Food & Cooking Recipes Healthy Recipes Gluten-Free Recipes Homemade Cocktail Cherries Be the first to rate & review! By Martha Stewart Test Kitchen Martha Stewart Test Kitchen The recipes developed by our test kitchen team have undergone a rigorous process of development and testing, ensuring that every element is optimal, from ingredient amounts to method and cooking time. This process includes triple-testing recipes to ensure they meet our high standards. The many stellar cooks and food editors who have been part of our team include Sarah Carey, Lucinda Scala Quinn, Jennifer Aaronson, Shira Bocar, Anna Kovel, Greg Lofts, Riley Wofford, Lauren Tyrell, and Lindsay Leopold. Editorial Guidelines Updated on June 1, 2017 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Courtesy of Nikka Prep Time: 20 mins Total Time: 7 days 20 mins Yield: 1 pint Cheers to Dad! If your pop's the toast of the town, help him mix a sweet whiskey smash or a mean Manhattan with DIY cocktail cherries. Ingredients 1 cup tart cherry juice 1 cup sugar 1 split vanilla bean and seeds ¼ cup Luxardo maraschino liqueur 1 dried bay leaf 2 cups pitted fresh sour cherries (or drained sour cherries in light syrup) Directions Boil cherry juice and sugar over medium-high heat with vanilla bean and seeds until reduced by half, about 8 minutes. Stir in Luxardo and bay leaf. Pour mixture over cherries. Cool, seal, and refrigerate at least 1 week. Cook's Notes Partner up a jar with a bottle of nice whiskey (we like Nikka Coffey Grain; $65, astorwines.com) -- for a gift that only gets better with age, just like you-know-who. Rate it Print