Episode 6 - Maraschinos Best

In this episode The Gentlemen of Elegant Leisure tip toe around the edges of Maraschino Liqueur.  Not to be confused with the neon red cherries that have been plopped into our drinks for the last 60 years, Maraschino Liqueur is a clear liqueur with the flavour of Marasca cherries.  Pits, stems and all combine to make a sweet, vaguely cherry scented delight.  Think of it as tasting like a “grown up” cherry candy as opposed to a cherry Lifesaver. It’s an Italian word so the “schi” is pronounced like “ski” although you’ll never get Fred to admit it.

A great use of Marschino is in the classic Aviation Cocktail and we’re going with Ted Haigh’s recipe from “Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails”, but we’re also going to try a little experiment that you too can try at home.  At one point you see, there was a little Creme Yvette added to the drink as well.  This was supposed to give it a little bit of a sky blue tint that made the name “Aviation” make sense.  We tried the drink without it and then threw in a little splash after that and tried it again.

The Aviation

2 1/2 ounces Gin
3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
2 or 3 dashes of Maraschino Liqueur

Shake in an iced cocktail shaker, and strain into a cocktail glass.  Garnish with a lemon twist.
(After this we added the splash of Creme Yvette.)  Creme Yvette is sweet and has a flowery violet taste that lingers after the sweetness.  You’ll have to listen to the show to see what we thought!

San Francisco is a great town to drink in.  The very first Gentleman of Elegant Leisure came from there.  It seems only right that we modern day Gentlemen of Elegant Leisure should try to feature a drink from that great city.  Enter the Genever Daisy as served at Whitechapel in San Francisco, adapted by Alex Smith and printed in Imbibe Magazine.
Daisies have been around for a long, long time and have both old and new versions.  The older versions called for Orange Cordial (think Grand Marnier) to be mixed with sugar syrup, lemon and whatever spirit you had and then things start to change.  Different spirits called for different ingredients.  The Mexicans started adding lime juice instead of lemon juice to their Tequila Daisies.  "Margarita" anyone? (Margarita is the Spanish word for Daisy.)
In this case, the Hollands Gin gets paired with Marachino Liqueur and Orgeat instead of the Orange Cordial and sugar syrup.  What are we waiting for?  Let’s try one!

Genever Daisy
Adapted by Alex Smith for Whitechapel in San Francisco. Printed in Imbibe Magazine

1 3/4 ounce Genever (Hollands) Gin  - We used Boomsma
1/4 ounce Maraschino Liqueur
1/2 ounce Orgeat Syrup
3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice

Shake all ingredients with ice, then strain into a chilled glass

Crazy right?  Look how similar the recipes look at first glance and yet . . . so different when they’re actually made.  A half ounce of Orgeat syrup makes a world of difference!  Please make these drinks or better yet, have someone make them for you.  That way, you can be like a Gentleman of Elegant Leisure and . . . Tip Big!