Homemade “Imitation” Maraschino Cherries and Brandied Cherries
Since I went out of my way to insist upon imitation maraschino cherries in our Rye Rogers drink, I figured that I better make amends by offering up my secret Homemade “Imitation” Maraschino Cherries recipe. But, wait, that’s not all! Because I’m feeling generous (or maybe because it’s easy), I’m throwing in Brandied Cherries at no extra cost! How’s that for savings?
The reason for all of this silliness is that it’s National Cherry Festival time in Traverse City, Michigan. I covered some of the history of the festival back in our Cherry Blossom post, so rather than tread over the same ground again, I’ll quickly catch you up on the major points: a) the Cherry Festival is in Michigan; b) Michigan is primarily known for its sour cherries; c) there are two main types of sour cherries, the montmorencies you’ll find in Michigan and the morellos you’ll find along the Adriatic (and thereabouts). To cocktail nerds and foodies, the morellos that make real Maraschino and Amarena cherries are treasured items. Not only are they light-years better than the ersatz red orbs you’ll find at the supermarket, they have the mystique of coming from remote parts of the world.
