Cherry brandy substitutes

A Danish cherry liqueur that is the benchmark for what recipes mean by cherry brandy, with sweet cherry fruit, a hint of spice and the same deep red colour.

Best for

Singapore Sling, Blood and Sand, Black Forest cake, cherry sauces, trifles

Slightly less sugary and a little more spiced than a cheap supermarket cherry brandy, so a drink made with it tastes a touch drier and more grown up. No adjustment needed.

Bottles labelled cherry liqueur or creme de cerise do the same job: sweetness, cherry aroma and red colour.

Best for

cocktails, cake soaks, fillings, glazes, ice cream toppings

Sugar levels vary a lot between brands. Taste it first, and if it is noticeably sweeter than you expected, take a tablespoon of sugar out of the recipe per quarter cup used.

Kirsch is clear, dry, high-proof cherry eau-de-vie. It has more real cherry-stone character than most cherry brandies but none of the sweetness or colour.

Best for

Black Forest cake, cherry clafoutis, fondue, poached cherries, baking

Without the added sugar a Singapore Sling made with kirsch tastes thin and boozy, and a cake filling tastes sharp. In Black Forest cake the dry version is actually traditional and many people prefer it, so there you can skip the sugar entirely. Kirsch is also stronger, around 40 per cent, so it hits harder in a drink.

A clear, funky Italian liqueur made from marasca cherries and their pits, so it tastes of cherry plus bitter almond and a little smoke.

Best for

cocktails, fruit salads, cherry desserts where colour does not matter

It loses the red colour completely and adds a distinct almond-pit bitterness. Excellent in a stirred or shaken drink, wrong for a glossy red glaze or a pink filling. It is also more intense, hence the smaller measure.

Warm the preserves, push them through a sieve, then stir in plain brandy or cognac. You get real cherry fruit, sugar and enough alcohol to carry the aroma.

Best for

cake fillings, glazes, sauces for duck or pork, spooning over cheesecake

This is the best kitchen fix and often better than a cheap bottle, but it is thicker and slightly cloudy, so it is not suitable for a clear cocktail. If the recipe is a sauce that will reduce anyway, it is ideal.

Simmer tart cherry juice until reduced by about a third, sweeten to taste, and add a single drop of almond extract per quarter cup to imitate the cherry-pit note.

Best for

alcohol-free desserts, mocktails, cooking for children, sauces

Colour and fruit are convincing; the missing pieces are the warm alcoholic depth and the way alcohol carries aroma. In a shaken mocktail it works well. In a cake it makes the crumb slightly wetter, so use a tablespoon less liquid elsewhere.