I found this recipe on diffordsguide.com.

vodka, kirsch, Benedictine, lime juice

For the last (almost) year, I’ve been gradually adding bottles to my bar. My last booze order included genever (Dutch gin, love it) and kirschwasser. Kirschwasser, or just “kirsch” is a German cherry brandy. I’ve been excited to try it in a cocktail because I understood how different it is from other options we have for adding cherry flavor to drinks.

The two other cherry flavors I have in my bar are Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur and Cherry Heering. 🍒 Luxardo, famous for their amazing maraschino cherries, has a maraschino liqueur that is pretty standard in a lot of cocktails. It is sweet and herby and a little fruity – it is delicious, but I don’t think anyone would say that it tastes a lot like cherries. It has been made in Italy since 1821. Hey, they have a big birthday coming up!

Cherry Heering is made in Denmark, and started up in 1818. I don’t love Cherry Heering. It is a standard in a lot of old cocktails, which tend to be my favorites. To me, it tastes very little like cherries, and more like…coffee? It is mostly sweet, but has a really strong bitter note that matches the bitter note in coffee to me.

So, kirsch. Kirsch is a cherry brandy, not liqueur. So it is not as sweet, and very boozy. But it tastes like cherries! The overwhelming flavor is brandy, which isn’t surprising.

The cocktail. Didn’t love it. I like the taste of kirsch straight from the bottle, but this recipe is too much. The lime is so acidic, the Benedictine is so sweet, and the vodka is doing nothing, as vodka does. With the lime and the Benedictine in a fist fight, the kirsch just stepped out of the ring for a smoke or something.

I’ll try a simpler cocktail with kirsch so I can give it a better try. This one didn’t let the kirsch shine.