Liqueurs

Cherry Liqueur (Cherry Brandy Style)

Cherry liqueur, sold in Britain as cherry brandy, is a dark, sweet liqueur of cherries steeped in spirit, usually around 24% ABV; Cherry Heering, the usual bottle, is 24%. The law lets it use the word brandy, but it is a liqueur, not a spirit. It is the cherry in a Singapore Sling, a Blood & Sand and a Remember the Maine.

Quick Facts

ABV24% ABVBottlings run about 24 to 30%; Cherry Heering is 24%.

Legal categoryLiqueurSold as cherry brandy, but a liqueur, not a brandy

OriginDenmark (Heering, Copenhagen, from 1818), and across Europe

Flavour Strengthmedium bold

SeasonYear-round (particularly popular in autumn and winter)

Our keeping timeYears unopened. Once opened, a year or more kept sealed and out of the light; the fruit and aromatics fade first.

Storage

In a cupboard, capped. No fridge needed.

Allergens

None of the 14 listed allergens. Recipes vary by brand: check the bottle.

The ingredient

About Cherry Liqueur (Cherry Brandy Style)

Flavour Profile

Primary Flavours

Dark cherryAlmondGentle spice

Tasting Notes

Dark, sweet cherry, a trace of almond from the stones and a little spice.

Cherry brandy is a liqueur with a permitted old name

The British name is old and misleading. A brandy is a spirit; this is cherry-flavoured spirit made by maceration, sweetened and bottled at around 24%. The spirit drinks rules allow a short list of these compound names for liqueurs, cherry brandy and apricot brandy among them, so the label is lawful.

Cherry Heering is the reference bottle. Heering dates it to Copenhagen in 1818; Danish Stevns cherries are crushed with their stones, which give a faint almond note, then herbs, spice and at least three years in oak follow.

Three cherry bottles do three different jobs

Cherry liqueur, maraschino and kirsch are swapped more than any other trio on the back bar, and no two behave alike.

Cherry liqueur, maraschino and kirsch

Colour

Cherry liqueur (cherry brandy): Dark red
Maraschino: Clear
Kirsch: Clear

Strength

Cherry liqueur (cherry brandy): Usually about 24%; Heering 24%
Maraschino: At least 24%; Luxardo 32%
Kirsch: Spirit strength

Sugar

Cherry liqueur (cherry brandy): At least 100 g a litre
Maraschino: At least 250 g a litre; Luxardo 348 g
Kirsch: None allowed

Tastes of

Cherry liqueur (cherry brandy): Dark cherry, a little almond
Maraschino: Cherry stone, almond and flowers
Kirsch: Dry cherry and stone

In our drinks

Cherry liqueur (cherry brandy): Singapore Sling, Blood & Sand
Maraschino: Aviation, Last Word
Kirsch: None

	Cherry liqueur (cherry brandy)	Maraschino	Kirsch
Colour	Dark red	Clear	Clear
Strength	Usually about 24%; Heering 24%	At least 24%; Luxardo 32%	Spirit strength
Sugar	At least 100 g a litre	At least 250 g a litre; Luxardo 348 g	None allowed
Tastes of	Dark cherry, a little almond	Cherry stone, almond and flowers	Dry cherry and stone
In our drinks	Singapore Sling, Blood & Sand	Aviation, Last Word	None

It carries the fruit in four of our drinks

The Singapore Sling uses 15ml with 30ml of gin, Cointreau, Bénédictine, grenadine, lime and 120ml of pineapple juice. The Blood & Sand shakes 25ml with equal measures of Scotch, sweet vermouth and orange juice.

Two rye drinks stir it. The Remember the Maine takes 15ml with 60ml of rye and sweet vermouth in an absinthe-rinsed coupe, and the Hunter is simply 60ml of rye and 30ml of cherry brandy over one large cube, stirred for 15 to 20 seconds.

Using it

Using Cherry Liqueur (Cherry Brandy Style)

Usage

Our recipes pour between 15ml and 30ml: 15ml in a Singapore Sling and a Remember the Maine, 25ml as one of four equal parts in a Blood & Sand, 30ml stirred with 60ml of rye in a Hunter. Each pour adds sweetness, a red tint and stone fruit together.

Pro Tip

In a Remember the Maine, coat the chilled coupe with the absinthe and pour it out before you stir the rye, vermouth and cherry liqueur. The rinse leaves the aniseed on the nose without letting it take over the drink.

Top Tips

A recipe that says cherry brandy means this dark, sweet liqueur, not a dry cherry spirit.
Do not swap in maraschino: it is clear, tastes of stones and flowers, and makes a thinner drink.
Kirsch is a dry spirit at spirit strength; a few drops sharpen a drink, but it cannot replace the liqueur.
In an equal-parts Blood & Sand, a cheap, thin cherry liqueur shows; pick one made from cherries.

Possible Substitutions

Cherry syrup (non-alcoholic, sweeter)

Production Method

Cherries, often crushed with their stones, left in spirit, then sweetened; some, such as Heering, are aged in oak.

History & Context

Heering dates its cherry liqueur to 1818, when Peter Heering began making it in Copenhagen. It is made from Danish Stevns cherries crushed with their stones, then aged in oak. De Kuyper bought the brand in 2017.

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

What is cherry brandy?

In Britain, a sweet, dark cherry liqueur, not a brandy. Cherries are steeped in spirit, often with their stones, sweetened and sometimes aged. Most recipes mean Cherry Heering, at 24% ABV. The spirit drinks rules allow the name cherry brandy for a liqueur, which makes the label lawful but misleading.

Is cherry brandy actually brandy?

No. A brandy is a spirit distilled from wine or fruit and bottled at spirit strength without sugar. Cherry brandy is a liqueur, sweetened and usually around 24% ABV. The law keeps the old name as a permitted term for liqueurs, alongside apricot brandy and orange brandy. A dry cherry spirit is called kirsch.

What is the difference between cherry liqueur, maraschino and kirsch?

Cherry liqueur is dark, sweet and tastes of the fruit. Maraschino is clear, made from marasca cherries, and tastes more of the stones and of blossom than of fruit, though it is at least as sweet. Kirsch is a clear, dry cherry spirit with no sugar at all. Each makes a different drink.

How strong is cherry liqueur?

Usually around 24% ABV, which is what Cherry Heering is and what we count in our recipes. Some bottles run to 30%. In a Blood & Sand, with 25ml each of Scotch, vermouth, cherry liqueur and orange juice, the cherry liqueur adds little of the strength and much of the sugar.

What can I use instead of Cherry Heering?

Another dark cherry liqueur steeped from the fruit; Luxardo's Sangue Morlacco is one, at the same measure. Avoid a bright red, artificially coloured cherry brandy in a Singapore Sling, and do not reach for maraschino, another liqueur entirely, clear and lean.

How long does cherry liqueur keep once opened?

Years. Sugar and alcohol at 24% keep it safe in a cupboard, capped. What fades over time is the fresh fruit, so a bottle open for several years loses its brightness. A fridge adds nothing.

What drinks use cherry liqueur?

Among our recipes, the Singapore Sling with gin, Cointreau, Bénédictine and pineapple, the Blood & Sand with Scotch, sweet vermouth and orange, the Remember the Maine with rye and an absinthe rinse, and the Hunter, a two-ingredient drink of rye and cherry brandy stirred over one cube.

Make something

Made with Cherry Liqueur (Cherry Brandy Style)

Featured In These Cocktails

Singapore Sling Blood & Sand Hunter Remember the Maine

Often Used With

Updated 10 October 2026

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