Luxardo Perla Dry Riserva Speciale

[trillium]

Anyone know what this is?

There are a couple of dusty bottles at our favorite booze store in Madison, but I can't find any info on them. They were priced about $3 more/bottle then the Luxardo maraschino.

regards,

trillium

[eje]

I found this on the Luxardo web site:

Perla Dry

Perla Dry 70°

A special Luxardo Maraschino riserve. Luxardo directly supervises the cultivation and harvest of tens of thousand of Marasca cherries plants, a special cherry variety. By distilling these cherries and aging them in special Finnish ash vats, a unique, elegant and finely aromatic product, Luxardo Maraschino is obtained. A small part of this unique product is further aged to complete and round out the bouquet and to obtain an even greater concentrate that releases a high aromatic force. Highly recommended for use in pralines (truffles).

[trillium]

Wow, google really let me down! I did a site search and din't pull up anything. Thanks. I think my curiousity is just going to make me purchase a bottle just to find out how different it is.

regards,

trillium

[lemon_twist]

Did you ever pick this stuff up? I just noticed it listed in the inventory of my local liquor source and was curious as well. It was listed as a grappa (although you would think it would be listed as an eau de vie).

[jmfangio]

I don't know about this - I checked it out on the Luxardo website, and I really think it's just for using in confections. It's 140 proof, so that's one Aviation that wound certainly have you flying!

[slkinsey]

Just picked up a bottle of Perla Dry. Haven't tried it, but wanted to clear up one thing: It does not appear to be extra high proof, or at least that is not the case of the bottling that is available in the States. Mine is 40% alcohol.

When I get home I'll crack it open and give it a try. Also picked up a bottle of Sangue Morlacco which, besides having a really cool name, seems promising.

[jmfangio]

Also picked up a bottle of Sangue Morlacco which, besides having a really cool name, seems promising.

←

Have you had a chance to try the Sangue Morlacco yet, and how do you think it compares to Cherry Heering?

I ask because this weekend is the maiden Singapore Grand Prix, and as a rabid food/cocktails/Formula 1 fan I always try to match a meal and/or beverage to the race venue. A Singapore Sling seems appropriate, especially given that one section of the street course runs right down Raffles Blvd.

Edited September 23, 2008 by jmfangio (log)

[slkinsey]

So... I'm tasting Luxardo's Maraschino and Perla Dry side-by-side. The Perla has a deeper flavor, seems less sweet, and perhaps has a bit more of a grappa-like nose. I'm going to take a bottle down to play with some friends tomorrow and we'll see what we think. More to come...

[slkinsey]

So, a bunch of us sampled Perla Dry at Pegu Club last night.

We all tasted Perla Dry side-by-side with regular Luxardo, and Kenta was kind enough to mix us a flight of Aviations including one with regular Luxardo, one with half/half, and one with Perla Dry. It was easy to distinguish between the samples in a blind tasting. Everyone immediately identified Perla Dry just from the nose, and this was as true for the Aviations as it was from the straight liqueur tastings. It's not easy to say exactly what makes Perla Dry different from Luxardo's Maraschino, as Perla Dry still has all the hallmarks that say "Luxardo Maraschino." But the flavor is deeper, there is more complexity and some distinctive elements to the nose. I think there is also some benefit to the higher proof.

Considering the slight difference in price (Perla Dry was priced less than a dollar more than regular Luxardo Maraschino at Spec's in Houston), I would think that Perla Dry is an obvious way to increase quality and interest in Maraschino cocktails.