Homemade Sour Cherry Liqueur (Cherry Brandy, Višnjevača, Višnja, Višnjevac) [Three Ingredients] - Balkan Lunch Box (2024)

Višnjevača, (višnja or višnjevac), is a homemade sour or tart cherry liqueur (cherry brandy) beloved in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, and beyond. Made by fermenting ripe sour cherries in local spirits, this cherry brandy is a potent delight. Shall we?

Background

As June rolls around in the Balkans, it's time for households to get busy making višnja, a delightful cherry liqueur that's incredibly sweet and wonderfully strong.

In English, višnja is known as:

• sour cherry liqueur,
• tart cherry liqueur,
• cherry liqueur,
• cherry brandy, or
• cherry alcohol.

Višnja, pronounced as "vee-sh-ni-uh," also goes by višnjevača (Bosnia and Serbia) and višnjevac (Croatia). It gets its name from the sour (tart) cherry it's made from.

Višnja is like the Balkan cousin of Portuguese ginjinha. It's bursting with flavor and intensity. Believe us, this little delight packs quite a punch in tiny sips!

You can add cherry brandy to co*cktails, or enjoy it neat. Whatever you do, remember to sip it slowly, and only a couple of shot glasses at a time!

Ingredients

Here's more on sour cherry liqueur ingredients.

Sour or tart cherries:

• Look for ripe tart cherries. Remove the stems, but leave the pits inside. Avoid: sweet cherries or (if you can) frozen tart cherries.

Alcohol:

• Any homemade fruit brandy works. Local rakija fruit brandy is our preferred choice, particularly plum brandy called šljivovica.

  Clear, neutral brandies are ideal for fermentation as they don't dominate the fruit's flavor. Instead, they readily absorb the tart cherry essence, resulting in a subtle alcoholic taste.

  Substitute with vodka or another neutral-tasting clear spirit.

• The spirits don't have to be of the highest quality. A medium-range vodka or šljivovica will do just fine. (Confession time: in a pinch, I've even used sherry to ferment višnja, and it turned out perfectly.)

Sugar:

• Granulated white sugar is the best option for fermenting cherry brandy. Substitute with brown sugar or honey, or a combination of.

Instructions

Cherry Brandy Formula?

Because it's simple to make, there's no exact volume formula for making tart cherry brandy. Get a wide-brimmed jar, some sugar, tart cherries, and liquor. Layer up the ingredients and top them off with liquor. That's all there is to it!

How much you'll need exactly will depend on the size of your cherries, and jars.

Step-by-step Višnjevača Instructions

Step 1. Layer sugar and sour cherries (pit left inside, destemed), alternately into a wide-brimmed jar all the way to the top. (You'll probably need a few jars.)

Step 2. Slowly pour the liquor into the jar. It'll slowly start settling on the bottom of the jar until it reaches the top. Screw the lids tightly.

Sour cherries will stay on top of the jar, and sugar will settle to the bottom at first. As you stir it, the sugar will eventually dissolve and cherries will swim up and down the jar.

Step 3. Leave jar(s) in a sunny place for 40 days, and/or longer (not photographed). Once a week, take the lid off and stir well.

Step 4. When the 40 (or more) days have passed, strain the cherry liqueur into bottles. Put a few cherries into each bottle. Use the remaining cherries as a dessert topping, to use in a dessert, or freeze.

Making Tea from Sour Cherry Stems

Homeopaths claim that sour cherry stem tea is excellent for UTIs and kidney sand due to its antioxidant properties.

Serving

Storing: Stored in a liquor cabinet, or a cool dark place (not the fridge!), višnja can last up to 2 years. (Our preference is to drink it within the year it was made, if you can make it last that long! 😁) Separated from tart cherry liqueur, fermented cherries keep a couple of weeks in the fridge, or a couple of months in the freezer. (The exception to the rule is if you've used frozen cherries to make your cherry brandy. In this case, they should not be refrozen!)

Freezing: sour cherry liqueur should not be frozen.

Recipe FAQs

Other Beverages

Here are some other amazing beverages we have on the blog.

• Bosnian Coffee
• Juniper Berry Juice
• Elderflower Cordial
• Mint Cordial

Thoughts?

If you made ourvišnjevača, višnja, or sour (tart) cherry liqueur), andliked it, please consider giving it a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5-star) rating. This helps others find the recipe more easily!

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Prijatno and bon appetit!

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