Cherry Heering 2 Ways for Valentine's Day Straight Up Cocktails and Spirits

Still made today from the original 1818 recipe, this old Danish favorite has been enjoying a bit of a cocktailian revival lately. Although it's best known for its supporting roles in the Singapore Sling and the scotch-based cocktail, Blood and Sand (as well as a veritable Kama Sutra of modern recipes), Cherry Heering's dark, rich, stone-fruit flavor is complex enough to be enjoyed all on its own. Here are two simple Valentine-friendly ways to make the most of this classic cordial's natural black cherry taste:

Chilled, With Dark Chocolate

Chocolate and cherries are a truly great - and deservedly classic - combination. In this case, the rich, dark flavor of Cherry Heering plays especially well with dark chocolate: bittersweet on bittersweet.

Sipped straight, this liqueur is best served chilled, though, so I tested it out two ways: on the rocks (top photo) and straight up, poured into a cordial glass and popped in the freezer for a couple of hours (photo directly below).

I personally found the liqueur quite tasty on the rocks, but enjoyed it less as the ice melted (maybe I just needed to be quicker about it). The freezer method worked out better though: icy cold (though not frozen), with no watery dilution. I tried it with a small piece of dark chocolate, and imagined how delicious it would be with a chocolatey dessert - preferably a piping hot one. (For some tempting ideas, see Faith's gallery from earlier this week here.)

With Champagne - and Other Sparkling Wines

Cherry Heering also mixes nicely with Champagne and other sparklers, as a kind of a twist on the Kir Royale, with the black cherry flavor standing in for blackcurrant. So moving backwards in this imaginary V-Day meal, a Champagne cocktail of this kind would make a nice pre-dinner drink: clean and dry, with a distinctive cherry taste.

Champagne Imperial (adapted from the Heering website)
makes one drink

2/3 ounce Cherry Heering (aka Peter Heering Cherry Liqueur)
Champagne, Prosecco, Cava, or other sparkling wine (I used Cristalino Brut, a Cava in the $6-$9 range)

Pour Cherry Heering into a Champagne flute and slowly top up with chilled sparkling wine.

Peter Heering Cherry Liqueur (750 ml, $20-$25 range)

Do you have any special drinks planned for Valentine's Day?

(Images: Nora Maynard)

-Nora

What about IN a chocolate dessert? Maybe poured over a cake or something?

posted by Tiamat_the_Red on February 13th 2009 at 11:28am
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I was thwarted in my attempt to buy this exact liqueur yesterday: apparently it wasn't "in the system," although it was on the shelf. I ended up with cherry-flavored brandy. Probably not going to sip it straight, then, but it will do fine for its purpose (soaking the cakes for Nigella Lawson's chocolate cherry trifle) and to make up some drinks later.

posted by renata on February 13th 2009 at 1:50pm
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I love cherry heering but I can't find it anywhere. Do any Boston-area readers know of a reliable source?

posted by Charlotte on February 14th 2009 at 9:55am
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gah! i found heering, and it's very medicine-tasting straight up. i'm hoping some prosecco will help.

posted by rebeccaandnyx on February 23rd 2009 at 8:41pm
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