Name: Cherry Brandy
Ingredients: 20 drops oil of cloves; 3 gallons good spirits or brandy; 1 gallon juice of black cherries; 1 gallon juice of red cherries; 3 pints syrup

Why it works: Spirit and syrup work together. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 141 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Cherry Brandy

Ingredients

20 drops oil of cloves
3 gallons good spirits or brandy
1 gallon juice of black cherries
1 gallon juice of red cherries
3 pints syrup

Directions

In a large container, mix 20 drops of oil of cloves with 3 gallons of good spirits or brandy.
Add 1 gallon each of black cherry juice and red cherry juice.
Stir in 3 pints of syrup and mix well.
Bottle the mixture and seal it tightly.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Spirit + syruptop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together141 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Clove + spirittop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together152 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Clove + syruptop 26% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together481 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Spirits or brandy: Forms the alcoholic base that carries the flavours and preserves the drink.
Cherry juice: Adds fruit flavour, colour and body to the spirit base.
Syrup: Adds sweetness and smooths the harsh edge of the alcohol.
Oil of cloves: Adds a warm, aromatic spice note in small amounts.