What is Cherry Heering? Cocktail Guide & Recipes 2023
Cherry Heering is a bright red cherry liqueur that’s made with Danish cherries and aromatic spices soaked in neutral grain spirit. This flavorful liqueur was created in Copenhagen, Denmark by Peter Heering, and has been a local favorite ever since.
Unlike some liqueurs, Cherry Heering is naturally flavored. It has a sweet but tart fruit jam flavor with a hint of almond and woody tones. Fans of Cherry Heering favor this liqueur over other liqueur brands because it doesn’t have the cough syrup-like taste that some liqueurs have.
| Color | Dark red |
| Ingredients | Black cherries, a blend of spices, and neutral grain spirits |
| Proof/Alcohol percentage | 24% |
| Aging Process | Unaged |
| Serving Suggestions | Sip neat or with ice |
| Place of Origin | Denmark |
Cherry Heering is a popular liqueur in almost 100 cocktails. The most popular Cherry Heering drinks are cherry soda and cherry punch.
Cherry Heering Taste (& How to Drink)
Cherry Heering tastes like a sweet, tart cherry jam. This flavor comes from black cherries, which are used in Cherry Heering liqueur and naturally have a mildly sweet yet bitter flavor. This liqueur’s potent spice blend mix gives the liqueur depth and earthy tones, which is why Cherry Heering is particularly popular in winter.
You can drink Cherry Heering straight, but make sure you chill the liqueur first because cold liqueur is more palatable than liqueur at room temperature. Punch, cocktails, and Cherry Heering mixed with soda are more popular ways to drink this liqueur.
Cherry Heering Cocktail Recipes
Cherry Heering is an ingredient in cocktails like the Singapore sling and the blood and sand. You can make these cocktails and more at home by following these simple instructions.
Blood and Sand
- ½ fluid ounce Scotch whiskey
- ½ fluid ounce sweet vermouth
- ½ fluid ounce orange juice
- ½ fluid ounce cherry-flavored brandy
- 1 cup ice cubes
Shake the ingredients over ice and serve. Blood and sand takes less than five minutes to prepare and make, and is a show-stopping party favorite that’s perfect for when you’re entertaining.
The Singapore Sling
- 3/4 fluid ounce gin
- 1/4 fluid ounce Benedictine
- 1/4 fluid ounce Grand Marnier
- 1/4 fluid ounce Cherry Heering liqueur
- 1 fluid ounce pineapple juice
- 1/2 fluid ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed
- 1 dash Angostura bitters
- Club soda
- Orange slice
- Cherry
Pour the liquid ingredients into a cocktail shaker and add ice. Shake and strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with an orange slice and a cherry.
McKinley’s Delight
- 2 fluid ounces straight rye whiskey
- 1 fluid ounce Italian sweet vermouth
- 1 teaspoon cherry liqueur
- 1 dash absinthe
- Lemon twist
McKinley’s delight is another easy cocktail to make. Pour the chilled ingredients into a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously over ice. Pour the cocktail into your favorite glass and garnish with a thin, twisted lemon slice.
Carlton Banks
- 1 cube sugar
- 1½ fluid ounce whiskey or bourbon
- ¼ fluid ounce Herbsaint
- 3 dashes Cherry Heering
- lemon peel
The Carlton Banks cocktail takes less than five minutes to make and prepare. Fill an old-fashioned glass with ice and sprinkle a crushed sugar cube over the glass. Pour the whiskey or bourbon and Cherry Heering over the ice and strain. Next, coat a new glass with Herbsaint and pour in the Cherry Heering and whiskey or bourbon mix.
Cooking with Cherry Heering
Cherry Heering is a key ingredient in desserts like Black Forest cake, cherry blossoms pound cake, and tiramisu.
Incorporating Cherry Heering into Black Forest cake helps give the cake its deep cherry flavors. Black Forest cake is a classic winter dessert packed full of berries and dark chocolate. Cherry Heering also brings a warm flavor to cakes that is hard to replicate with other ingredients.
Tiramisu traditionally contains wine, rum, or both, so Cherry Heering tastes great in homemade tiramisu. Add just a splash to the recipe to avoid overpowering the other ingredients. Cherry Heering is a great ingredient to use if you want to make tiramisu with a twist.
Cherry Heering Substitutes
If you don’t have Cherry Heering in your pantry, you can use other cherry liqueurs in cocktails and cakes. Liqueurs like Kirsch and Luxardo Maraschino are brilliant 1:1 substitutes for Cherry Heering in most recipes. Here is a list of other Cherry Heering alternatives you could use:
- Cherry-flavored vodka
- Cherry extract
- Berentzen Wild Cherry Liqueur
- Gabriel Boudier Maraschino Cherry Liqueur
- Tattersall Sour Cherry Liqueur
Cherry Heering vs. Kirsch Liqueur
Both Cherry Heering and Kirsch are cherry liqueurs. However, Cherry Heering and Kirsch have different flavor notes and aftertastes.
Kirsch has a bitter aftertaste that is caused by the cherry pits. Cherry Heering doesn’t incorporate cherry pits into its ingredients and tastes sweeter and smoother than Kirsch. Cherry Heering has earthy tones and almond flavors, while Kirsch is dry and tangy.
Cherry Heering vs. Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
Although Cherry Heering and Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur are brilliant substitutes for one another in most recipes, they both have their own unique appearances.
The most prominent difference between the two liqueurs is their appearance. Cherry Heering is a cherry-red color, while Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur is clear.
