The 7 Best Cocktail Cherries of 2023

What to Look For When Buying Cocktail Cherries

Ingredients

All cocktail cherries are preserved fruits, but the ingredients used to make them can vary from entirely natural to very, very artificial, depending on the manufacturer. Some brands use simply cherries, sugar, and alcohol. The glowing-red maraschino cherries everybody's familiar with are made by bleaching fresh cherries with calcium chloride and sulfur dioxide, and then sweetening and dyeing them with artificial colors and flavors. This makes them very consistent in flavor and color but not very complex in taste. Some all-natural brands use beet juice for color and extra cherry juice for flavor. Citric acid is another common ingredient; it's both a natural preservative and flavor enhancer. If you have food allergies, make sure to read the ingredients list to confirm there's nothing problematic in your cherries.

Cherry Variety

There are two main types of cherries: sweet and sour. As the name suggests, sweet cherries are sweeter and tend to be the types of cherries we eat raw. Sour cherries are, well, more sour, but also smaller, more bitter and generally more complex and intense in flavor. They're most often eaten cooked—popular in Eastern European dishes like Hungarian sour cherry soup—or preserved as cocktail cherries. Beneath the distinction between sweet and sour, there are dozens of different varieties of cherry, each with its own unique characteristics. The marasca cherry is one of the more famous sour varieties for cocktail cherries—it's where the name "maraschino" comes from and is the base of many Italian brands. (However, "maraschino cherries" today can be made from any variety of fruit.)

FAQs

What is the shelf life of cocktail cherries?

Before you open the jar, cocktail cherries have a basically unlimited shelf life—the whole point of making a cocktail cherry is to preserve the fresh fruit! Even after the seal is broken, an open jar will keep for many months. Most cocktail cherries do not need to be refrigerated and should be kept in a cool place out of direct sunlight. But always check the label, as some brands recommend storing in the fridge. If you do refrigerate cocktail cherries, the sugar in the syrup may start to crystallize and create clumps. This isn't aesthetically pleasing, but it doesn't mean the cherries have gone bad. You can heat the jar gently in simmering water or the microwave to re-dissolve the crystals, much like you would to fix crystallized honey.

Are cocktail cherries and maraschino cherries the same thing?

Sort of. A cocktail cherry is any cherry that's been preserved and is meant to be used as a cocktail garnish. Originally, maraschino referred to a specific type of cocktail cherry, made from Italian marasca cherries preserved in cherry brandy and liqueur. (The Luxardo brand is an example of this traditional style.) However, in modern times, any preserved cherries can be labeled "maraschino cherries." In the U.S., there aren't any legal rules and regulations about what the term means.

What cherry variety is used to make cocktail cherries?

Many different cherry varieties are used to make cocktail cherries. Sour cherries are more common than sweet cherries because of their more intense flavor, but there's a range out there. The "maraschino" name comes from the sour marasca cherry, which is common in Italy, Croatia, and the rest of southeastern Europe. Amarena cherries are another small Italian variety with a bitter taste that's popular, while Morellos are also sour but larger in size. Bing cherries are among the few sweet varieties used as high-quality cocktail cherries and are preferred for their large size. The artificially preserved bright-red maraschinos most commonly start with sweet cherries as well, such as Ranier and Royal Ann.

Do cocktail cherries contain alcohol?

Some cocktail cherries use brandy, cherry liqueur, whiskey, or other types of alcohol as a preservative. However, the amount of alcohol in the finished product is negligible—you'd have to be 21 to buy the cherries otherwise. Other brands use only sugar and other preservatives and don't contain any alcohol at all. You can always check the ingredients list to be sure.

Can you make your own cocktail cherries?

Absolutely! But it's going to take a while. To start with, you'll need a pile of fresh cherries, a cherry pitter, and some patience. Then you put the pitted cherries in a jar with sugar and alcohol, and wait—anywhere from weeks to months, depending on the recipe and your taste. You can start with our recipes for simple DIY maraschino cherries or spiced brandied cherries, but the options for personalization are endless.

Why Trust The Spruce Eats?

Nicholas McClelland, who wrote this roundup, is a fanatic for whiskeys from all over the world, gaga for golf, a passionate gearhead, and a slightly obsessive parent. Before he started covering fun things like booze, sports, and style, he was an award-winning picture editor and photojournalist.

Jason Horn is a commerce writer for The Spruce Eats and updated this roundup. He's been writing about food and drinks for almost 20 years and has VERY strong cocktail-cherry opinions. (Ride or die for Fabbri.)