Maraschino Liqueur

[Alchemist]

Marska is a brand name. It is good stuff milder than the Lux, which is both good , and bad. you need a full .75oz p/drink, so it brings the wash line to right where you need it.

[mkayahara]

Judging from their website (http://www.maraska.hr/), they make a Maraschino, a cherry brandy and a product called "Cherrica" that is described as a "piquant dessert wine." It does appear that the straw wrapper on the bottle is unique to the Maraschino, though, so if it has that, you're probably safe.

[slkinsey]

If it's maraschino, the liquid should be clear. Click here to see Maraska's packaging for their maraschino.

[bostonapothecary]

If it's maraschino, the liquid should be clear.  Click here to see Maraska's packaging for their maraschino.

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that is interesting i never knew there was a brand called marasca.... i always associated it with particular type of cherry flavor....

a great liqueur made of grapes but with the flavor of marasca is elisir gambrinus.... it is the specialty of the gambrinus restaurant. which i think is one of the oldest in the world.... i think the consultant wine maker is sergio zenato (the amarone maker)

they take this weed grape ribasso which is boring because it is watery and only has the one flavor note.... he reduces it and adds cane sugar.... then fortifies it with grappa and ages it in barriques....

one unlikely thing goes in but alot comes out....

i've used his technique before to make other liqueurs.... thinking about it is inspiring me to make some sweet vermouth....

red wine (rose?) & cherries, plums, apricots then reduced like zenato's.... gentian, worm wood, coffee.... 25 brix with cane sugar.... bring it up to 17% with grappa....

[mbrowley]

Two recipes for ersatz maraschino popped on my radar this week as I compiled notes on how I was going to enhooch five pounds of sour cherries. Haven't tried either and they're nothing you'd confuse with Luxardo's product, but for fun here are

Imitation Maraschino (1890's-1900's)

Stone 12 lb. of Morella [sic] cherries, bruise the fruit and the kernels, and put them into a large jar with two gallons of pure rectified spirits of wine, and nine pounds of crushed sugar candy. Bruise five pounds of fresh clean peach leaves, 6 oz of white rose petals, and 2 oz each of orange flower and white jessamine flowers in a mortar and add them to the other ingredients. Cork the jar tightly and infuse for 6 weeks, stirring occasionally, then strain through filtering-paper and store in airtight bottles.

M.E. Steedman (nd), Home-Made Beverages and American Drinks (The Food and Cookery Publishing Agency, London)

Marasquin

Avec 1 kg de cerises sèches, 1 litre d’eau de vie, 1 gousse de vanille, 300 grammes de miel, 1/2 litre d'eau et 200 grammes de sucre. On fair sécher les cerises en plein soleil pour les écraser avec leur noyau. On ajoute la vanille, le tout recouvert avec l'eau de vie pour une macération de 2 mois. Filtrer et ajouter le mélange miel et sirop de sucre. Bien mélanger, mettre en bouteilles et laisser viellier au frais.

Gilbert Fabiani (2000) Élixirs & Boissons Retrouvés (Editions Équinoxe, Barbentane)

Edited July 19, 2007 by mbrowley (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

Resurrecting another ancient thread...

Last weekend I tried the Adderley cocktail (Sam Ross): rye, lemon juice, maraschino, orange bitters. It's quite heavy on the maraschino (3/4 oz!). As a result it is a little overwhelming at first, and syrupy. After a few tastes, the rye comes through though. I liked it in the end. I would like to try it again with a rye that is a little more rough around the edges to balance the sweetness of the maraschino.

[Christina Lyons]

One more question on the maraschino/cherry liqueur front... I have a bottle of "Creme de Cerise", which I've been using as a sub for anything calling for cherry or maraschino liqueurs. Am I doing it wrong?

Yes, I would say so.

Maraschino doesn't taste particularly strongly of cherry. It tastes like... well... maraschino. Kind of like a sweetened cherry grappa, if that makes any sense. I assume that the "grappa-like" quality comes from the fact that it is distilled not only from the cherry fruits but also the pits, stems, etc.

Cherry grappa is exactly what it is. The entire family of Ex-Yugoslav beverages, of which šlivovic is the best-known, are mistakenly referred to as brandies. But there, these liquors are known as "rakijas" which is the word for grappa. I've had rakija from carob pods, walnuts (my favorite, Orahovac), pear, quince, and some grassy herbal ones that are considered medicinal.

Edited December 3, 2013 by heidih
Fix quote tags (log)

[EvergreenDan]

One more question on the maraschino/cherry liqueur front... I have a bottle of "Creme de Cerise", which I've been using as a sub for anything calling for cherry or maraschino liqueurs. Am I doing it wrong?

Yes, I would say so.

Maraschino doesn't taste particularly strongly of cherry. It tastes like... well... maraschino. Kind of like a sweetened cherry grappa, if that makes any sense. I assume that the "grappa-like" quality comes from the fact that it is distilled not only from the cherry fruits but also the pits, stems, etc.

Cherry grappa is exactly what it is. The entire family of Ex-Yugoslav beverages, of which šlivovic is the best-known, are mistakenly referred to as brandies. But there, these liquors are known as "rakijas" which is the word for grappa. I've had rakija from carob pods, walnuts (my favorite, Orahovac), pear, quince, and some grassy herbal ones that are considered medicinal.

Christina,

You seem to have some personal knowledge of spirits that readers of this forum would find interesting. I encourage you to share what you know -- your efforts will be appreciated.

As I understand it, a grappa is made from distilling the fermented pomace (remaining pulp, skin, seeds, stems after pressing the juice from the must (squished whole grapes)). Are you saying that "cherry grappa" is made from distilling what's left over after squeezing out cherry juice?

I would contrast this to an general eau-de-vie which is made from distilling the fermented must or juice of a fruit. Kirschwasser is perhaps the most famous eau-de-vie of the stone fruit family (distilled from fermented crushed whole cherries).

Maraschino liqueur -- and the Luxardo brand in particular -- has a strong funky non-cherry flavor that its unique and difficult to describe. Interestingly the Leopold Maraschino liqueur has a much stronger cherry flavor, and much less funk.

I'm not sure how best to use the Leopold product. It seems to get lost in cocktails that were designed for Luxardo (e.g. Last Word/Ward/Whatever). It is lovely on its own and maybe needs some brand-specific recipes.

[Rafa]

Maybe try using it in place of cherry syrup or liqueur? If it has a strong cherry flavor, it might be a good fit for cocktails where the heavy body and dark flavors of brandy-based cherry liqueurs like Heering would be out of place. You could also use it in place of kirsch and simple syrup in cocktails that call for both.

[slkinsey]

Maraschino doesn't taste particularly strongly of cherry. It tastes like... well... maraschino. Kind of like a sweetened cherry grappa, if that makes any sense. I assume that the "grappa-like" quality comes from the fact that it is distilled not only from the cherry fruits but also the pits, stems, etc.

Cherry grappa is exactly what it is. The entire family of Ex-Yugoslav beverages, of which šlivovic is the best-known, are mistakenly referred to as brandies. But there, these liquors are known as "rakijas" which is the word for grappa. I've had rakija from carob pods, walnuts (my favorite, Orahovac), pear, quince, and some grassy herbal ones that are considered medicinal.

Yea, I'm not so sure about that. Grappa is technically fermented out of the grape pomace (seeds, skins, stems, etc) leftover after the fermented wine is pressed out. Rakia seems to be more like a Balkan style of eau de vie (i.e., unaged fruit brandy). My understanding of the Luxardo process, meanwhile, is that they actually separate the fruit from the pits, etc., ferment/distill the two products separately, and then combine the resulting spirits later on. So it has "grappa like" characteristics due to the distilled pits, but can't really be called a grappa because it is in no way a pomace.

[FrogPrincesse]

Maraschino liqueur -- and the Luxardo brand in particular -- has a strong funky non-cherry flavor that its unique and difficult to describe. Interestingly the Leopold Maraschino liqueur has a much stronger cherry flavor, and much less funk.

I'm not sure how best to use the Leopold product. It seems to get lost in cocktails that were designed for Luxardo (e.g. Last Word/Ward/Whatever). It is lovely on its own and maybe needs some brand-specific recipes.

I was at Bar Agricole earlier this year and got a chance to try the Leopold maraschino liqueur. I did not realize at the time that it got developed in part due to Bar Agricole's idea to source small-batch craft liqueurs (article here).

In any case, it is indeed more subtle than Luxardo but it still has the profile of a maraschino liqueur. It has plenty of character. Some people use low amounts of maraschino in their Hemingway Daiquiris because the maraschino tends to take over. I think the Leopold would be good in such a case. Bar Agricole uses the maraschino in the Turf Club cocktail (gin, dry vermouth, maraschino liqueur, absinthe rinse, orange bitters).

Note that Leopold also makes a cherry liqueur, but that's a different product which is more similar to cherry heering.

[EvergreenDan]

No grapefruit, but I tried:

2 oz Rhum JM (white)

1 oz Leopold Maraschino

1/2 oz lime juice

1/4 oz simple

1 Luxardo Marschino cherry

OK, not very Hemingway, but a nice (but not spectacular) drink. Not too much Maraschino at all. I was surprised that it needed the simple, although if I were in the mood for a bracingly sour drink, I'd skip it.

I'm starting to think that Leopold Maraschino is like good cognac -- just gets lost in a cocktail.

[KD1191]

I'm starting to think that Leopold Maraschino is like good cognac -- just gets lost in a cocktail.

Well, I've always thought Luxardo was far too assertive... The Leopold is less sharp, so I can't argue with it being harder to immediately pick out, but the flavor is so much more complex than Luxardo in my opinion. The distinctive pot still characteristics, the touch of coriander, the additional natural cherry flavors, all terrific to play with in Manhattan variants, Martinezes, various "Improved" cocktails, etc. Sure, it might not stand up to a ton of citrus or Chartreuse, but I'm not sure they intended it to.

[FrogPrincesse]

Detailed tasting notes on Luxardo and Maraska maraschino liqueurs on the Booze Nerds blog.

The Luxardo adds more bitterness and almond flavors, along with cherry pit flavors as opposed to the flesh. The Maraska adds a lot of cherry fruit flavors along with the almond, and is substantially less bitter. It is also creamier, spicier, and a little less sweet.

[Hassouni]

I was at my favorite boozeria looking for Luxardo when their main man said they stopped carrying it after they conducted a taste test between Leopold, Lazzaroni, and Luxardo, and the results came in that order. They were out of the Leopold, so Lazzaroni was suggested. I found it very unpleasant. Almost like cherry halls or something, very candy-like, with none of the complex funk of Luxardo, and way too sweet.

Fortunately, Joe Riley at Ace Beverages is a stand-up gent, and he let me return my opened bottle for store credit.