Today, I must do something with the bucket of pitted Montmorency cherries Himself brought home on Monday.

Most of them will go into a four-litre pickle jar with sugar and two litres of Alberta vodka (cheapest available) to macerate until Christmas, when I will tap off the liquid and bottle it. The resulting cordial -- called "cherry bounce" in old cookbooks -- usually weighs in at about 25 percent alcohol, and it has a bright, clear flavour that I don't think would be improved by a higher alcohol content. It doesn't keep well, however; the flavour begins to fade a few months after bottling.

The 19th-century recipe I started with calls for "unaged whiskey", which I think probably meant moonshine. It works best with high-acid fruit, especially raspberries and sour cherries.

Here's the formula:

Two cups (500 ml) fruit
One cup (250 ml) clear grain alcohol at 80 proof
Half a cup (125 ml) granulated white sugar
Two tablespoons (30 ml) brandy