In fact, I understand that my previous post for 25 thousand beechs is a natural obsession from horror of losing Martinez combined with compulsion to press keys on my beloved Mac in anxious anticipation of the fourth wave of mobilization :) I am aware of all this and promise to fight, honestly;)
And as a struggle, I decided to drink according to the book, but what, this has been mainstream for a long time, Eric drank it ‘The Savoy Cocktail Book’, why am I worse :)
And here, well, that is, when you decide drink by book, the main thing here is not to be embarrassed. Because there are a lot of books, but not all are equally useful and not all are as smart as we would like. So I had to think a lot about what to do, but thanks to our American colleagues, a solution was found [Blogs like this actually make me just moan with pleasure! How I miss communicating with such smart people, although they don’t know how to take photographs.] .
So, let's meet the recipe from my new physically tangible books ‘The Gentleman’s Companion: Being An Exotic Drinking Book Or, Around the World with Jigger, Beaker and Flask’ by Baker, Charles Henry Jr. (1939, USA). Already by the first letter of the name of the recipe, I think it’s clear that drink a book I decided not stupid from start to finish, and so... periodically;)
The history of the Creole Contentment cocktail is currently practically unknown. Charles Henry Baker Jr. reports that it was originally a New Orleans invention. On my own behalf, I can add that, most likely, from a French-speaking environment, despite the name in difficult English. But, to be honest, it was not the story that attracted me to this cocktail, but the opportunity to use Madeira - one of my new passions, with which I, however, have been friends since winter, but only now decided open up.
In fact, the original Creole Contentment prescribes equal shares of alcoholic components, with the exception of bitters, but great specialist Charles H. Baker Jr. advises halve maraschino and increase in the same proportion cognac. Since I'm not a mathematician, but lawyer:), my recipe for this cocktail will look like this:
Creole Contentment
45 ml cognac
30 ml Madeira
15 ml maraschino liqueur
1 [generous] dash of orange bitters
Stir all ingredients with plenty of ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with 1 maraschino cherry on a skewer.
Before drinking the first cocktail, I set myself two interesting tasks - No. 1 - Determine which version is better - the original or the version from Charles Baker and No. 2 - feel the difference in Madeira on the version I liked [I happened to have two at the bar Madeira poles – Madeira from the same manufacturer Special Dry and Full Rich].
I started Certainly, from Baker's version [on Remy Martin V.S.O.P., with my favorite at the moment Henriques&Henriques Madeira Full Rich + my generous dash calm Fee Brothers West Indian Orange Bitters] – and it turned out, oh! a very interesting cocktail, which really reeks of the nobility of the [Golden Age]. Only maraschino sticks out somewhat on the palate, but, to be honest, there is not only liqueur, there is also cognac. The strength is very good. The cocktail is monolithic, perfectly put together, especially at the entrance. The entrance is round, sweet, smooth and very aromatic, rich. It has lots and lots of chocolate... Oh yes! Chocolate! Lovely!
As a result, although initially I was going to try and original copybook, at the very first cocktail I clearly felt and realized that I didn’t want more maraschino and less cognac:) [well, who would especially doubt the latter]. Task No. 1 was thus discarded.
In an attempt to develop tactical success in the same composition of players, H&H Special Dry Madeira was used. And... Well, no... - that was the first impression... Where is the chocolate? And in general, where all the velvet and nobility come from the Golden Age? As it turned out, sweet Madeira works and definitely does :)
Thus, let me completely disagree with everyone who recommends dry Madeira in this cocktail. No. For those sweet-toothed fans of Golden Age cocktails [which are also martinized there's a whole month before this] how I don't like it at all :) Only syrup-like full-bodied sweet Madeiras full of flavors and aromas [as well as carbohydrates :) ] are able to give us the real Creole satisfaction :)
So, despite, let's say, special situation, we are holding our next, already in a row, our quarterly event of Russian-speaking bloggers-imbubers. And this time it is dedicated to an absolutely amazing and significant cocktail, whose name is Martinez. I remember that Alexey’s decision to nominate this cocktail as the culprit of our four-year-old S.I.P. caused me complete delight, I just put this cocktail aside for calibration of impeccable taste and then Alexey gave me a serious impetus not only to return to this cornerstone(both in cocktail history and in my hobby) cocktail, but also to make some efforts to go beyond what has already been comprehended.
So it turns out, a real S.I.P. very important to me for several reasons. Well, first of all, back in February I firmly decided to participate in all the S.I.P.s this year proclaimed in and promised to summarize them all. Secondly, despite the 17th issue, this S.I.P. is in some way a jubilee - our event turns four years old this September, and thirdly, the theme of this event not only does not leave me indifferent, it makes me excites. All this led to the fact that I decided not to skip this S.I.P., although from many points of view this is not very appropriate. The context, however, is not helpful.
But let's return to our object. In keeping with the tradition of this year's S.I.P.s, I wrote about today's hero of the occasion more than once :) Writing about Martinez is easy and pleasant, because it is one of my favorite and, I believe, cocktails that are important in some sense for me. In my opinion, Martinez is one of the most forming of all the cocktails I've tried. My entry into Martinez was accidental and illogical. Starting to get involved in cocktails many years ago, I, of course, was already a fairly mature alcoholic drinker. According to our adult In the post-Soviet tradition, I combined a lover of ice-cold vodka with a lover of cold beer (sometimes, as expected, at too close or even the same point in time, which means with terrifying consequences). Therefore, having started my hobby with light highballs (as analogues beer) I quickly came to Icon(i.e. the Martini cocktail, as an analogue of cold vodka, between you and me), and, naturally, I quickly came up with extremely dry recipes, such as a glass of ice-cold gin frosted with a strip of lemon peel to the singing of Edith Piaf. And in principle, I think I could have stopped there if it weren’t for natural curiosity and if it weren’t for the Martinez cocktail :)
I remember very well my incredible delight over the Martinez cocktail back in 2006 (this unusually verbose first few months of blogging at that time is a clear echo of an acquaintance). Despite the fact that at that time I used far from the most noble components (a completely mediocre American Seagram's Dry Gin, a bar ersatz DeKuyper Marasquin, a set of Cinzano sweet vermouths, and I used not so much Rosso vermouth, but passable ones [for our market, as it turned out, both of these vermouth are still produced] marketing delights on a citrus theme - Limetto and Orancio, and only Angostura bitters), the cocktails were simply beautiful (that's what it means design!). In fact, I am sure that Martinez discovered aromatics for me, even "put me on" me into aromatics, instilled in me a love for aromatic cocktails that I carry with me through the years :)
So, what is so amazing about the Martinez cocktail? Why do I consider it my starting point? aromatic love, and not Martini, which is also nominally an aromatic, and in its, so to speak, developed, famous and modern incarnation, in contrast to, at first glance, passable, and, it would seem, even extinct, like some trilobites, point cocktail evolution of poses called Martinez?
Martinez once made me understand at once a whole bunch of things that are important for the love of aromatics. First, vermouth is not a “feminine drink”, liqueur is not necessarily “sweet crap” for girls, and in general, sweet does not mean “feminine” at all. And as a result, apparently the understanding has come that a cocktail glass of ice-cold gin (even to Edith Piaf!) is, in fact, not the most masterpiece of world cocktail making [did I really say that out loud?]. Would you say it simply? But it’s not at all easy if you’re an average post-Soviet citizen;) In fact, I’m sure that it was Martinez that once became for me a pass into this wonderful world of cocktails, which deserves to be thought of as a phenomenon of human culture, and not about a way to divorce loshka on bashli.
But let's get back to our topic. Realizing that given the current news background, coupled with life circumstances, I won’t be able to carry out a thorough research (especially since this is Martinez!) I did this for our event decided to limit myself[muah-ha-ha!] only a partial reconstruction and a very small part of the history of this cocktail. Therefore, I will consider only the first mentions and try to delve into the initial ideas this cocktail. I leave its life cycle and evolution in Martini behind the scenes for now.
So, let's turn to the primary sources. At the moment, thanks to the efforts of real cocktail historians like Wondrich, David Ph.D., we have two classical antique Martinez recipe source. Agree, it sounds illogical like this two original source? This is an oxymoron... But not in this case. Look for yourself. But let's start out of order 8)
When most cocktail enthusiasts (myself included) hear the word Martinez, they immediately think of a cocktail that contains, among other things, maraschino liqueur. The original source of the recipe for the Martinez cocktail with maraschino liqueur is such an imperishable anthology of the Golden Age of cocktail culture as ‘The Bar-Tender’s Guide; or, How to Mix All Kinds of Plain and Fancy Drinks’ by Jerry, Thomas. Because of this fact [most likely], many even consider “The Professor” to be the author of this cocktail [I don’t see anything surprising in this at all; many, both bartenders and just enthusiasts, generally tend to idolize Jeremiah Thomas. And how can one not think that it was he who breathed life into Martini? If not Thomas, then who?!?] However, upon careful examination, some facts are revealed that can shake this version. First, the source of the recipe is not the first, but another publication, namely ‘The Bar-Tender’s Guide’ by Jerry, Thomas (1887, USA), while Thomas himself died in 1885. Secondly, not a single lifetime publication of the Martinez cocktail featured [not a word about Thomas’s modesty, we all remember how he invented the Blue Blazer ;)]. By whom and with what thoughts the Martinez cocktail was included in the 1887 edition, and most importantly, who created this recipe, all these questions remain a mystery.
This Martinez looked like this (thanks to Adam Elmigerab for copying from the original):
The second primary source for the Martinez cocktail recipe is an earlier book ‘The Modern Bartender’s Guide: How to Make Fancy Drinks’ by Byron, O.H. (1884, USA), but Martinez’s recipe in it is not so much a recipe, but mention, and somewhat non-specific:
What is the first thing that catches the eye of an inquisitive cocktail researcher about this copy, who is going to reconstruct the archaic Martinez? Complete uncertainty. Because here we have two recipes for the Manhattan cocktail... One of which, slightly deviating from the topic, is generally very strange, because it includes French vermouth (!?!). In 1884. In Manhattan... This, by the way, is quite possibly the first printed mention of this cocktail [here all the happy owners of the original Abbot bitter for crazy money should be depressed;)]. Damn it. Fluctuation some kind of... Or maybe a puzzle, but we’ll leave it to Vondrich [I’ll make a reservation right away, I’m not considering Martinez as a derivative of Bironov’s Manhattan Cocktail, No.1, for one simple reason, in fact, I don’t have French vermouth at the moment , plus I know that the first Italian cracker Martini Extra Dry in the arena only since 1900].
Martinez [if by analogy] No.2 by Byron O.H. - this, as we see, is a cocktail in which, among other things, there is Curacao liqueur. Those. Now it’s clear where the phrase appears in some later sources, including "maraschino liqueur or orange curacao liqueur". And the second thing that draws attention is the proportion. There is a third, not so noticeable at first glance, but very interesting nuance, which we will talk about a little later.
So here is our starting point, the first two historical recipes that have reached us completely intact and in sufficient detail. All that remains is to interpret the copybooks and carefully embed them into reality.
Let's start now in order. First we filter out what we can neglect. We neglect a) bitters, that is, well, as we neglect - in Byron O.H. we generally have Angostura bitters, whose recipe is carefully preserved. At J. Thomas we have Boker's bitters. This brand of legendary cocktail bitters fell into oblivion during Prohibition. At the moment, there are two options - a “revived” Boker’s bitters, for example, from Adam Elmigerab or some other enthusiasts, or, as an alternative, the opinion of David Wondrich from Imbibe!, that the most similar to the deceased Boker’s bitters among the mass ones are Fee Brothers Old-Fashion Aromatic bitters; b) we completely neglect liqueurs. Luxardo Maraschino Originale is proven to play great in the classics, and I have no doubt about my vintage Bols Dry Orange Curacao 2003 bottling. Yes, yes, even though Wondrich revived ;)
Next we are left with the question of vermouth. Byron O.H. we have Italian Vermouth. J. Thomas has just Vermouth, which, however, is most likely also Italian. A brief look into the history of vermouth tells us that the history of vermouth in the United States and, by extension, in cocktails began with the sweet red Martini vermouth, which began to be imported into the United States in the 1860s. Moreover, according to some data, it was this Turin vermouth, supplied to the USA since 1868, that was the market leader in the 1880s, i.e. the time of the supposed birth of Martinez Cocktail and indeed all of its vermouth relatives. These data allow us to assume that purely from statistical, probabilistic (for now and nothing more) considerations, leaving out the unchanged formula over these last 150 years, this vermouth can lay claim to some authenticity in the Martinez Cocktail. Looking ahead, I prepared almost all the cocktails of the past month using Martini&Rossi Rosso and yes, in some way, it was a challenge (very successful, by the way!), because previously I preferred Cinzano, and dreamed of Carpano all these years :) [ and then upon closer examination it turned out that Antica Formula is not at all what one might think... and in general a strange thing... although I want it no less...]
And at this moment we [finally!] come to what we have been doing lately. The main task of reconstructing the Martinez cocktail was the selection of gin. And it was on this issue that we expanded our horizons. Those. you understand, a little more lectures and only then will we put ;)
Currently, the most common type of gin is the so-called. London Dry Gin and related Dry Gin. And when a recipe says gin, that is the style of gin that is usually used. I don’t think anyone, except for really devout cocktail geeks (like us), thinks about what they take off the shelf. It was this gin that I previously admired Martinez Cocktail. And, in fact, from the point of view of modern tastes, this is completely justified and this is a good decision. However, this is irrelevant from a reconstruction point of view. Because at the time of the birth of Martinez Cocktail London Dry Gin simply did not exist as a mass phenomenon.
The two other types of gin most common in the 1880s were Holland gin and Old Tom gin. It is not difficult to verify this, for example, by briefly looking at several anthologies of the same age as the sources discussed above [both of which are inaccessible to me, which is the problem]. So, for example, in ‘How to Mix Drinks. Barkeepr's handbook by Winter, George (1884, New York, USA) in the section Stock Required in Saloon the author lists only Holland and Old Tom Gin. And, for example, in ‘The complete bartender’ by Barnes, Albert (1884, USA) only gin is mentioned, and in the section Imitations[now called the trendy abbreviation DIY] is Imitation of Holland Gin, which suggests that even Old Tom Gin was a novelty for the author [in fact, there is also a historically logical explanation for this. The fact is that American-made gin of that time was inherited by the same Holland Gin; Old Tom Gin was an exclusively imported product]. In the book 'The Flowing Bowl' by Schmidt, Willian (1892, USA) in addition to self-explanatory context use Holland gin instead of Old Tom Gin there is also a definition: Gin – A very strong liquor manufactured in Holland (Holland gin), and England (Old Tom gin), which is distilled from juniperus berries. A slightly later book is also indicative in this regard. ‘Stuart’s Fancy Drinks and How to Mix Them’ by Stuart, Thomas (1904, USA), which is not accidentally mentioned in this review. This book also mentions only Old Tom Gin and Holland Gin, which, in fact, is not indicative for 1904, but it seems very relevant to our today’s research. By a strange coincidence, the above scan of a page from the book Byron O.H. completely (well, maybe only the typography is slightly different) identical to one of the pages of the Stuart T. book, and I am convinced that such a coincidence can only be explained by one thing - the Stuart T. book is, in fact, a reprint. In general, all this suggests that it would be necessary to understand these two types of gin for an adequate reconstruction :)
Let's start again from the beginning, i.e. with Holland Gin it is also jenever, jenever or geneva. In short, this is a fairly old (produced as far back as the 14th century) strong distilled spirit, the main feature of which is the addition of juniper berries (as well as other flavoring raw materials) to the grain-based primary wort. Another difference from modern London Dry is the use of aging of the resulting alcohols. At the moment, there are two types of jenever - jonge (young) and oude (old), which, however, is associated not so much with aging (or rather, not even with it at all), but with production features, the main of which (in short) is the specific amount of malt still alcohol in the final product. At the same time, in the context of our reconstruction, we must understand that at the end of the 19th century, the “young” style of genever did not yet exist for objective reasons (the underdevelopment of continuous distillation technologies that made it possible to obtain relatively cheap neutral alcohol).
Old Tom gin is a kind of transitional, evolutionary link between Dutch genever and London Dry Gin - a modern gin, originally of English origin. Without going into a lot of interesting historical details, I will focus on two details that are characteristic of Old Tom gin - first, Old Tom Gin is a still (multiple) distilled alcohol, and second, this type of gin is characterized by sweetening (there is a dispute about the nature of this sweetening, but the fact is not disputed). The main difference between Old Tom Gin and Holland Gin is the flavoring of the drink with juniper berries and other plant materials. When producing genever, juniper cones are added to the initial wort, which is then distilled, most often several times. When producing gin in England, English distillers began to add juniper raw materials during the second distillation of the alcohol that had already been distilled from the primary wort. This fundamental difference lies at the heart of the dissimilarity between gin and genever. In the 19th century, to improve the drinkability of pot still distilled gin, one of two techniques was used, which, however, gave a similar result. This is either the addition of sugar, which was simple, but not cheap; sugar, even in England in the 19th century, was a rather expensive product, or the use of large quantities of certain types of raw materials (for example, licorice root) during distillation [or, for the sake of economy, sulfuric acid, which led to the formation of certain quantities of diethyl ether, which also gave the drink a sweetish taste, as well as amazing sedative and intoxicating properties;) I don’t see any enthusiasts to revive this version of Old Tom;)]. As a result, the finished gin had a distinctly sweet taste, making it drinkable and generally suiting the taste of the consumer.
The active use of Kofi distillation columns in the production of strong alcohol (other than whiskey) began somewhere in the 1890s and the crest of the wave of popularity of London Dry Gin, the production of which was made possible thanks to column distillation, came out only somewhere towards the end of the first decade of the twentieth century. For a time, these two styles of English gin were present simultaneously, but Old Tom gin's sweet and gritty style increasingly failed to suit the tastes of consumers craving dryness, and it finally faded from the scene in the 1950s. The emergence of “jonge” genever is also associated with the spread of column distillation technologies - manufacturers began to reduce the amount of malt alcohol in the finished product, replacing them with profitable neutral alcohol. However, here the displacement did not occur and the oude genever continues to live next to his young relative.
Having now understood at least the basics of the gins of the Golden Age of cocktails, you can already reconstruct the drink. Let's start with the more familiar (for me) version of Jerry (by the way, does everyone know that he is Jeremiah? Well, yes, I already wrote above.) Thomas.
Martinez (Jerry Thomas)
60 ml sweet vermouth
30 ml gin Old Tom
3 of my b.l. maraschino liqueur (about 1/4 oz.)
2 dashes of aromatic bitters
2 dashes orange bitters (optional)
Mix. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a quartered lemon or cocktail cherry.
Nominally, . However, this is only nominal, since now I was able to apply correct gin. By the way, a few words about him. In fact, when I got excited about the idea of Martinez, immediately after Alexey’s February comment on this matter, I realized what I wanted - Hayman’s Old Tom - an English reconstruction of the ancient Old Tom, precisely in a sugar-sweetened version. However, while I was chewing snot and in creative search, I didn’t get Hayman’s, but quite unexpectedly I got Jensen Old Tom, from a completely unrealistic gin enthusiast Christian Jensen, while the product itself refers to options with sweetness of distillation origin. This gin is a powerful, aromatic, rich product with a well-rounded sweetness that is noticeable when tasting. You can often hear that Old Tom has a more delicate botanical, particularly juniper, flavor than spherical in vacuum London Dry. I’ll say right away that this is not about Jensen. This is a completely unique, fan-made product that can put everything around in its belt. The main difference is sweetness, rather even sweetness. Everything else is without compromise. I liked him:)
This sweetness played perfectly in Martinez. Literally from the first samples, I was convinced that this rounded sweetness is the touch that makes Martinez perfect, but let's go back to our first Martinez according to the Professor's authentic recipe.
What immediately catches your eye is that this cocktail is all about vermouth. The genie here is nothing more than a stately ballet dancer confidently supporting the brilliant prima. And yes, this cocktail tastes hopelessly mutilated by modernity, completely rather weak. Everything is simple here, essentially Martinez is perfect vermouth, full of botany, herbal bitterness, spices, sweet berries (especially if you take Cinzano or Gancia) and other delights. The cocktail is very easy to drink, so easy that you always want to make it double size. But it absolutely lacks strength. Strength as a certain taste sensation, you see, there is no lack of taste in this Martinez, but it unusually light for such a riot of taste.
In fact, after drinking this Martinez for about a week - well, first tasting it, then photographing it, then describing it, I, to my surprise, got used to such a strength. The discomfort disappeared, sips became less greedy, the cocktail became completely mine. So much so that I tried all my red vermouths (in fact, my usual trinity of Martini&Rossi, Cinzano, Gancia) and all my bitters in this version of Martinez, in particular I realized that the Angostura pair is more powerful, and the Fee Brothers pair is more delicate, Scrappy's Aromatic leaves me indifferent, but their Orange is an enchanting thing. In general, this time, I became very good friends with such an old-fashioned Martinez. And yes, from my trinity of vermouths, this time the undisputed favorite is Martini&Rossi Rosso with its strict, completely devoid of fruity vulgarities, herbaceous taste, which, between us, has room for improvement, which, it seems to me, chip 8)
The logical development of this recipe in a modern way is the magnificent edition of Martinez Cocktail by Jamie Boudreau, which for many years has been the obvious Ultimate Martinez for me maraschino branch.
Martinez (Jamie Boudreau)
40 ml red sweet vermouth (Martini&Rossi Rosso)
40 ml gin (Jensen Old Tom)
2 b.l. Luxardo Maraschino Originale
1 dash Scrappy’s Orange Bitters
Stir. Cocktail glass.
The strength of this formula is standard and ideal for me. This is absolute Nec Plus Ultra. And at the same time, the strength does not change the character of the cocktail - it’s still the same perfect vermouth.
It is in this formula that the peculiarities of the work of London Dry and Old Tom are most clearly revealed. This is where you realize how well the sweetness of Old Tom cements and rounds out the flavors. Like this velvet foot to perfection polishes this diamond 8)
Of course, I made a couple of attempts to perfect the Martinez flavor in the absence of Old Tom Gin. The most basic cheating in the form of a cheap or two simple syrup in the company of London Dry was, in fact, disappointing. I can’t say that finding a balance is impossible, but it’s too delicate. I did not succeed. Too sweet or nothing noticeable. It did not pass. Giving credit to the Martinez cocktail in this recipe with London Dry (I drank this version for many years and was delighted), I can say that the Old Tom gave me categorically best result.
But Plymouth really came through. Providing, oddly enough, a slightly sweeter option than even the Old Tom (nonsense? I'm surprised too), old Plymouth worked superbly, producing an absolutely excellent cocktail as well. The result was so good that I even decided to formulate The golden rule of gin mixology– in any unclear case, do it with Plymouth 8)
Well, for a snack, I'll share discovery.
When choosing a gin (the type of which, as can be seen from the copy, Byron O.H. did not indicate) for the reconstruction of Martinez Cocktail aka Gin Manhattan No.2, I proceeded from the assumption that, in fact, the likelihood of using Holland Gin is greater than Old Tom. It also seems to me that the choice of modifier liqueur indirectly indicates this, but more on that later.
Therefore, to reconstruct this cocktail, I decided to use an alcoholic component that was new to me - oude jenever. In general, I have been familiar with jenever for a long time, but in such a form as Bols Jonge Jenever. Which is actually more like juniper vodka than gin. In other words, this is a very, very light London Dry with a pot flavor. This product is not suitable for reconstruction. We need something that inherits that old Holland Gin that was dominant way back when Martinez was born. So I had a reason to buy another bottle of jenever :)
And I didn’t even have to look for this bottle, in fact, it’s been an eyesore for me for two years now in the nearest supermarket, I just didn’t have a reason to buy it 8) Wenneker Oude Genever (Proever) turned out to be a completely different product. Old style genever is really more like an unaged light whiskey than a gin. The main flavor dominant of this alcohol is strong malt notes, and only then juniper and other botanical notes. A very unusual and interesting spirit. This is what I used in the Byron O.H formula.
Martinez aka Gin Manhattan No.2 (Byron O.H.)
40 ml genever oude
40 ml Martini & Rossi Rosso vermouth
2 b.l. orange curacao liqueur
2 dashes of Angostura bitters
Mix. Strain into a cocktail glass. In this case, it seems to me that cherries are an appropriate decoration (others recommend an orange twist).
Oh yeah! This is an absolutely gorgeous cocktail. I couldn't really expect more from Martinez than I already received, but Martinez was able to give me more [but thanks also to Difford ;)].
Of course, this Martinez is a different cocktail, not very similar to the previous one. He is original, self-sufficient and beautiful.
In fact, neither London Dry nor even Old Tom work in this recipe at the level at which Holland Gin works here. It is the result that completely convinces me that authentic gin is in Bironov’s recipe it should be Dutchman. It is in this version that we get a monolithic, amazing, rich and harmonious cocktail. Equal in splendor to the previous version, but only... Manhattan style! Yes, yes, if I tried this cocktail blind, I would probably say: “Manhattan?!”, and would be surprised at the softness of the whiskey present here not so much in taste, but in spirit.
A thick cocktail rich in velvety citrus and herbaceous bitterness. The malt flavor of “old” genever goes well with the juicy citrusy orange bitterness on a rather sweet base, colored by the bitter and spicy herbal flavors of vermouth and bitter. It was at the moment I became acquainted with this version that I understood where and, most importantly, For what something ridiculous appeared in the Martinez recipe (like for gin) “or curacao liqueur”. Don't you like cats? You just don't know how to cook them ;)
In the end – I’m delighted!
In general, no matter how much the rope twists, it will still end, says popular wisdom. Thus comes the end of my endless, as it probably seemed to many, fasting. Twenty-five thousand characters - the new S.I.P. standard, welcome :) Although in fact, over the past nervous months, I just really missed the blog, the world, that carefree state without war, which I had never noticed before, and which I so I’m reflecting a lot now. When cocktails don’t seem like a stupid and insignificant activity against the backdrop of the real heroism of the guys who give their lives for their land, for their country, for the future of their children, for my damn future... Well, let’s hope for the best, thanks to the soldiers, bye everyone, I hope we'll meet again.
How much does maraschino liqueur cost (average price for 1 liter)?
Moscow and Moscow region.
Maraschino liqueur is a colorless dry fruit drink, for the production of which a special variety of Marasca cherries is used. By the way, it is from these berries that cocktail cherries, so popular today, are made. Meanwhile, during the production process of Maraschino liqueur, the berries are crushed along with the stone, which gives the finished drink an extraordinary taste of bitter almonds.
Real Maraschino liqueur must be aged for at least 3 years, and the alcohol content of the drink is 32 percent. The manufacturing process is very similar to the method of producing cognac. Then sugar syrup is added to it and after a certain aging, Maraschino liqueur goes through the filtration stage. It is worth noting that the distinctive feature of this drink from other fruit liqueurs is that no fruit extract or fruit juice is used in its production.
The recipe for making Maraschino liqueur first appeared in the Dominican monastery in the city of Zadar at the very beginning of the 16th century. It was originally known under the name Rosolj (Rosolio), which comes from the words ros solis, which literally means solar dew. Meanwhile, Maraschino liqueur began to be produced under the name known today only two centuries later.
The first production of Maraschino liqueur dates back to 1821 - it began to be produced in the same port city of Zadar in Croatia. Eight years later, its owner, a merchant named Girolamo Luxardo, acquired a monopoly on the production of this drink. After the Second World War (when Zadar became part of Yugoslavia), the descendants of Luxardo founded a new factory for the production of Maraschino liqueur near Padua (Italy).
Currently, this wonderful drink is produced under the name Luxardo Maraschino, and the Croatian version of Maraschino liqueur is called Original Maraschino from Zadar. By the way, in Croatia it is produced by the company Maraska.
According to history, this liqueur was very fond of Napoleon Bonaparte, who preferred Maraschino for dessert after dinner or lunch. French kings, along with Tsar Nicholas I, also adored this drink. It is reliably known, for example, that in September 1887, the future King of England, George V, Prince of Wales, personally visited the factory on his way through Zadar, ordering an impressive batch of Maraschino liqueur.
Today, this liqueur, favored by the love of rulers, is sold not only in any Croatian supermarket or duty free - it can also be purchased in our country. By the way, in addition to Maraschino liqueur, Maraska also produces slivovitz, various liqueurs, bitters and even rum.
In cooking, Maraschino liqueur is used not only for its intended purpose - it is often used in the preparation of a variety of dessert dishes, ice cream, and fruit salads. It gives such dishes a special unique taste and aroma of Marascan cherries.
Calorie content of maraschino liqueur 299 kcal
Energy value of maraschino liqueur (Ratio of proteins, fats, carbohydrates - bju).
Italian Maraschino
Maraschino or Maraschino (Italian: Maraschino) is a clear dry liqueur with a strength of 32% with a pronounced almond flavor. Aged for at least 3 years.
Maraschino is a type of dwarf bush cherry. Found along the Adriatic coast. Its varietal feature is that the fruits have practically no pulp - only a skin that covers the seed. In addition to the alcoholic beverage industry, it is used for flavoring confectionery products (cherry and bitter almond aroma).
During the manufacturing process, the fruits are crushed together with the seeds, which gives the drink a characteristic bitter almond taste. The technology for preparing Maraschino is similar to cognac. After distillation, it is sweetened with sugar syrup and carefully filtered. Another technological feature that sets it apart from other types of liqueurs is that no fruit juice or extract is used in its production.
Story
It is not known exactly when the first bottle of Maraschino was prepared. Industrial production was launched almost 200 years ago - back in 1821 in the Croatian city of Zadar. After 8 years, the owner of the plant, Girolamo Luxardo, received a monopoly on the production of this drink, which soon gained wide popularity throughout Europe.
After World War II, the Luxardo family ended up in Italy, where a new distillery was built. However, Maraschino production has been restored in Croatia itself. Currently it is produced by two manufacturers: Italian - under the brand “Luxardo Maraschino” and Croatian “Original Maraschino from Zadar”.
At the same time, preparing a delicious one will be just as easy. You will find a simple recipe for making it at the link provided.
How to drink correctly: cocktails with Maraschino
Thanks to its refreshing, pleasant taste, it is included in many popular cocktails. In addition, the variety of cherries used for it are also used as “cocktail” cherries, garnishing mixed drinks, ice cream and various dessert dishes.
Aviation
- 35 ml gin
- 25 ml lemon juice
- 10 ml Maraschino
- 10 ml sugar syrup
- crushed ice
Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a shaker. Pour the resulting cocktail into a glass and garnish with a spiral of zest.
LiquorMaraschino(Maraschino) is a delicate cherry liqueur with a light almond aroma.
This liqueur is a transparent (see photo) sweet alcoholic drink with a strength of 32%. It is made from the berries and seeds of maraschino cherries, which give it an almond flavor.
According to the original technology, Maraschino liqueur must be aged for at least 3 years.
The history of Maraschino begins in the 16th century, when the monks of the city of Zadar began to produce it. At that time the city belonged to the Venetian Republic, but today it is Croatia. Industrial production of Maraschino liqueur began in 1759 thanks to Francesco Drioli.
In 1821, another liqueur production plant was opened, owned by Girolamo Luxardo. Maraschino was so popular in the 18th century that it was supplied to many monarchs. Today the drink is produced near Padua under the name “Luxardo Maraschino”.
Production Features
The production of Maraschino is more similar to the production of cognac than a traditional liqueur. Sugar syrup is added to the drink, and after aging it is filtered.
To begin with, Maraschino cherries are crushed until smooth and placed in Finnish ash barrels. The liqueur is infused in such barrels for 2-3 years. It is then filtered and then bottled.
Use in cooking
In cooking, maraschino liqueur is used to make desserts, ice cream, and fruit salads.
For example, you can prepare a delicious dessert - creamy ice cream with Maraschino. To do this, you need to take 8 yolks, 1.5 cups of sugar, a vanilla stick and 1.5 bottles of milk. The entire mixture should be heated over low heat. When it begins to thicken, the future ice cream should be strained through a sieve, add a few tablespoons of maraschino and pour into molds. Next, the ice cream is placed in the freezer and served with fruit.
You can also cook cocktail "Champagne cobbler". To prepare this drink you will need 20 ml of maraschino, 20 ml of curacao liqueur, lemon juice, half a peach, champagne. In a cocktail glass, mix liqueurs with lemon juice, fill the glass one third with ice, add chopped peach, grapes, cherries, and pour in champagne.
You can also cook cocktail based on maraschino and Cuban rum. To do this, you need to mix 5 parts rum, 1 part maraschino, 4 drops of orange bitters and the zest of 1 orange. The cocktail is served chilled.
How to drink correctly?
Maraschino liqueur is consumed in its pure form. It is correct to drink it with ice. Maraschino is also often included in cocktails.
The refreshing taste of the drink will appeal to both women and men.
The liqueur has an original taste. Due to the fact that cherries are used together with the stone in the production of the drink, Maraschino liqueur has a pleasant almond flavor, which is slightly reminiscent of another famous drink - Amaretto liqueur, which is made directly from almonds.
How to cook at home?
Maraschino liqueur can also be prepared at home.
For this we need 300-400 g of cherries, a half-liter jar of cherry leaves, 2 liters of vodka, 1 kg of sugar, 1 liter of water. For starters, berries, but berries with seeds will give the homemade liqueur a resemblance to real maraschino. In this case, you need to be careful, because Cherry pits contain a toxic substance.
Then you need to prepare sugar syrup. To do this, cherry pulp and leaves are poured into 1 liter of water and boiled. After boiling, leave the mixture on low heat for another 15 minutes. The cherry mass is filtered through a sieve, 1 kg of sugar is poured into it, and brought to a boil again. Pour 2 liters of vodka and 0.5 liters of citric acid solution into the cooled syrup. Next, the liqueur is infused for 2-3 days, after which it can be consumed.
Keep in mind that homemade Maraschino liqueur will be a little cloudy. In order for it to become transparent, it must be left for a month.
Harm of Maraschino liqueur and contraindications
The drink can cause harm to the body due to individual intolerance, as well as with excessive consumption.
The popular Maraschino liqueur (aka Maraschino or Maraschino) is a colorless drink with an almond-shaped bitterness in taste. It is made from the bitter (cocktail) maraschino cherry, which grows in the Balkans.
Actually, the very name of the mentioned cherry goes back to the Latin word amarus - bitter. The appearance of the drink dates back to the 16th century and is associated with the monks of the Dominican order, who once settled in Dalmatia (the territory of modern Croatia).
History of the drink
The fall of the Venetian Republic had no effect on the popularity of the drink. Moreover. The house of Drioli had competitors from among the Zara countrymen of the maraschino pioneer: Girolamo Luxardo (1821) and Romano Vlahov (1861). An echo of the unprecedented popularity of liqueur in Europe at that time was the tradition of placing bottles of the drink in a special straw braid, which once protected glass containers during long-term transportation.
When Zadar became part of socialist Yugoslavia after the end of World War II, Maraschino producers emigrated to Italy. In the end, only the Luxardo enterprise survived, revived near Padua, in the town of Torrella. Perhaps the reason for this was the parallel establishment by the enterprising family of the production of sambuca of the same name.
Maraschino production
The alcoholic base for the liqueur is cherry brandy distilled from the unpretentious maraschino pulp. The mentioned distillate is infused for a couple of months on pressed pits of the same maraschino cherry, and then aged for three years in ash barrels. The latter circumstance gives the drink some softness, while maintaining its original transparency, due to the low tannin content in ash wood. At the final stage, Maraschino is refined with a bit of sugar syrup (adding any fruit juices or essences to the liqueur is traditionally prohibited).
Leading producers of Maraschino liqueur
In addition to the notorious house of Luxardo, which accounts for more than 4/5 of all Maraschino produced in the world, the drink known as Maraska Maraschino is also produced in Croatia. The strength of both varieties of liqueur is 32 degrees. A less potent version of the drink, containing 25% alcohol, belongs to the Italian company Lazzaroni Maraschino.
Since the very name of Adriatic cherry has not become the object of copyright or geographical restrictions, any distiller living anywhere in the world has the right to produce it.
Eating Maraschino
The specific taste of the liqueur makes it virtually unsuitable for consumption in its pure form. However, it is precisely this feature, coupled with perfect transparency, that has made this drink one of the most favorite ingredients for a wide variety of cocktails. The latter include: (“Casino”, “The Last Word”, “Tango” and some others.
Casino
Ingredients
- Maraschino – 10 ml
- Dry London gin – 40 ml
- Lemon juice – 10 ml
- Orange bitter – 1 drop
- Cocktail cherry – 1 piece
Cooking method
- Shake all liquids in a shaker with ice.
- Place the cherries at the bottom of the container.
The last word
Ingredients
- Maraschino – 15 ml
- Dry London gin – 15 ml
- Green Chartreuse – 15 ml
- Lime juice – 15 ml
Cooking method
- Shake all components in a shaker with ice.
Tango
Ingredients
- Maraschino – 30 ml
- Vodka – 30 ml
- Dry white wine – 15 ml
- Blueberry juice – 75 ml
- Sugar – 5 g
Cooking method
- Chill the cocktail glass.
- Provide it with a sugar rim.
- Combine vodka, liqueur and juice in a mixing glass.
- Pour the contents of the glass into a glass with a rim.
- Add wine.
Abbey Martini
Ingredients
- Maraschino – 20 ml
- Dry London gin – 30 ml
- Dry white vermouth – 5 ml
- Orange juice – 15 ml
- Angostura – 3 drops
- Cocktail cherry – 1 piece
Cooking method
- Strain through a strainer into a glass.
- Decorate with cherries.
Aviation
Ingredients
- Maraschino – 10 ml
- Dry London gin – 35 ml
- Lemon juice – 25 ml
- Simple sugar syrup – 10 ml
- Orange zest – 1 spiral
Cooking method
- Mix all liquids in a shaker with ice.
- Pour through a strainer into a glass.
- Decorate with zest.
Bengal
Ingredients
- Maraschino – 10 ml
- Ordinary cognac brandy – 40 ml
- Orange liqueur – 10 ml
- Orange bitter – 4 drops
- Pineapple juice – 15 ml
- Cocktail cherry – 1 piece
Cooking method
- Shake all liquids in a shaker with ice.
- Strain through a strainer into a glass.
- Decorate with cherries.
Brooklyn 2
Ingredients
- Maraschino – 2 dashes
- Canadian whiskey – 40 ml
- Dry white vermouth – 20 ml
Cooking method
- Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice.
- Pour through a strainer into a glass.
Honolulu
Ingredients
- Maraschino – 10 ml
- Dry London gin – 20 ml
- Apricot brandy – 10 ml
Cooking method
- Shake all ingredients in a shaker with ice.
- Pour through a strainer into a glass.
Cardinal-2
Ingredients
- Maraschino – 25 ml
- Golden rum – 60 ml
- Orange liqueur – 1 dash
- Grenadine syrup – 5 ml
- Cocktail cherry – 1 piece
Cooking method
- Shake all liquids in a shaker with ice.
- Strain through a strainer into a glass.
- Decorate with cherries.
Feline
Ingredients
- Maraschino – 10 ml
- Dubonnet – 40 ml
- Ordinary Armagnac – 10 ml
- Cocktail cherry – 1 piece
Cooking method
- Mix all liquids in a shaker with ice.
- Pour through a strainer into a glass.
- Decorate with cherries.
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