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LiqueursHigh confidenceStandard, well-documented liqueur category.

Maraschino Liqueur

Maraschino liqueur is a clear, dry cherry liqueur distilled from Marasca cherries and their crushed pits, giving it a distinctive almond-like, floral character rather than straightforward cherry sweetness. It is used sparingly as an accent rather than a dominant flavour. A small amount adds surprising complexity to a cocktail.

cherry-almondfloraldrydistinctive

Common uses

  • small-dose accent in stirred cocktails
  • adds complexity to shaken sours

Buying & storage

Keeps more or less indefinitely: Alcohol is preserving it. An open bottle keeps for a very long time, though aromatics do fade slowly.

Storage: keeps well once opened, store upright away from light

In depth

Understanding maraschino liqueur

How it is made, where it comes from, what it pairs with, and how it behaves in an alcohol-free drink.

Origin

Distilled from Marasca cherries, historically centred on Zadar, Croatia.

Recipes

Cocktails containing this ingredient

Aviation

Gin, maraschino and a whisper of violette, shaken with lemon — pale purple and quietly complex.

sourdryherbal
medium5 mingin
A Last Word cocktail in a coupe glass, pale green and clear

Last Word

Equal parts gin, green Chartreuse, maraschino liqueur and lime — a Prohibition-era puzzle that somehow balances four loud ingredients perfectly.

herbalsourstrong
medium5 mingin

Mary Pickford

White rum, pineapple juice, grenadine and a whisper of maraschino — a pink, glamorous 1920s Havana classic.

fruitysweettropical
easy5 minrum

Brandy Crusta

Cognac, orange liqueur, maraschino and lemon in a sugar-rimmed glass lined with a long citrus spiral.

strongsourdry
advanced8 minbrandy

Martinez

Gin, sweet vermouth, maraschino and bitters, stirred — the richer, older drink the Martini came from.

strongsweetherbal
medium4 mingin

Brooklyn

Rye, dry vermouth, maraschino and a bitter amaro — the Manhattan's drier, more bitter relative.

strongdrybitter
medium4 minwhisky

Garnish

Cocktails garnished with maraschino liqueur

These recipes don't mix it in — they finish with it, which is usually where its aroma does the most work.

Three Dots and a Dash

Dark and gold rum shaken with citrus, falernum and allspice dram — a spiced tiki classic named for its Morse-code cherry garnish.

spicyfruitystrong
medium7 minrum

Planters Punch

Dark rum, lime, orange and a dash of bitters, built by the pitcher — a Caribbean punch built on the old 'one of sour, two of sweet' rhyme.

fruitystrongsweet
easy8 minrum

Explore

Related ingredients

Gin

Spirits

Lime Juice

Juices

Orange Curaçao

Liqueurs