# Cherry/Lemon/Lime Dragon's Blood



## DirtyDawg10

Since the wine smells and looks great to this point I decided to start my own thread instead of clogging up Dave's original thread with this stuff.

My Wife wanted me to try a Cherry flavored wine so I figured what better way then to experiment with a Dragon's Blood skeeter pee. I decided to go with a Cherry/Lemon/Lime. My original go around with the Dragon's Blood I added the full 96oz of citrus juice to the mix and the acid was a bit too much for me. I decided to cut the citrus back a bit and bump up the added fruit. On day one (10/25/12) here's what I added to my primary in order...

32oz of ReaLemon
16oz of ReaLime

Since I dropped the citrus juice I decided to add some cherry juice to make up for it. I went with...

64oz of 100% black cherry juice

I added water up to the five gallon mark and then bumped up the SG with granulated sugar to 1.085 stirred until fully dissolved. I then added the following...

1 tsp. tannin (stir)
4 tsp. yeast nutrient (stir)
2 tsp. yeast energizer (stir)
3 tsp. pectic enzyme (stir)

I brought the final level of the must up to the 6gal mark with water and then added more granulated sugar to keep the SG at 1.085. I wanted to bump up the fruit a bit more this time so in a mesh bag I added...

8.5lbs of frozen then thawed pitted dark sweet cherries

I added the bag to the must and squeezed and stirred it in. Then let it sit over night.

On day two (10/26/12) I pitched the hydrated EC-1118 yeast and stirred it up with the must. The extra fruit brought the level of the must up high in my primary so I wasn't able to snap down the lid as it was bubbling up into the airlock so I just set the lid on top this time. Here's what it looks like right now 







I can't wait to try this one out. Today (10/29/12) I checked the SG and it's down to 1.050. Every day I stir up the must and squeeze the mesh bag a bit to keep things fermenting strong.


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## clifton

What brand of cherry juice did you use?


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## DirtyDawg10

I used Stop & Shop's Organic Nature's Promise 100% black cherry juice. They come in 32oz bottles.


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## clifton

Thanks for the info....although it'll be no help to me. There are no Stop & Shop stores in my area.


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## DirtyDawg10

I never realized until I was searching for juice for this wine that many "cherry" juices are actually blended with other fruit. I'm guessing you could find it in a local grocery store but it may take some searching and/or calling around.


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## DirtyDawg10

I happened to be in the juice aisle today and noticed that RW Knudsen also makes a 100% cherry juice. Check out http://www.rwknudsenfamily.com and see where they sell it near you.


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## clifton

I've heard of that brand. I'll be on the look out. Thanks.

Yeah, apple juice is much cheaper so they cut the cherry with it.


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## clifton

RW Knudsen black cherry is at my Walmart $3.88 for 32 oz. 

Please keep us up to date on this one.


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## dangerdave

Awesome, Derek! Looks like it's going well.

When I made the first batch of my _Le Mon Cher _(lemon cherry wine), I used dark sweet cherries (with the Dragon Blood Recipe) in place of the triple berries. The outcome was that I discovered the cherries do not impart very much---what we would call---"cherry" flavor. It came out more like a dry red wine, with moderate to heavy tannins. My wife, who hates dry red wines, said it tasted "buttery". To give it more of a standard "cherry" flavor, I backsweetened with some sugar and added a single packet of cherry Kool Aid. Johnna still doesn't like it, but I love it! It balanced out nicely.

I'm interested to hear how yours turns out. Good luck!


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## nate0001

dangerdave said:


> Awesome, Derek! Looks like it's going well.
> 
> When I made the first batch of my _Le Mon Cher _(lemon cherry wine), I used dark sweet cherries (with the Dragon Blood Recipe) in place of the triple berries. The outcome was that I discovered the cherries do not impart very much---what we would call---"cherry" flavor. It came out more like a dry red wine, with moderate to heavy tannins. My wife, who hates dry red wines, said it tasted "buttery". To give it more of a standard "cherry" flavor, I backsweetened with some sugar and added a single packet of cherry Kool Aid. Johnna still doesn't like it, but I love it! It balanced out nicely.
> 
> I'm interested to hear how yours turns out. Good luck!


That's interesting because I have a 6 month old mead 3 gallon batch with 2 lbs of dark cherries and 2 lbs of pineapples that I just sampled yesterday. The smell and taste of the cherries definitely have a major presence. It took a while for it to come forward but it eventually did.


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## DirtyDawg10

Thanks for the input. I'm looking forward to trying this one. I'll let you know how it comes out.


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## dangerdave

nate0001 said:


> That's interesting because I have a 6 month old mead 3 gallon batch with 2 lbs of dark cherries and 2 lbs of pineapples that I just sampled yesterday. The smell and taste of the cherries definitely have a major presence. It took a while for it to come forward but it eventually did.


 
Perhaps a result of my impatence. I'm working on my first mead right now. Yours sounds good!


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## DirtyDawg10

I racked this to secondary tonight because it was at 0.998 SG. I'm gonna probably wait and stabilize and add the clearing agent tomorrow. I can't believe how dark this one is. I guess it is dark cherry but it is almost as dark as the merlot I'm making. Maybe that will change a bit during clearing. It smells super good!!


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## DirtyDawg10

Today I added 1/4 teaspoon of k-meta and 3 tsp of sorbate. Stirred it up real well and degassed then I added the sparkolloid. OK so it's not as dark as the merlot but much darker than my original batch of Dragon's Blood. The merlot is on the right and in my son's old winter coat is the Cherry Dragon's Blood.


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## dangerdave

It's clearing at the top already! Way to go, Derek!


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## geek

Looks good, I can smell from here....lol


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## DirtyDawg10

Thanks guys!


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## clifton

I had a batch of Skeeter Pee that I made with 32 oz Key lime juice and 64 oz lemon juice. I added 32 oz Knudsen Just black cherry to a gallon jug and topped up with unsweeted SP. SG should be 1.016 but I haven't checked yet. It is really dark. The rest of the batch got regular back sweetening treatment.


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## DirtyDawg10

Let me know how it is.


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## clifton

Sg was 1.016. Wife says it's a little to tart. I added one ounce of sugar which should bring sg up to 1.019.


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## DirtyDawg10

My original SP was super tart but after a while of aging it mellows out a bit.

This batch after it cleared now looks like a twin to my merlot. I'm sure they taste very different but I was surprised how close they are in color. The cherry is still on the left.


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## clifton

My wife prefers the Key lime/lemon skeeter pee to the Cherry version. She likes cherry limeade so that was my goal. However, she is happy with the lime so "if it ain't broke don't fix it."


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## DirtyDawg10

Today I finally got a chance to rack, back sweeten and bottle this one. It turned out great!! Got some very good reviews today from the house full of people we had. The only problem is this one will not last long.


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## dangerdave

DirtyDawg10 said:


> The only problem is this one will not last long.


 
Glad it turned out great! Sorry it won't last...


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## DirtyDawg10

lol...I'll get some pics up after I get the labels on. It is a dark red color. Not as dark as a merlot now that it is in the bottle but still a deep red. My wife is very happy with it and that's what counts  I name all of my wines after U2 song titles and my wife decided to call this one "Even Better Than The Real Thing"


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## DirtyDawg10

Here's a pic of the final product.


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## Pumpkinman

Looks great!!!!


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## cohenhouse77

DirtyDawg10 said:


> I name all of my wines after U2 song titles



That's awesome! I love it. If you have a bad tasting wine you could name it, "Still haven't found what I'm looking for."


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## DirtyDawg10

I'll have to remember that one. Hopefully I never have to use it though.


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## dangerdave

Could have been _Bloody Sunday_. Now that has potential for a nice red! ::


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## DirtyDawg10

dangerdave said:


> Could have been _Bloody Sunday_. Now that has potential for a nice red! ::


That's what I was planning to call my Merlot


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## kubi3875

seen this and had to try it thanks for a awsome idea my first batch is not even done clearing and i love the tartness so i used 48 oz lemon 30 oz lime and 10 lbs sweet cherrys im hoping for a strong limon lime flavor and a cherry to hit at the end


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## DirtyDawg10

Let me know how it turns out.


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## kubi3875

added my yeast last night and fermenting away sg was 1.080 tonight was 1.072 then i back sweetend my first batch of four berry i think im going to bottle 28 instead of 30 next week this stuff is awsome


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## DirtyDawg10

Everyone I've come across loves it...very encouraging.


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