexpenisve to produce yourself. The reults are much better than the jared version. espeically if you have access to fresh California cherries.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon mexican vanilla extract
1 cinnamon stick
joice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup water
3-4 cups fesh cherries, stems removed and pitted
1 cup Luxardo Maraschino Liqueuer (or cheaper liqeuer depending how much you like your friends))
1 pinch freshly ground nutmeg

Step 1: Place the sugar, vanilla, cinnamon stick, nutmeg, lemon juice, and water in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir the mixture and bring it to a simmer.

Step 2: Cover simmering mixture for an additional 5 minutes

Step 3: Add cherries

Step 4: Cover and simmer for 5 minutes

Step 5: Remove from heat and allow to cool until mixture is warm but not hot enough to burn skin. The closer to room temperature the higher the percentage of alcohol that will be left in the cherries.

Step 6: Stir in Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur (Or cheaper marachino liqueur depending on if and who you are gifting the cherries to)

Step 7: Place mixture into a canning jar, seal and place in refergerator for up to a year

Step 8: Deal with internal shame when jar is empty in less than a week