TL;DR

Guignolet is pronounced as Geenola in English, and likely you have not heard of it exterior of France.

It is considered one of these typical liqueurs that the French put together in the course of the summer time months.

You should purchase it in shops, however rural French simply make it from scratch, as it’s so simply ready and tastes so a lot better.

Historically, wild bitter cherries are used to make this liqueur, that are often known as guigne in French.

But, the Guignolet is usually merely ready with bitter cherries as an alternative as a result of they’re extra generally grown in individuals’s backyards.

The concept is that the tartness of the bitter cherries is neutralized, because of the sugar content material within the liqueur making course of.

The cherries are left to infuse within the spirit, and the infusion is then mixed with different substances to make the ultimate product of the Guignolet.

Ingredient Notes

The unique, genuine recipe, is from round Anjou in France and has been round for over 400 years. My household is from additional up north, subsequently our model will differ, and plenty of variations exist throughout France.

A number of recipes name for including cherry leaves, and others maintain the stem on the fruits. You possibly can experiment by including clear leaves and stems to infuse the spirit.

What all Guignolet recipes have in frequent are the entire unpitted cherries and the cherries should be bitter cherries.

• Bitter Cherries — freshly picked, unpitted and washed. Solely use bitter cherries, the drink will prove candy with common cherries. A Guignolet is tart, fruity, and candy.
• Clear Spirit — In France they use a transparent, impartial tasting, colorless, double distilled Eau de Vie. Different comparable liquors that you need to use as an alternative embody German Schnapps, Hungarian Pálinka and different impartial grain spirits together with Vodka. The alcohol content material ought to be between 37% and 42%. Choose one, that is not too flavorful since you need the cherry flavors to shine by means of.
• Sugar — Common sugar
• Purple Wine — Historically, a Cabernet grape wine is used. We favor a lighter crimson wine, however you’re free to make use of whichever crimson wine that you simply like.

The right way to make it?

Step 1

Choose your cherries recent from the tree and gather them.

Step 2

Clear the cherries, discard the leaves, take away the stems and rinse them by means of water. Don’t pit the cherries!

Weigh your cherries.

Step 3

Place recent cherries into a big canning jar and high with the spirit.

Depart to macerate for 1 month.

Step 4

After 1 month, pressure your cherries and gather the cherry infused spirit. The cherries might be eaten or utilized in one other dish!

Step 5

Mix infused cherry spirit with sugar and wine. Combine properly for the sugar to dissolve.

Bottle the Guignolet.

Serving

Technically, you possibly can attempt to serve up the Guignolet proper after mixing the infused cherry spirit with the wine and sugar.

We, nonetheless, favor to let it sit for one more 2 weeks in order that the flavors develop.

You possibly can select to drink your selfmade Guignolet cherry liqueur as is as an apéritif or digestive. Small portions are served in French Liqueur glasses.

Meaning at a celebration with little meals bites, as in amuse bouche, or as a approach that will help you digest after a heavy meal.

Cocktails and Mocktails are one other nice option to take pleasure in your Guignolet.

We add the liquid ruby crimson spirit to gin and tonic or different alcoholic drinks, and the addition is at all times a scrumptious end result.

The entire unpitted cherries, which had been used to infuse the spirit, might be eaten as is, or you possibly can add them to a recipe. We make French Cherry Clafoutis and German Black Forest Cake with these alcohol infused cherries.

Storing

When you bottle your Guignolet, you retain it in that very same vessel, saved in a spot away from direct daylight.

As a result of it’s spirit with sugar, it will not expire so quickly. But, I like to recommend utilizing it up inside 6 months.