If you plan to spread a little extra holiday cheer with cherry-infused liquor this December, it's last call to start yourcherry bounce.
Cherry bounce has a short ingredient list— tart cherries, sugar and liquor — and requires littlemore than clean jars and the culinary skills of measuringand mixing. Time is what you need most. As in, twoto fourmonths of it.
I must confess I've never made cherry bounce. I make a mental note each year sometime between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day to make a batch. Then forget.
Oddly, I did remember a conversation from years ago at Milwaukee Brewing Co. about its annual release of Louie's Cherry Bounce — a beer inspired by the popular holiday cordial made by friends of Milwaukee Brewing chairman, Jim Hughes.
After shooting emails back and forth with Hughes and his buddies, my memorywas confirmed. And I got more of a story than expected.
"As a native of De Pere, I grew up very aware of cherry bounce," Hughes saidvia email."The origin of our Louie’s Cherry Bouncecame from the bounce that we would take part in at Packers tailgates. Specifically the cherry bounce made by our late pal, Tommy Merline."
Jim Montgomery and Mike Mackinwere also part of the tailgating crew.
"I loved Tommy Merline’s bounce so much I started making it myself in 2009 with his 'secret'family recipe," said Montgomery.
Instructions from Montgomery:
- Fill a glass gallon jar about 75% full of tart cherries (no need to pit the cherries.)
- Add 1 cup sugar.
- Pour brandy (or any booze of your choice includingvodka, whiskey, rum) to cover all cherries.
- Replace jar lid.
- Give a gentle shake to settle sugar.
- Let sit until at least Thanksgiving.
Montgomery is all-in when it comes to carrying on Merline's tradition. Herefillshowever many of his 24 jugs are empty (11 this year) each July and has vintages of bounce dating back to 2015. Any bouncejars that sit for more than a year, says Montgomery, all startto taste like spiked cherry juice.
"After a year or so you can’t tell what booze you used," he said.
In 2013, Montgomery planted two Montmorency tart cherry trees in his front yard. This year he got about 30 pounds from the trees. When needed he buys more cherriesat Alexander’s Cherry Orchard in Brussels.
Hughes says the traditional opening of the bounce is the first Sunday in December. Whenever a jar is opened, that's when the work and patience pays off for Montgomery.
"For me it’s fun to see people enjoy the bounce and the cherries and also to remember Skinny (Tommy)," said Montgomery.
When it comes to liquor, brandy is a safe bet. Though some like to get adventurous.
When Mackinuses brandy, he adds two cinnamon sticks (broken in half) and two whole cloves to each jar. This year he's trying a batch made withchocolate flavored vodka.
"I have been told it tastes exactly like chocolate covered cherries," he said. "Can’t wait tosample."
One of my co-workers,who grew up on a cherry tree orchard, says her husband likes bounce made with Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum. One year they used Fireball, andit turned out surprisingly well.
Move over bacon, apparently Door County cherries make everything better.
When it comes to liquor quality, The Runaway Spoon catering in Green Bay advises: "Use a bourbon you would happily drink, but not a top of the line, very expensive bottle." Itsrecipe also says to layer the cherries and sugar in a jar and let sit for an hour before adding liquor.
When deemed ready, strain the liquid from the cherries. Keep the cherries for a boozy ice cream topping or as a co*cktail garnish.
Or, in Montgomery's case, use them to make friends. Resealable plastic bags filled withcherries pulled from the jars of bounce make their way into Packers games andMontgomery says,"The whole section lights up when you pull out the cherries."
Cherries can be soaked with or without the pits. It depends on how much time you want to devote to your bounce making process. Just make sure to let your guests know if the cherries still have pits.
For Jesse Vieau, it's an eight-hour day to make 21 gallons. And that includes help from his mother, Lois. They pitted 50 pounds of cherries this year to make the bounce following a recipe from Jesse's wife's grandmother. Most will be given away as gifts.
Cherry Bounce Recipes
Tommy Merline recipe
2 quarts cherries
1 cup sugar
1 quart brandy or vodka
Mix together in July. Store in cool dark place. Remove cherries at Thanksgiving.
Jesse Vieau recipe
Fillgallon jar 1/3 fullwith pitted cherries
Add 2 cups sugar
Fill the rest with liquor
Seal jar and wait for the cherries to bounce up.
From Door County Distillery
2/3 quart pitted Montmorency cherries
1 cup sugar
Brandy (or spirit of choice)
Add cherries to a clean quart glass jar. Add sugar and stir. Fill with brandy, close lidand shake to dissolve sugar. Shake a few times over the next weeks to ensure sugar is fully dissolved. Store in a cool, dark place for 3 to 4 months.
Substitute bourbon, vodka or your spirit of choice for the brandy. You can transfer to small jars for gifting or scale down to make in small jars to begin with.
Contact Daniel at (920) 996-7214or dphiggin@gannett.com. Follow himon Twitter and Instagram at @HigginsEats and LinkedIn athttps://www.linkedin.com/in/higginseats/.
