Kirsch vs. Cherry Liqueurs

When you're buying cherry liqueur, you have to pay attention or you may end up with the wrong thing. Cherry liqueur is sweetened and can be made with any type of spirit base. Brandy is the most common, so cherry liqueur is often called cherry brandy.

Then there's kirsch, or kirschwasser, which is an unsweetened eau de vie made by double-distilling whole sour cherries (including the pits) to produce a clear, bitter liquor. The best kirschwassers have a refined taste with subtle flavors of cherry and a slight bitter-almond taste that derives from the stones that are left in when making it. Kirschwasser is usually drunk neat. It is traditionally served cold in a very small glass and is taken as an apéritif. However, people in the German-speaking region where kirschwasser originated usually serve it after dinner, as a digestif. Sometimes kirsch is called cherry brandy.

Cherry liqueurs like Heering are much sweeter and taste primarily of cherry. Maraschino is perhaps the most distinctive of cherry liqueurs; it is distilled from marasca cherries, includes honey, and is matured in wooden vats for at least two years. Like kirsch, maraschino is bitter from the inclusion of cherry pits. To put a finer point on the distinction: Kirschwasser is a brandy made from cherries, Cherry Brandy is brandy made from wine (grapes) with cherry flavors added.

You can't use kirsch and cherry liqueur interchangeably, since one is sweet and the other isn't.

Despite the somewhat confusing name game, it's actually not difficult to know if you have the right bottle in your hand. Kirsch, the unsweetened eau de vie, is clear in color, while liqueurs will be dark.

Color:

Kirsch (Schwarzwalder Kirschwasser): Clear.
Heering Cherry Liqueur: Brownish red, mahogany.
Luxardo Maraschino: Clear.

Taste Test:

Kirsch: The alcohol really came through in the taste. However, it also had a pleasant dark, bitter cherry taste to it.
Heering: This was both sweet and viscous, and had a very clear red cherry taste.
Maraschino: The maraschino did not taste at all like the other two; it was much more herbal (kind of like bitters - it is also made with the cherry pits), with just a hint of cherry. It was sweeter than the kirsch but not as sweet as the Heering.

Cherry Heering and Bols are popular cherry liqueurs, and they're not hard to find for about $25 or $30 a bottle. It's made with real cherries and it actually tastes like cherries. There are also more affordable options such as Hiram Walker.

But you can make your own.