MARASCHINO
Maraschino is a bittersweet, clear liqueur flavored with Marasca cherries, which
are grown in Dalmatia, Croatia, mostly around the city of Zadar. The recipe for
this liqueur was created by the the pharmacists of the Zadar's Dominican
monastery at the beginning of the 16th century. It was known under the name of
Rosolj (Rožolj, Rosolio), which came from the word "ros solis"- "the sun dew".
In the 18th century this liqueur was named Maraschino, as it was produced from
the essence of ripe fruits of the cherry marasca, as well as from the leaves of
its sprigs. Honey is also part of the ancient recipe. The distillate is allowed
to mature for two years in Finnish ashwood vats (because this wood does not lend
its colour to the liqueur even after many years of maturing), and is then
diluted and sugared. It is typically bottled in a straw-coated bottle.
There were many famous Maraschino admirers such as the great seducer
Giaccomo Casanova, film director Alfred Hitchcock, writers and artists
Rudyard Kipling, Somerset Maugham, George Bernard Shaw, Charles Baudelaire,
Ernest Hemingway, Orson Welles, Charlie Chaplin, just to name a few. There
was also a large shipment of Zadar's Maraschino found in stock on the sunken
luxurious cruise ship Titanic. The Holy See recognized Maraschino's
qualities interpolating it into its state protocol.
Maraschino, through time, has managed to keep its authenticity, originality
and uniqueness. It was positioned as one of the best liqueurs in the world.
Due to the unique sour cherry maraska that makes it noble, the unique recipe
and the way of hand bottle wickering, Zadar's Maraschino rightfully owns a
special place on the throne amongst other liqueurs.
At the beginning, this noble liqueur of delicate taste and unusual
harmony to which medicinal effects were also attributed, was available
only to the privileged. With the appearance of the first manufacturing
distillers at Zara in the 17th century, the secret of Rosolj
(Maraschino) taste could be spread. In the 18th century industrial
production of Maraschino liqueur began. From then on, Maraschino became
a worldly known product present in all European courts (Viennese,
Berlin, the English court, the Bavarian, Italian, Belgium, and Danish
courts) and later on Maraschino spread to America, Canada, Australia,
South America and to South Africa.
Maraschino, as a prestigious drink, was respected and enjoyed by the
British king George IV and the queen Victoria, the French kings Louis
XVIII, Charles X and Louis Philippe and the Russian tsar Nikola I.
Maraschino was also admired by one of the biggest conquerors of the 19th
century, Napoleon Bonaparte, who specially enjoyed it after dinner or
supper. On September 26th of 1887 the British heir to the throne, still
a Prince of Wales at the time, and later the king George IV, visited the
factory in Zadar. He called Maraschino the king of all liqueurs and
records show that he placed a large order of Maraschino.
