Popping My Cherry (De Kuyper Cherry Brandy)

Member Name: collingwood21

Product:	De Kuyper Cherry Brandy
Date:	27/10/05 (1971 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Quality, Rich taste of cherries, Blends well with mixers

Disadvantages: Can get a bit sickly, Not stocked in many off-licenses

In 1695, Petrus De Kuyper and Anna Custers married. Petrus was at this time a cask maker for Dutch gin and beer, but after his marriage decided to use his skills to join forces with his wife and found their own family business producing spirits (and later liqueurs). This proved to be an excellent decision. The business is still owned by the same family – Bob De Kuyper being the current managing director – and it has grown to become the world’s largest producer of cocktail liqueurs, exporting around 50 million bottles to over 100 countries worldwide each year. In recognition of 300 years of service to the drinks industry, De Kuyper was awarded the Dutch title “Royal Distillers” in 1995. The De Kuyper business produces many wonderful drinks, but probably their best known (and most widely available) in the UK is their Cherry Brandy.

De Kuyper Cherry Brandy is a drink that just exudes quality, tradition and sophistication. A heady blend of dark red cherries, subtle spices and finest brandy, this is a drink that you are more likely to find offered after dinner in an upmarket restaurant than behind the bar of your local or lurking on the shelves of Booze Buster. Having said this, do not let the snob value of this drink put you off trying it; I acquired my latest bottle from Tesco, where 50cl will cost you a not unreasonable £8.97. Should you be Tesco-less, it is also available from a range of online suppliers, such as the excellent www.thedrinkshop.com, where 70cl bottles are currently selling for £13.19.

Pouring from the dark green bottle, the drink comes out a startling deep red colour, almost like pouring blood into your glass (making it excellent to serve at Halloween!). The liquid is thick and rich (think liquid velvet), unlike many other insipid cherry brandies I have tried, which have had a watery consistency and a taste like cheap glace cherries. De Kuyper, on the other hand, gives an intense aroma of red and black cherries with just a hint of almonds, which apparently comes from crushing the cherry kernels into the blend as the liqueur is distilled and sets off the cherry flavouring beautifully. I love the combination of cherry and almond flavouring, and the anticipation of the aroma is followed through with the taste, which is smooth and rounded. The warm, fruity flavour of cherries is finished off with a gentle spicing, although De Kuyper decline to comment on what these “exotic herbs” actually are (I sometimes think that I can detect cinnamon, although I am never quite sure about this). The intense cherry flavour is so powerful that you can barely taste the brandy; it is almost like the brandy is a carrier for the cherries and nothing more. This suits me just fine, as I am not exactly a brandy drinker!

This drink is, in my opinion, best savoured in an after dinner capacity rather than being something you can knock back all evening – the richness of the drink makes it slightly sickly (not to mentioned pretty strong at 24% alcohol) and I can rarely drink more than one glass of De Kuyper at a sitting – and I feel it works better as an end-of-evening tipple rather than an aperitif. The warming nature of the drink makes it preferable to drink in winter (it is a wonderful festive tipple and drinking it does remind of Christmas). Don’t chill the bottle (it will just kill the flavour), but serve over ice to savour the cherry flavours at their best. If you feel like being a bit more adventurous, then you might like to try it in a cocktail. One of the easiest is the Cherry Coke for Adults, which is simply a blend of the cherry brandy and Diet Coke (I feel the lighter, sharper flavour of Diet Coke works better than the fuller bodied Coke, which can swamp the cherry a bit). Other good recipes – for those with a more expansive drinks cabinet – are:


**Black Cat**
1 shot vodka
1 shot De Kuyper Cherry Brandy
2 shots Coke/Diet Coke
2 shots cranberry juice

Mix well and serve over ice.


**Emma Peel**
1 shot De Kuyper Cherry Brandy
1 shot pineapple juice
Top up with champagne

Build the ingredients in a glass and mix lightly to serve.


**Fizzing Cherry**
1.5 shots De Kuyper Cherry Brandy
2 shots orange juice
1 shot lime juice
Top up with lemonade

Shake the first four ingredients with ice and strain into a glass half filled with fresh ice cubes. Top up with lemonade and gently stir.


**Gin and Cherry Sling**
2 shots gin
1 shot De Kuyper Cherry Brandy
Top up with soda

Put some crushed ice in a glass. Pour on the gin, followed by the cherry brandy. Top up with soda as desired.


**Mums The Word**
1 shot vodka
1 shot De Kuyper Cherry Brandy
3 shots orange juice

Shake all the ingredients with ice and strain into a martini glass.


**Red Mist**
1 shot De Kuyper Cherry Brandy
1 shot cranberry juice
Top up with champagne

Build the ingredients into a glass. Stir gently to combine berry and cherry flavours.


Overall, a highly recommended beverage.


**Useful Websites**
www.dekuyper.com
www.dekuyperliqueurs.com
www.thedrinkshop.com

Summary: A premium brand cherry brandy - warm, fruity, smooth and full bodied.