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Tuesday 12 July 2011

Visinata Traditional Romanian Cherry Brandy

Visinata is a traditional Romanian brandy & a joy to make. I got very excited as I was fermenting it & now look forward to decanting it & off course tasting it.

1lb Cherries
8oz Sugar
1 bottle of Vodka

Put the washed cherries into a large jug or pot, preferable one with a lid. Do NOT remove the stones.
Add the sugar & stir through the cherries, very well, making sure they are all coated. Cover jug/pot with muslin cloth & lid, if the lid has a small hole, if not just the cloth but put elastic band round to give a seal.
Stir the fermenting mixture twice a day for two weeks making sure all cherries are coated. You will end up with lots of liquid in the pot.
After the two weeks add the bottle of vodka, or more if you have it. Stir well. Seal the lid I used electrical tape to seal the hole & sides of the lid. Now macerate for 3 months. Strain the liquid through a muslin cloth intop sterile bottle's.
Use the cherries in chocolates after, Mmmm
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6 comments:

  1. Anonymous20 September 2012 at 17:57

    Visinata is to die for!! I had a very dear friend that was from Romania, he was like a father to me, He would make Visinata every year and I would help him, he died in a tragic car accident and I had never written the recipe down. I have wanted to make this for years and was not positive on how so I never tried it. This is allmost completly as I remembered and I am going to make a big batch as he would this next year. He would make about 10 gallons and it would never last the till the next year. He would crush some of the Pits and and to the jars, he would put more in some than in others to give a differant tast. He would also use Pure grain alcohol insteed of Vodka.

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    1. Joanna 20 September 2012 at 18:24

      So pleased you can now make it :-) Crushing the pits gives a almondy flavour, lovely. Let me know how it turns out. Enjoy x

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  2. Anonymous12 June 2016 at 22:06

    We recently visited a rural lady in Croatia and she gave me her recipe for Cherry brandy. My hostess told me to use a 2 1/2 liter crock. I am to fill is half full with sour cherries, and then add 1/2 liter brandy (not vodka) and 1 kg. sugar, and let it sit for about forty days. All the recipes I have seen online seem to use vodka. Also, I cannot buy sour cherries where I live, but I can buy frozen pitted sour cherries. Will that work for me?

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    1. Joanna 13 June 2016 at 11:37

      Hi Argh I just don't know is the answer to this, sorry.
      I also make this with Rakia (homemade, off course) as I have a glut. It is Bulgarian Brandy & like most of these countries all have their own stilled alcohol. I would say try a small batch first to see if it works. Not sure 40 days would be enough but as I said try it in a small batch first. Good luck.... Jo

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    2. FlyingRoo11 July 2016 at 05:02

      You can use frozen tart cherries no problem. After all, it's their juice that we are looking for :-)
      In US I found packs of 5 lbs organic tart cherries at Costco!

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  3. Sambones18 April 2018 at 05:42

    All the frozen sour cherries I have seen for sale are pitted and my recipe calls for the pits to be left in so they flavor the liqueur as they dissolve. Any one know of unpitted sour cherries sold in the U.S.?

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