Kirsch

People in the German-speaking region where it originated usually serve it after dinner, as a digestif.

In France and English-speaking countries, clear fruit brandies are known as eau de vie.

About 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of cherries go into the making of a 750  ml bottle of kirschwasser.

[6] Compared with brandy or whisky, the characteristic features of kirsch are that it contains relatively large quantities of higher alcohols and compound ethers, and the presence in this spirit of small quantities of hydrogen cyanide, partly as such and partly in combination as benzaldehyde-cyanohydrin, to which the distinctive flavour of kirsch is largely due.

Manufacturers include Swiss chocolatiers Lindt & Sprüngli and Camille Bloch.

Kirschwasser , produced in Germany and bottled at 40% ABV
Illustration of the sour cherry
Urschwyzer kirsch, produced in Switzerland and bottled at 40% ABV