Cherries. Cherries. Cherries. I eat them all day in the summertime. I let the pile of pits mound up in front me. Sometimes I think about moving to a place where cherries are in season all year-long. A magical place. Does such a place exist? Can I invent it?

After handful after handful of cherries, sometimes, you just need to figure some other cherry treats out. My friend Paola made brandied cherries and created a mixed cocktail with soda water and I must say I was inspired.

So I went to check it out for myself. I settled on calvados as my liquor of choice (to be fair, I was in a fancy liquor store downtown with my dad, my niece, and nephew, so I went for the most reasonably priced and most easily accessible choice before anyone broke anything or started crying). Calvados is an apple-based brandy from Normandy and runs around 40% proof. A splash does wonders in baking and here’s something to do with a whole heap of it and all those cherries!

I’ve included my 2 favorite creations below: one very basic and one spiced up. They both make for a lovely cocktail: the cherry infused liquor as well as the cherries themselves. Make a mixed drink of it, add soda water, add to mulled wine, or make something up completely. Or cook the alcohol off and serve it as a topping if you so desire (over ice cream!).

Please note I did not mention pitting the cherries. This is up to you. If you DO pit them, do so over the sugar and water so as to catch all cherry juice.

Cherries in Brandy
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
juice of 1/2 a lemon
3/4 cup calvados
1/2 pound cherries (about 2-3 cups)

In a small saucepan, heat the sugar and water over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Let cool slightly. Add the lemon juice, the calvados, and then the cherries. When completely cooled, pour the mixture into a jar or container to keep in your fridge. Leave the cherries and liquor to macerate for at least 24 hours. These should stay good in your fridge for at least a couple of weeks.

Spiced Cherries in Brandy
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
peel of 1 lemon
6-8 cardamom pods, smashed
2-inch piece of ginger, sliced and bruised
1-2 cinnamon sticks
4 whole peppercorns
pinch of salt
3/4 cup calvados
1/2 pound cherries (2-3 cups)

Place sugar, water, lemon peel, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, peppercorns, and salt in a small saucepan and simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes. Mix sporadically until the sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from heat and add the calvados and then the cherries. Let sit until room temperature then pour into an airtight container and store in your fridge.