It is a cordial.
**“Cherry Bounce” is one of this country’s oldest libations. Martha Washington even included her own special recipe in her writings:
“Extract the Juice of 20 pounds of well ripend Morrella Cherrys Add to this 10 quarts of Old French brandy and sweeten it with White Sugar to your taste—To 5 Gallons of this mixture add one ounce of Spice Such as Cinnamon, Cloves and Nutmegs of each an Equal quantity Slightly bruis’d and a pint and half of Cherry kernels that have been gently broken in a mortar—After the liquor has fermented let it Stand Close-Stoped for a month or Six weeks—then bottle it remembering to put a lump of Loaf Sugar into each bottle.”**
YUM! Martha spent her time well, while George was off fighting the good fight and founding this great nation.
Maybe I could afford 10 qts of Old French brandy... at 1799 prices..hah.
Sounds interesting. Canned sweetened Morello cherries are locally available (Zergut brand at some local food shops, plus Trader Joe’s also carries some) so this would be a worthwhile experiment for Christmas.