Maraschino Liqueur and the Opera Cocktail


Maraschino LiqueurI first encountered maraschino liqueur while perusing through Paul Harrington’s cocktail website that was being published by HotWired back when the web was young. He presented a couple different cocktails which used this product, but warned that it was nearly impossible to find. Today, Paul’s site is gone, but fortunately maraschino liqueur has seen a modern resurgence. It’s not so much “if” you can find maraschino liqueur, but “which” maraschino liqueur you can find. The three brands I often come across as Luxardo, Maraska, and Stock. And while I haven’t seen it for sale in the states yet, Bols also makes a maraschino liqueur.

Maraschino liqueur, is of course closely associated with maraschino cherries. Time once was, when real maraschino cherries were Marasca cherries which had been soaking in maraschino liqueur. It is important of course not to confuse real maraschino cherries with the modern day equivalent. Today’s sad little nearly-faux cherries are simply soaking in an artificially colored and artificially flavored sugar syrup, which is nowhere near the same thing as maraschino liqueur. Maraschino liqueur is made from the fruit, seeds, and even stems of the Marasca cherry, it is distilled clear, and sweetened, and presents a very unique flavor that is both fruity and slightly nutty as the same time.

Opera CocktailWhile maraschino liqueur used to be a somewhat common ingredient in cocktails prior to prohibition, those years the formed our cocktail lobotomy pushed this ingredient out of our minds and it really never quite was able to get a strong foothold again, until just recently. Things probably started when folks wanted to make the Aviation cocktail which is what I had first read about on Paul Harrington’s site, but once this elusive ingredient had been acquired, it was of course important to try to find more drinks which would make use of it as well.

One drink which I’ve really enjoyed, is the “Opera” cocktail:

Opera

  • 2 ounces gin
  • 1/2 ounce Dubonnet
  • 1/4 ounce maraschino liqueur
  • 1 dash orange bitters

Stir with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a Lemon Twist.



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April 16th, 2007
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Comment Number:
1
Written by:
Dr. Bamboo
Posted on:
April 16, 2007 at 10:44 pm

I’ve been dying to get my hands on ANY maraschino liqueur. It’s not available locally, so I’m hoping demand for it continues to rise and it starts showing up in my neck of the woods.

Comment Number:
2
Written by:
Robert Hess
Posted on:
April 16, 2007 at 11:45 pm

Where is your neck of the woods? Many, if not all, of the internet wine&spirits retailers offer maraschino. I’d recommend checking out samswine.com to see if they are able to ship into your area.

Comment Number:
3
Written by:
Lonnie Bruner
Posted on:
April 18, 2007 at 3:18 am

Awesome. But I want to know:

Which brand do you recommend?

Is it available in DC?

Thanks.

Comment Number:
4
Written by:
Robert Hess
Posted on:
April 18, 2007 at 1:17 pm

Yes, I’ve heard that Maraschino is available in DC, but I’m on the other coast, so don’t know the stores over there.

My personal preference is Luxardo, although there are many that prefer Maraska. The two have some distinct differences in their flavors.

Comment Number:
5
Written by:
Dr. Bamboo
Posted on:
April 18, 2007 at 2:38 pm

“Where is your neck of the woods?”

My neck of the woods is Pennsylvania, unfortunately. All liquor sales here are controlled by the Orwellian-sounding “Liquor Control Board”, hence the terrible selection. Alcohol also cannot be shipped directly to the consumer from out-of-state, ruling out all those great online suppliers. Think of PA as “Utah Lite”.

I usually end up giving friends a shopping list when they visit adjacent states. ;-)

Comment Number:
6
Written by:
Robert Hess
Posted on:
April 18, 2007 at 8:43 pm

According to the shipping information listed at WineGlobe.com, the deal with Pennsylvania is:

“Residents will be able to buy a product from (a Web site) and then they will ship it to the state Liquor Control Board, [which] will have it directed to a state store of your choice. Customer will pay for taxes during pick up.”

Which I suppose in the end is about the same as saying “you can’t do that”.

Here in WA we are a “state owned” monopoly as well. So I am quite familiar with the problems of only having access to the products that the state feels it wants to bring in. Fortunately that includes Maraschino! (oh, sorry, didn’t mean to rub it in)

Comment Number:
7
Written by:
Dr. Bamboo
Posted on:
April 19, 2007 at 5:43 pm

Yeah, it is technically possible to do it- I looked into it a while back, and by the time they tack on all the misc. fees & taxes, it becomes prohibitively expensive (The extra costs can be more than the bottle itself).

I’m an optimist though…I’m hoping sooner or later they’ll do away with the “state store” system entirely and we’ll get a bit more choice & convenience. Besides, I’m not *that* far from Ohio.

Comment Number:
8
Written by:
Thomas
Posted on:
April 22, 2007 at 3:22 pm

Someone ought to start a national campaign against the Soviet-style “control state” system /and/ the artificial economics of the “three-tier” system as well. Both are significant entry barriers to new distilleries and to consumer choice.
The problem with State control of liquor sales is obvious. Sales are managed by people who have no entrepreneurial interest in the business. Generally they’re only interested in moving cases that they know will move, which means mass-market products.
The three-tier system institutionalizes the market control of big distributors who thereby claim the lion’s share of the shelf price. And who are also motivated to focus their efforts on mass-market products that will bring them the highest volume of sales. Small distilleries or importers cannot distribute their own products, the law requires them to sell to distributors. And the distributors will generally not give them the time of day.
Small producers and small distributors are squeezed out. Especially after you marry the three-tier system with the Soviet store system.

Comment Number:
9
Written by:
Thomas
Posted on:
April 22, 2007 at 3:28 pm

I should also add that I first bought Maraschino in DC a few years ago. At the time Luxardo and Stock were available there (in different stores).
Once I made my wife a more interesting version of her usual cranberry juice and vodka cocktail by floating a little Maraschino on top of it. Well she liked that! A few weeks later I discovered my special-occasion bottle of Maraschino was empty!
Thankfully I have loving friends who last year simultaneously sent me some more from New York (Luxardo) and New Orleans (Stock).