Cherry syrup for drinks is a fun way to add a little pizzazz to your cocktails. Whether it’s an innocent mocktail or something boozier, using top-quality cherry-flavored syrup will make all the difference. Here’s a round-up of the best based on taste, quality, and price.
What is Cherry Simple Syrup?
Fruit syrups are a great way to instantly inject an authentic fruit taste into your favorite cocktail recipes, nonalcoholic beverages, baked goods, and homemade sodas.
Syrups made with cherries will add the taste of cherries to your favorite recipes without the hassle of finding, cleaning, and pitting fresh cherries at home.
Syrups are the sweet element in your favorite beverages, injecting an instant fresh cherry flavor into whatever it is added to.
The popular fruit is a taste that compliments cocktails like an Old Fashioned, a Manhattan, or a Tiki or Rum-based cocktail – but your options don’t end there.
The Best Premade Cherry Syrups
Plenty of different types of cherry simple syrup are on the market, and the best of them live up to the fresh flavor of fresh cherries. But what are the best brands to choose from to add the real fruity flavor of fresh cherries?
Best Black Cherry Syrup
Filthy Black Cherry Syrup
The Filthy brand is everything but filthy. This non-GMO, vegan-friendly, and gluten-free syrup is all about clean eating and uses only natural ingredients,
This one is cooked low and slow in copper pots, helping to preserve the rich flavor of the fresh cherries.
Unlike others, Filthy’s version offers a more complex flavor with a primarily sweet taste, followed by a tart aftertaste (although not as strong as sour cherries) – making it a great replacement for sweet and sour, with some cherry flavoring.
Best Maraschino Syrup
Reese Maraschino Syrup
Reece’s Maraschino Syrup uses no high fructose corn syrup and only natural flavorings to infuse the amazing flavor of maraschino cherries into your favorite drinks and desserts.
This brand provides a much sweeter profile than the other sweeteners, and it’s made from the sweet, red, preserved maraschino cherries often found on different desserts and baked goods,
The bottle doesn’t need to be refrigerated after opening, making it great for picnics, BBQs, and camping trips for making all your favorite summer drinks, like cherry lemonade, on the go!
Best Sugar-Free Cherry Syrup
Davinci Gourmet Black Cherry (Sugar-Free)
Made using the finest, ripe black cherries, DaVinci Gourmet lives up to its name. DaVinci takes pride in only using the finest quality ingredients, which is evident once you taste their products.
The simple syrup is sugar-free and tastes just as good as a full-sugar version. This is a delicious addition to all your favorite summer drinks, as well as your winter warmers.
Best Cherry Puree
Monin Black Cherry Puree
Popular in bars all over the world, this puree is the perfect base for almost any fruity beverage.
Perfect for “cocktails, mocktails, smoothies, and shakes,” this puree is especially great for thicker drinks like daiquiris and milkshakes.
Best Budget Cherry Syrup
Torani Syrup – Cherry
This simple syrup is produced by Torani, a world-known brand with almost 100 years in production.
Using authentic Italian Ingredients, the brand produced one of the world’s first syrups, capturing and bottling the real taste of fresh cherries.
Black Cherry Real Puree Infused Syrup
This cherry simple syrup is perfect for making your own sodas, alcoholic drinks, milkshakes, and desserts.
In a handy squeezy bottle, this sweet puree is the epitome of convenience – and a great addition to any fridge or bar.
Best Skinny Cherry Syrup
Skinny Syrup Flavor Infusions – Cherry
Looking for a guilt-free way to enjoy cherry simple syrup?
This “Skinny Syrup” has no added sugar, making it a great guilt-free simple syrup to add to all your favorite sweet treats without blowing the diet.
With just under 5 stars on Amazon, despite being sugar-free, Skinny competes with some of the world’s biggest cherry simple syrup brands.
How to Use Cherry Simple Syrup?
Cherry simple syrup can be added to just about any cocktail to completely transform the taste.
Instead of using a sweet & sour mix and lemon juice in your next margarita, try a version with cherries instead.
Want a great idea for your mojitos? Cherry syrups can replace the sweetener in your favorite mojito. Tired of grenadine in your Shirley Temple? Cherry simple syrups! Love soda with cherries? Make your own with flavored simple syrup and club soda! The options are endless.
Most traditional cocktail recipes use a sugar mixture made with either cane or brown sugar heated with water and later cooled, and citric elements such as lemon juice or lime juice (known as a sweet and sour mix).
Thanks to the tartness of cherries, a cherry simple syrup can simply replace both a plain simple syrup and a sweet and sour mix to add dimension to your favorite summer drinks.
How to Make Cherry Simple Syrups
Cherry Simple Syrup is easier to make than you might think. However, even when sealed in a mason jar or an airtight container in the refrigerator, it will only last up to a week.
There are plenty of recipes you can use to create your own at home! This one is simple, which makes it one of our favorites.
Recipe Ingredients:
- Cherries (fresh or frozen cherries work, but fresh cherries are better)
- Granulated sugar
- Water
If you’re using fresh cherries, you’ll need to clean and remove the cherry pits before adding the sugar and water. If you use frozen cherries, it’s best to defrost them first, but if you’re in a rush, there is no reason why you can’t use frozen – just adjust the cooking time.
Recipe Directions:
- Once pitted and cleaned, add the cherries, granulated sugar, and water to a medium saucepan and turn the stove to medium-high heat.
- While maintaining medium-high heat, you should stir occasionally.
- Once the mixture begins to boil, reduce heat to medium heat and simmer.
- Simmer for 10 minutes on medium heat or until the sugar has dissolved – don’t allow it to boil a second time.
- Remove from heat and use a potato masher to break down the cherries left in the mixture. (If you don’t have a potato masher, an immersion blender will work just as well.)
- Leave the cherries to steep for at least 15 minutes.
- Pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a container to remove the pulp from the cherries.
- Once cooled, pour into a mason jar or other sealed container.
- Store in the refrigerator.
If you’ve made more syrup than you can use, or you like to batch cook things in bulk, the mixture can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer after cooling to room temperature or in the refrigerator.
Want a different cherry simple syrup recipe? Google and Pinterest have plenty of other recipes available to find the best look for simple syrup recipes. Look for reviews with 5 stars.
Don’t love cherries? You can make it with any type of fresh or frozen fruit, following the same recipe (boil, simmer, remove from heat, mash with a potato masher, strain, cool, and refrigerate for up to a week – just swap out the fruit, for your preferred choice.
*Please note: take care when you remove from heat. Sugar syrup is extremely hot at the simmer stage, and leave to cool before handling.*
FAQs
What is the difference between grenadine and cherry syrup?
Contrary to popular thought, grenadine is actually pomegranate flavored rather than cherry. The two syrups offer complimentary but different flavor profiles.
Is there cherry syrup?
There are many great cherry syrups that are perfect for adding to cocktails, non-alcoholic drinks, and desserts. Filthy Black Cherry Syrups and Torani syrups are just a couple of examples.
Can I use fruit syrup for non-alcoholic drinks?
Yes! It can also be added to your favorite alcohol-free drinks, such as cherry lemonade, iced tea, a Shirley Temple, or even your favorite milkshake.
Can I use simple syrup in my dessert recipe?
It’s a great idea to add fruit simple syrups to any dessert that calls for cherry flavor!
Can I make syrup with frozen cherries?
Cherry syrup recipes can be made with frozen cherries, even if freshly picked ones are suggested in the ingredients list.
Is Homemade Syrup as Good as Store-Bought?
Homemade syrups are easy enough to make; however, it doesn’t always produce the intense fruit taste that manufactured versions produce.
It also doesn’t last as long and can be a lot more expensive to make (especially when cherries are out of season).
Key Takeaways
- Cherry simple syrup is a quick and easy way to add the flavors of real cherries to just about any recipe, whether you’re making a cocktail, dessert, or non-alcoholic drink.
- Store-bought syrups can taste just as good as your homemade recipe, providing the same taste of cherries and a similar level of sweetness – but often lasts a lot longer.
- DIY cherry sugar syrup is easy to make. The recipe uses just three ingredients – sugar, cherries, and water.
- If you’re watching your sugar intake, both homemade recipes and store-bought fruit syrups can be found to be completely sugar-free.
