Kirsch is like most of the Eau de vie family - you either love them or loath them. There is rarely any middle ground. Fortunately for me, I love them. The flavour is hard to describe. There is a bitter nuttiness, with a very delicate hint of the fruit above it. It has to be drunk icy cold.
Water of Life: Eau de vie Wikipedia
There are so many conflicting recipes for this one on the internet. Some substitute Maraschino for Kirch, which is also cherry based. I'll have some from my brother in Naples in a few days, so will compare the tastes. Absolut uses Cherry Brandy, which is a completely different and more full cherry flavour. The Cocktail database and the Savoy Cocktail book both use Kirsch, but in lower proportions than my book and the lemon juice is higher. So I am going with Kirsch as the authentic recipe.
I have wanted to make the Eton Blazer for years and yesterday purchased a tiny 20 ml bottle of Kirsch for the purpose. The taste comes through very strongly, but also very differently. The bitter sweetness, is changed by the lemon juice and the sour actually makes the Kirsch light cherry flavour more pleasant. The soda water dilutes everything so its not too strong and a great highball for the summer.
Recipe
Add ice, 1 measure Gin, 1 measure kirsch and 1/2 measure Lemon Juice to a tumbler with 2 teaspoons sugar syrup. Stir then top up with Soda Water. Decorate with 2 Cherries.
Aah chilled Maraschino cocktail cherries - I think I am getting hooked!
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