Our Top Luxardo Maraschino Cocktail Recipes
The ever popular Luxardo Maraschino is a clear liqueur made from marasca cherries. The brand describes it as having an aroma of marasca cherry with a roasted nuttiness, but a flavor that includes hints of chocolate, vanilla and orange marmalade (Luxardo, 2021). In the spirits world, this liqueur is considered a modifier. A modifier is an ingredient that adds flavor to a cocktail when combined with a base spirit. There are other great modifiers out there, and if you’re interested in learning more on this topic, be sure to check out our spirit modifiers blog post.
As we often discuss, mixing up a great cocktail involves creating a balance of flavors. A cocktail that is too sweet or too bitter is hard on the taste buds, so the best cocktail recipes are ones that are well-balanced. Luxardo Maraschino is made from alcohol, fruit and sugars, making it a sweeter liqueur that works well to balance out more bitter cocktail ingredients. There are a couple famous cocktail recipes in particular that this liqueur is known for, including the Hemingway Daiquiri and the Red Hook, but if you have a bottle at home, there are a variety of other options worth exploring.
Here are Mad River Distillers Top Luxardo Maraschino Cocktail Recipes:
BIGLIETTO
Ingredients - Yields 1 Cocktail:
-1.5 oz. of Revolution Rye
-1.5 oz. of Linchpin Aperitivo (or Aperol)
-1/2 oz. of Bigallet China China
-1/4 oz. of Luxardo Maraschino
-Luxardo cherry
Instructions:
Add all ingredients to a mixing glass. Add ice, then stir for 15-30 seconds until well chilled. Strain into a rocks glass over a large ice cube. Garnish with a Luxardo cherry.
BROOKLYN
Ingredients - Yields 1 Cocktail:
-2 oz. of Revolution Rye
-1 oz. of Dolin Dry Vermouth
-1/2 oz. of Bigallet China China
-1/4 oz. of Luxardo Maraschino
-Luxardo cherry
Instructions:
In a mixing glass, combine all ingredients. Add ice to the mixing glass and stir for 15-30 seconds until well chilled. Strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a Luxardo cherry.
RED HOOK
Ingredients - Yields 1 Cocktail
-2 oz. of Revolution Rye
-1/2 oz. of Luxardo Maraschino
-1/2 oz. of Punt e Mes
-3 dashes of Bennett Cocktail Bitters
-Luxardo cherry
Instructions:
Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir for about 15 seconds. Strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a Luxardo cherry.
FINAL WARD
Ingredients - Yields 1 Cocktail:
-1 oz. of Revolution Rye
-1 oz. of Green Chartreuse
-1 oz. of Luxardo Maraschino
-1 oz. of fresh lemon juice
-lemon twist
Instructions:
Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice. Shake hard for about 30 seconds. Double strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.
MAD HEMINGWAY
Ingredients - Yields 1 Cocktail:
-1 oz. of First Run Rum
-1 oz. of Luxardo Maraschino
-1 oz. of grapefruit juice
-lime wheel
]
Instructions:
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake well, then strain into a chilled coupe glass. Add a lime wheel for garnish.
FANCY PANTS
Ingredients - Yields 1 Cocktail:
-2 oz. of Bourbon Whiskey
-1/2 oz. of Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
-2 dashes of Scrappy's Orange Bitters
-1 dash of Angostura Bitters
-orange twist
Instructions:
Combine all ingredients except the orange twist in a pitcher, and stir. Pour contents over ice into a rocks glass. Garnish with an orange twist.
Instructions:
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake well and strain over a large ice cube in a rocks glass. Garnish with a lime wheel.
To make a lime oleo saccharum:
Remove the zest from 4 lime skins (just the zest, and none of the white pith). In a bowl, combine the zest with 8 oz. of raw cane sugar. Muddle the sugar and lime zest together for several minutes to release oils from the zest, then place it in a closed container overnight. After infusing overnight, add 8 oz. of hot water and dissolve the sugar. Strain the liquid to remove all lime zests.
IMPROVED WHISKEY COCKTAIL
Ingredients - Yields 1 Cocktail:
-2 oz. of Straight Bourbon
-1/4 oz. of Luxardo Maraschino
-1/4 oz. of simple syrup
-1 dash of Peychauds Bitters
-1 dash of Angostura Bitters
-1 dash of Absinthe
-lemon peel
Instructions:
In a mixing glass, combine all ingredients. Add ice and stir well. Strain into a rocks glass over a large ice cube. Garnish with a lemon peel, expressing it over the top of the cocktail.
When it comes to making cocktails, we highly recommend adding some modifiers to your home bar, which will enable you to make a variety of cocktails using our spirits. Luxardo Maraschino is a great modifier with a very unique flavor profile. A little of this liqueur goes a long way, but now that you know a variety of cocktail recipes you can make using Luxardo Maraschino, we hope you’ll be eager to mix it up with some Mad River Distillers spirits soon. Cheers!
Written and published by Brianne Lucas on May 12, 2025.
REFERENCES
Luxardo. (2021, May 12). Maraschino Originale. Retrieved January 13, 2022, from https://www.luxardo.it/liqueurs-and-distillates/maraschino-originale/
