Maraschino (Humpty Dumpty Cocktail)

Looking at the current state of the bar, it’s time to add our first liqueur. There is an extremely large number of them to choose from, so which way to turn?

Adding Cointreau/triple sec/orange curaçao might be a good choice, because lots of recipes use a variant of these orange flavoured liqueurs. However, we’re bound to stumble upon that sooner or later, so no rush. I’d rather take a sharp turn here and introduce a liqueur that steeps the bar in cocktail history and opens up the repertoire to some true classics.

Although maybe a bit harder to find than the more popular liqueurs, it’s well worth it. If you’re half serious about mixing drinks, this is one of the liqueurs you should include in your bar.

Maraschino (pronounced marr-a-SKEE-no), also known as marasquin, is a relatively dry, bittersweet liqueur that’s made of Marasca cherries. It’s very different from other cherry liqueurs or cherry brandy liqueurs.

It’s also one of the few liqueurs that’s distilled; the whole cherry, including the pit and stem, is used in the distillation process (after being crushed).

Maraschino hails from the city Zadar, the capital of Dalmatia (which is currently in Croatia). Industrial-scale production was started in the 18^th century by the Venetian merchant Drioli, followed suit by Luxardo and Vlahov in the 19^th century. After World War II, all companies were forced to retreat to Italy. Only Luxardo still exists today, which chose to continue its production in Torreglia (in the Veneto region).

It is widely viewed as the premium brand for maraschino, but tastes will differ, obviously. When tasting several liqueurs, my girlfriend commented that the Luxardo smelt somewhat like methyl alcohol. I had to agree, I guess… but it still mixes nicely, though. I wouldn’t drink maraschino straight, but some people apparently don’t shy away from that.

The straw jacket for the bottles was a traditional Venetian way of making sure that bottles would survive a long sea voyage.

So what can we actually make with maraschino? It is an ingredient in classics like the Martinez (precursor of the Martini), the Aviation and la Floridita Daiquiri (that would be the version Hemingway preferred). Other notable cocktails are the Casino Cocktail, Charleston Cocktail, Imperial, Last Word and Opera.

Since we have a limited bar at our disposal, I’d first like to introduce a simple cocktail that’s undeservedly quite unknown.

Humpty Dumpty Cocktail

This one is found in Hugo Ensslin’s Recipes for Mixed Drinks. The original version has a 2 : 1 ratio for vermouth versus maraschino, but I prefer the recipe according to the CocktailDB: the vermouth has to work hard enough to get the maraschino under control.

Most notable is the lack of a base spirit: it is only aperitif wine with liqueur.

It’s really worth a try, especially if you’re an Alice fan like me (Through the Looking-Glass).

5 parts dry vermouth

2 parts maraschino

glass:  cocktail

Stir with ice and strain into the glass.

The colour is quite nice… all due to the vermouth (because the maraschino is colourless). Stirring the cocktail keeps the liquid clear, as is easily seen by the near perfect reflection of the wall of a neighboring building.
In a way, this mirror quality makes this cocktail Through the Looking-Glass (And What Alice Tasted There).