Drunken Cherries

My first foray into the world of preserving, canning, putting back outside of a class and it's a pretty easy one. It involves no intensive slaving over a hot stove, no purifying, dunking, boiling, waiting. Well, maybe a little bit of waiting. It involves an age old tradition of preserving in alcohol, which makes it pretty much a snap to make and reminds me of a classed up version of "marinated" maraschino cherries (remember those from high school parties?). This is definitely the grown-up version of that though.

Drunken cherries are simply that. Cherries that have been stemmed, though not pitted, slit down the middle and submerged into a bath of bourbon and brown sugar. They are good within a week and can be kept up to a year. Great over ice cream or in a Manhattan, in a tart or simply with some whipped cream. The leftover bourbon shouldn't go to waste either, I'm sure there are tons of drink concoctions either known or created on the fly.

Drunken Cherries- from Put 'em Up! by Sherri Brooks Vinton
1 lb sweet cherries, stemmed but not pitted- I used a combo of white and red for some color contrast
1 1/2 c. bourbon
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. water

1. Cut slit in each cherry, which will allow the flavors to soak through. Combine cherries and bourbon in a bowl.

2. Bring sugar and water to a boil in a medium saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Pour syrup in the bowl with cherries and bourbon and mix together. Strain cherries into pint or 1/2 pint (I used a combination) jars and seal. Shake a little and let sit for 1 week before using. Can be kept at room temperature for up to 1 year.