Maraschino

Generality

The Maraschino is an alcoholic drink obtained from the distillation of morello cherries or black cherries (fruit of the tree Prunus cerasus L.).
The maraschino is colorless, transparent, with a sweet taste and an alcohol content of about 30% Vol .; it is therefore deductible that it is a hard alcoholic drink.

Background

Defining precisely who discovered maraschino is not easy, since it is a liqueur with an Italian name but with roots deeply attached to the Croatian coast.
At the time of its discovery, in fact, a large part of present-day coastal Croatia was subjected to the Republic of San Marco. It seems that the very first recipe of maraschino dates back to 1,500 BC. and that the creator of the formula was a Dominican pharmacist residing in the city of Zadar (a city in Dalmatia). Practically, the maraschino was invented by a monk belonging to the Venetian state who knew how to make the most of the organoleptic and gustatory properties of Croatian sour cherries.
However, the architects of the international marketing of the product were primarily the Venetians of the Drioli family, who, after a few years, were emulated by the Genoese Luxardo (both families residing in Zara). However, after the Second World War, following the destruction of the distilleries and the rise of the Yugoslav communist revolutionary Josiz Broz Tito (who saw the Italian cession of Zara to Yugoslavia necessary), all the surviving Italian entrepreneurs in Croatia repatriated; once in sure, some of them re-started the liquor business within the Bel Paese (initially, the main companies were built between Padua, Venice and Modena). the export with the same name but, thanks to a legal recourse by the Luxardos, the Croatian Maraschino had to change its name, which became Maraska.
While the Drioli factory closed its doors in the 1970s, the Italian factories of Luxardo and Casoni (originally Vlahov) are still in operation, as well as the Croatian "Maraska Company Zadar" from overseas.

Production

The most famous Italian-made maraschino (not to be confused with Maraska) is Luxardo, distinguished by its packaging typically consisting of a green glass bottle, with a red cap, wrapped in a straw covering on which the label is placed. The latter, in addition to the denomination, exhibits some of the awards obtained at the international spirits competitions.
The most important characteristic of maraschino is that it is one of the few liqueurs in the world obtained by "distillation", and not by the exclusive mixing of ethyl alcohol and syrups or other ingredients. Furthermore, the drink benefits from an aging of about 2 years, which takes place in Finnish ash wood vats (known for its ability to NOT leave any type of pigment); only at this point, the maraschino is added with the syrup to increase its sweetening power and reduce its alcohol content.

Consumption of Maraschino

Maraschino can be consumed in several ways.
As a digestive it is ideal pure, straight or with ice. If diluted in cold water or orange juice it brilliantly assumes the role of thirst quencher. It corrects espresso coffee very well and equally brilliantly season fruit salads. Mixed with other ingredients, the maraschino structures (primarily or optionally) numerous international cocktails, some of which are: Mary Pickford, Cuba Libre, Daiquiri, Screwdriver, Derby Royal, York Special, Dewey, Flip, Cider Cobbler, Gilmore Punch etc.
In the kitchen, or rather in confectionery, maraschino is notoriously used in the formulation of baths for soaking the so-called "bases" (eg sponge cake or certain biscuits).

Nutritional Characteristics

Maraschino is a hard alcohol, which is why it must be consumed in the right quantities.
It is a drink that does NOT lend itself to customary consumption and the relative portion, if desired, should not exceed 60ml / day, or 2 glasses a day.
The excess consumption of maraschino may be harmful to health by aggravating or predisposing overweight and arterial hypertension, as well as damaging the liver.
It should also be remembered that, even if ethyl alcohol (in moderate doses) is not directly involved in the worsening pathological mechanism of type 2 diabetes mellitus, the sugars contained in the drink can be quite harmful.
Even subjects suffering from metabolic syndrome and those in growth should completely abstain from taking maraschino.

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