Maraschino Liqueur

[slkinsey]

Ah, okay. They grow some across the other side of the Adriatic too.

[Lan4Dawg]

Are these types of cherries grown in the US?  I recently picked up The Great Italian Cookbook which has a recipe for Maraschino.  They steep 4 cups of Morello cherry pits in 2 cups of 80* liquor for 2.5+ months and then add 2 cups of simple syrup.   Is this oversimplified?  I thought I read here that Maraschino included some fruit or leaves etc...

As far as I know, Maraska cherries are only grown in Dalmatia . . .

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Preiss, who imports Luxardo products, says that Luxardo has approximately 22,000 maraska cherry trees in Italy.

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did you happen to ask them about getting their stuff in Georgia?

[limewine]

Yea, I think you do want to do a sugar rim.  You also want to have an orange peel going all the way around the inside of the glass.

Orange or lemon? I've made crustas both ways, and while the orange adds a pleasant fresh orange-y taste and smell to the drink, between the orange peel and the curacao (and orange bitters, if you use Gary Regan's recipe), that one flavor is too prominent, IMO. With a lemon peel, I think there's a better balance of flavor and aroma (I think Thomas calls for lemon peel in his recipe).

Paul

[Nathan P.]

I used a lemon peel most of the way around the glass. (this means of course as long as I could cut it !) Did not have an orange and since I needed the lemon juice anyway....

The photo from the Museum of the Modern Cocktail is the same as used in DeGroff's 'Craft of the Cocktail'. Mine was not nearly as pretty. Have to pick up some rye to try as well.

[mrbigjas]

katie, there were two up until about a month ago, when i bought the second to last bottle up in chestnut hill. and i've been swilling it ever since (if you can call putting .5 oz into a drink that you have one of a couple times a week 'swilling').

the drink i've enjoyed the most was the fancy free cocktail, which i made in part because i picked up orange bitters at the new dibruno's at the same time. also aviations, which are great drinks. there was one i had (might have been the tennessee cocktail) which i didn't like at all.

the real problem is now i'm gonna have to go out and spend another $33 on a bottle of grand marnier or cointreau (i bought several airplane bottles of g.m. for cocktail tasting purposes).

slkinsey, that's pretty fascinating about their process. i love things like that--so much effort going into a liquor that is used in such small quantities and isn't very common at all. excellent.

[KatieLoeb]

James:

Grand Marnier and Cointreau do not do the same thing in a cocktail. Both are 80 proof but Cointreau is the very best triple sec known to man, distilled from sweet and bitter orange peels, a bit of pure laser beam focused orange flavor. Grand Marnier is sweeter and has vanilla and Cognac in the base as well as getting some oak ageing. If you want Grand Marnier and don't want to shell out the $32.99 it costs in PA, you can buy Gran Gala (PLCB website spells it "grangala" all as one word if you're searching) liqueur which is an able mirror image of it for $17.99.

There's no substitute for Cointreau that's as close a match except perhaps the Marie Brizard Triple sec. But even that's different.

Cointreau is it's own thing IMO. It's an old "secret recipe" that no one has seemed to duplicate well.

[lancastermike]

Mixed this last night and found it to be very nice, a modified Fancy free

2oz borboun

1/2 oz Luxardo Maraschino

a dash of both orange and Angustouro bitters

AND a splash of homemade Limoncello.

The limoncello added a real citrus taste to this. I did not find it overly sweet, but some may. In any case it was pretty darn good

Edited September 5, 2005 by lancastermike (log)

[donbert]

My understanding is that the Luxardo Amaretto is also top notch.  Much more bitter almond and less sweet and sticky than DiSaronno.  I'm hoping my purveyor has both in his bag of tricks so I can taste that too.

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I was told that the Luxardo Amaretto is actually made with almonds unlike Disaronno which is made from peach pits.

Have you tried their Marasca cherries? Also an amazing product from the Luxardo folks.

[slkinsey]

Note: I split off the discussion about buying maraschino in Pennsylvania into that forum.

[KatieLoeb]

My understanding is that the Luxardo Amaretto is also top notch.  Much more bitter almond and less sweet and sticky than DiSaronno.  I'm hoping my purveyor has both in his bag of tricks so I can taste that too.

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I was told that the Luxardo Amaretto is actually made with almonds unlike Disaronno which is made from peach pits.

Have you tried their Marasca cherries? Also an amazing product from the Luxardo folks.

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Well - my salesman did indeed stop by today and I have some Marashino to play with. I made an Aviation and a Fancy Free at the bar today before I left and let everyone try one. They were both delicious and I think I could actually get used to the "juniper infused vodka" that way.

I also got a chance to try the Luxardo Amaretto. It's awesome stuff! It's true the Luxardo is made with real almonds and you can totally smell and taste the difference. Makes DiSaronno taste like a watered down Jacquin's "schnapps" product by comparison. The pastry chef was drooling over the Luxardo amaretto as her mind started reeling with possibilities the moment she tasted it.

I haven't seen the Maraska cherries but they sound delicious!

[eje]

Mixed ... a modified Fancy free

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Didn't try adding limoncello; but, added a generous twist of satsuma peel for garnish. Perfect to warm the toes after a long, cold, wet commute home.

-Erik

edit - wrong citrus.

Edited February 2, 2006 by eje (log)

[Jack Rose]

DiSaranno is a liqueur made from the maceration of apricot kernels, or pits. Apricot kernels are also ground into a paste which is used as a substitue for marizpan in baking, because of the similar flavor profile. Which interestingly enough contain trace amounts of cyanide, which evidently is not passed into the liqueur.

[KatieLoeb]

DiSaranno is a liqueur made from the maceration of apricot kernels, or pits.  Apricot kernels are also ground into a paste which is used as a substitue for marizpan in baking, because of the similar flavor profile. Which interestingly enough contain trace amounts of cyanide, which evidently is not passed into the liqueur.

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Yes - I learned this as part of getting schooled on the Luxardo amaretto. Astonishing how much better the real thing is than the apricot kernel facsimile.

[KatieLoeb]

James:

Grand Marnier and Cointreau do not do the same thing in a cocktail. Both are 80 proof but Cointreau is the very best triple sec known to man, distilled from sweet and bitter orange peels, a bit of pure laser beam focused orange flavor. Grand Marnier is sweeter and has vanilla and Cognac in the base as well as getting some oak ageing.  If you want Grand Marnier and don't want to shell out the $32.99 it costs in PA, you can buy Gran Gala (PLCB website spells it "grangala" all as one word if you're searching) liqueur which is an able mirror image of it for $17.99.

There's no substitute for Cointreau that's as close a match except perhaps the Marie Brizard Triple sec.  But even that's different.

Cointreau is it's own thing IMO.  It's an old "secret recipe" that no one has seemed to duplicate well.

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I stand self-corrected. Luxardo makes a product called Triplum Orange Dry which is a very able substitute for Cointreau at about $8-10 less per bottle. I'd never seen this stuff before but got a taste of it earlier this week when checking out some of the Luxardo product line. This would make a fine Sidecar or stand in ably anywhere else you need that really focused orange flavor in a cocktail.

[KatieLoeb]

OK - a bit of playing around with my Luxardo Maraschino has yielded the following drink:

Red Feather Boa

2.0 oz. Old Overholt Rye

0.5 oz. fresh lemon juice

0.5 oz. Luxardo maraschino

0.25 oz. (or one barspoon) Fee Brothers American Beauty Grenadine

2 dashes bitters

Shake with cracked ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass. Tastes a bit like a Manhattan but less alcoholic and hot. The grenadine really softens the bite and the lemon juice gives it a nice tang.

[lancastermike]

OK - a bit of playing around with my Luxardo Maraschino has yielded the following drink:

Red Feather Boa

2.0 oz. Old Overholt Rye

0.5 oz. fresh lemon juice

0.5 oz. Luxardo maraschino

0.25 oz. (or one barspoon) Fee Brothers American Beauty Grenadine

2 dashes bitters

Shake with cracked ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass.  Tastes a bit like a Manhattan but less alcoholic and hot.  The grenadine really softens the bite and the lemon juice gives it a nice tang.

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This is sort of like something that has become one of my favorites.

Instead of the grenadine I use about the same amount of Limoncello, made fron the famous K.Loeb receipe. I love the lemom taste and it gives it just a little sweetness.

Also make this with borboun, but the rye is better, as the borboun drink can get alittle too sweet

Edited February 10, 2006 by lancastermike (log)

[Lan4Dawg]

Other than the Aviation our favorite maraschino cocktail is probably this one:

Fancy-Free Cocktail

2 ounces Bourbon.

1/2 ounce maraschino.

1 dash Angostura bitters.

1 dash orange bitters.

Stir and strain, stemless cherry garnish.

Chuck

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thx Chuck as this has become one of my favorite "winter" cocktails. How ever to be fair I do play w/ it a hint using just a touch less maraschino and, not being a fan of cherries in my cocktails I skip that step but the bitters round out the bourbon and the maraschino very well and make it a wonderful cocktail.

btw, I had to go to Tennessee in order to find Luxardo Maraschino. Luckily there is a store just out side of Knoxville that, according to the Luxardo distributor in Tenn, orders a case of it every month or so. He has no explanation for their unusual sales but says it is one of the few places that orders it w/ any regularity.

[lancastermike]

Got a bottle of Fee Brothers Peach Bitters, found this on Cocktail DB

The Flying Fish

Stir in mixing glass with ice & strain

1 3/4 oz gin (5 cl, 7/16 gills)

3/4 oz orange curacao (2 cl, 3/16 gills)

1/4 oz maraschino liqueur (6 dashes, 1/16 gills)

1 dash peach bitters

This was very nice. The peach was the last taste in the sip. Another good maraschino drink. The peach bitters was very nice. Both Maggie and I liked this alot

[Chris Amirault]

Another splendid use of maraschino is this Gary & Mardee Regan revision of the Brandy Crusta:

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Thanks for this tip, plattetude. I just read Gary Regan's wonderful Joy of Mixology and immediately ran out to get a bottle of the Luxardo maraschino. This was a fantastic first drink to test it out.

[KatieLoeb]

Another splendid use of maraschino is this Gary & Mardee Regan revision of the Brandy Crusta:

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Thanks for this tip, plattetude. I just read Gary Regan's wonderful Joy of Mixology and immediately ran out to get a bottle of the Luxardo maraschino. This was a fantastic first drink to test it out.

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That is a great drink. I tried it and loved it too. If only replacing my bottle of Luxardo Maraschino wasn't such a pain in this state...

Try making one of my Red Feather Boas from upthread and tell me what you think. The really good Fee Brothers grenadine is crucial but I think some homemade grenadine might work too. My understanding is that equal measures of Pom Wonderful juice and sugar brought to the boil and simmered for ten minutes and then cooled and a small measure of vodka thrown in for preservation is pretty good stuff.

[Lan4Dawg]

I just saw Luxardo Maraschino at Tower Package in Buckhead (Atlanta). They did not carry it for the longest time but it was there last w/e. I do not know if so many folks had begged for it that they finally got it in the store or what.

Of course it figures that it is now available in Atlanta after I went all over the South East looking for it and now have two + bottles (inc. one I got for Dave the Cook who if he does not stop by and get it soon....)

[stickyii]

Katie,

I didn't find it too evil to place an SLO. Quick phone call, wait a week, pick it up at your local store...

I'm not sure how close you live to Delaware, but I was there last weekend and was easily able to find some stuff that is harder to get here:

Noilly Prat (sweet and dry)

Punt e Mes

Martinique Rum (St. James)

Rhum Barbancourt

Not that I bought any...

[eje]

Got a bottle of Fee Brothers Peach Bitters, found this on Cocktail DB

The Flying Fish

...

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Tried this last week.

Didn't think the peach bitters had enough actual bitterness to balance out the sweetness of the liqueurs. Might be OK as an after dinner cocktail.

Mike, did you use orange curacao or sub in cointreau (or another triple sec)?

[lancastermike]

Got a bottle of Fee Brothers Peach Bitters, found this on Cocktail DB

The Flying Fish

...

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Tried this last week.

Didn't think the peach bitters had enough actual bitterness to balance out the sweetness of the liqueurs. Might be OK as an after dinner cocktail.

Mike, did you use orange curacao or sub in cointreau (or another triple sec)?

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I used the Luxardo Triplum Orange Dry, which is like Cointreau only different. The bottle is even shaped like the Cointreau bottle. In a side by side it has a more pronounced orange flavor and is a little less sweet than Cointreau. It has become my favorite bitter orange.

I'm a big fan of bitters no matter which variety and I believe I used more than the one dash called for in the receipe

Edited April 17, 2006 by lancastermike (log)

[eje]

It's been sort of spring-ish this week so something similar to a Hemingway Daiquiri (Floridita) didn't seem too out of place this evening.

Mashed up a quartered key lime in 1/2 tsp. of simple syrup in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Added 2 oz. Flor de Cana Extra Dry, 1/4 oz Maraschino, squeeze of about a 1/6th of a grapefruit, and ice. Shook until it was cold and strained into a cocktail glass.

Yeah, I could drink a double. No problemo.