Cherry Brandy substitute

Best substitute

Cherry Heering

Use the same amount as the cherry brandy you are replacing

Best for Singapore Sling

Close match

The closest substitute for cherry brandy is Cherry Heering, used 1:1, since that is the bottle most classic recipes actually meant. Any sweet cherry liqueur also works 1:1. Kirsch or kirschwasser can stand in but it is dry rather than sweet, so add half a teaspoon of sugar or cherry syrup per tablespoon. For an alcohol-free version, use tart cherry juice reduced with a little sugar plus a drop of almond extract.

Other cherry brandy substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Any sweet cherry liqueur
Close match
Use the same amount
Bottles labelled cherry liqueur or creme de cerise do the same job: sweetness, cherry aroma and red colour.
What changes
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.
3Kirsch or kirschwasser plus sugar
Different taste
Use Equal volume plus ½ to 1 tsp sugar or cherry syrup for every tablespoon of cherry brandy
Kirsch is clear, dry, high-proof cherry eau-de-vie.
What changes
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.
4Maraschino liqueur
Different taste
Use about ¾ the amount
A clear, funky Italian liqueur made from marasca cherries and their pits, so it tastes of cherry plus bitter almond and a little smoke.
What changes
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.
5Cherry preserves thinned with brandy
Different texture
1 tbsp cherry preserves plus 1 tbsp brandy replaces 2 tbsp cherry brandy
Warm the preserves, push them through a sieve, then stir in plain brandy or cognac.
What changes
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.
6Reduced tart cherry juice with sugar (non-alcoholic)
Different taste
Use the same amount
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.
What changes
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.

What is Cherry Brandy?

Cherry Brandy is a sweet, deep red cherry liqueur built on a brandy or neutral spirit base, and in a cocktail or a dessert it is doing three things at once - cherry aroma, sugar and colour - which is why, despite the name, it cannot be swapped straight for dry kirschwasser.

Cooking tips

The label is where most of the confusion lives. A bottle that says cherry brandy is nearly always a sweetened liqueur at around 24 to 30 per cent alcohol. A bottle that says kirsch, kirschwasser or cherry eau-de-vie is a dry spirit at around 40 per cent with no sugar at all. Swapping one for the other changes the sugar in your recipe, not just the flavour.
When you replace a dry spirit with a sweet liqueur, keep the volume the same and adjust the sugar elsewhere. When you replace a sweet liqueur with a dry spirit, keep the volume and add sugar. Changing the volume instead throws off the liquid balance in a batter or a drink.
For Black Forest cake, reach for kirsch rather than cherry brandy if you have the choice. The German original uses the dry spirit, and the sweetness comes from the cherries and cream instead.
A 24 per cent liqueur will not flambe. If a recipe asks you to set cherry brandy alight over crepes or cherries jubilee, you need a 40 per cent spirit, so use kirsch or plain brandy for the flame and stir the liqueur in afterwards.
Do not use the syrup from a jar of maraschino cherries as a substitute. It is sugar, colouring and almond flavouring with very little cherry, and it will make a sauce taste like cough syrup.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave the cherry brandy out?

It depends what it is doing. In a cocktail like a Singapore Sling or a Blood and Sand it is a main flavour and leaving it out means making a different drink, so substitute rather than omit. In baking, a tablespoon or two brushed over sponge or stirred into a filling can be left out with only a small loss; replace it with the same volume of cherry juice or water so the batter or filling is not dry.

Is cherry brandy the same as kirsch?

No, and this is the single most common mix-up. Kirsch, also called kirschwasser, is a clear unsweetened cherry brandy in the strict distiller's sense: a fruit spirit, dry and strong, tasting of cherry and cherry pit. Commercial cherry brandy is a sweet red liqueur. They are used interchangeably in a lot of recipes, but you should add sugar when you go from cherry brandy to kirsch and reduce sugar when you go the other way.

Which should I use for a Singapore Sling?

Cherry Heering. The classic recipe was built around it, and it supplies both the sweetness and the deep red colour the drink is known for. A generic sweet cherry liqueur is a fine second choice. Kirsch on its own makes the drink pale and unbalanced unless you add sugar or cherry syrup to compensate.

Can I use cherry extract instead?

Yes, for baking and sauces, though it needs help. Use a quarter teaspoon of cherry extract plus a tablespoon of brandy or water and a teaspoon of sugar in place of two tablespoons of cherry brandy. Extract is aroma only, with no sugar, no body and no colour, so it works in a cake batter and poorly in a cocktail.

What can I use with no alcohol at all?

Reduced tart cherry juice sweetened to taste is the best option, with a drop of almond extract to stand in for the pit note. Cherry preserves thinned with a little hot water also work well in fillings and glazes. Both are sweeter and thicker than the liqueur, so taste as you go and reduce other sugar in the recipe.

Related substitutes

More liquor substitutes

Cherry Brandy substitute

Other cherry brandy substitutes

2Any sweet cherry liqueur

3Kirsch or kirschwasser plus sugar

4Maraschino liqueur

5Cherry preserves thinned with brandy

6Reduced tart cherry juice with sugar (non-alcoholic)