Luxardo

Luxardo has been producing Italian liqueurs since 1821, best known globally for Maraschino Liqueur — distilled from Marasca cherries and essential for the Aviation, Hemingway Daiquiri, and Last Word cocktails — and Original Maraschino Cherries, the deep candied cherries in syrup that are the standard for high-end cocktail garnishes. The range also includes Sambuca, Amaretto, Limoncello, and Sangue Morlacco cherry liqueur.

Browse all liqueurs at Wooden Cork.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Maraschino Liqueur and how is it different from other cherry liqueurs?

Maraschino Liqueur is distilled — not simply infused — from Marasca cherries, a sour cherry variety grown primarily around Zara (now Zadar, Croatia) and in northeastern Italy. Luxardo distills the entire cherry including the pits in copper pot stills, then ages the distillate in Finnish ash wood vats for several years before sweetening and bottling. The pit distillation is significant: cherry pits contain compounds that produce a distinctive almond-like, slightly bitter aromatic character alongside the fruit. This is why Maraschino tastes so different from simple cherry syrups or crème de cerise — it is complex, dry relative to its sweetness, and botanically rooted.

What is the difference between Luxardo Maraschino Cherries and standard cocktail cherries?

Standard commercial cocktail cherries — the bright neon-red ones — are made from bleached cherries re-dyed with Red 40 and preserved in high-fructose corn syrup with artificial flavoring. Luxardo Original Maraschino Cherries are made from Marasca sour cherries grown on Luxardo’s own trees in the Veneto, candied slowly in their own syrup without artificial coloring or preservatives, then jarred in a thick dark syrup. The result is a deep mahogany cherry with genuine fruit flavor, firm texture, and complexity that cheap cocktail cherries cannot replicate.