A dry Italian liqueur distilled from Marasca cherries, including the crushed pits, giving it a distinct almond-cherry flavor. Luxardo is the most recognized producer, and it is used in the Aviation and Last Word.

A delicate Savoy Cocktail Book equal-parts sipper — gin and dry vermouth at perfect parity with just a hint of maraschino — producing a bone-dry, herbal, lightly floral Manhattan variation.

Allies Cocktail

A delicate pre-Prohibition gin classic where bright lemon, nutty maraschino cherry, and a whisper of violet liqueur balance into a pale, perfumed sip that gave the drink its sky-like name.

Aviation

A Don the Beachcomber creation that dresses up a daiquiri with orange and maraschino liqueurs, landing somewhere between a classic sour and a tiki-era curio.

Beachcomber

Don the Beachcomber's signature daiquiri variation -- maraschino and orange liqueur join rum and lime for a subtle complexity beyond the classic.

Beachcomber Daiquiri

A Brooklyn-neighborhood Manhattan descendant swapping amaro for Cynar and leaning on dry vermouth, producing a drier, more vegetal cousin with maraschino's nutty lift.

Bensonhurst

Joseph Santini's 1850s New Orleans ancestor of the Sidecar, with a sugared rim and long lemon peel twist wrapping a cognac sour lifted by maraschino and orange liqueur.

Brandy Crusta

A dry Manhattan variation pairing rye with French vermouth, maraschino liqueur, and a bitter amaro stand-in for the original Amer Picon, yielding a sharp, spirit-forward sip with nutty cherry depth.

Brooklyn

A variation on the Brooklyn cocktail -- rye with dry vermouth, maraschino, and a touch of Campari for a stirred Manhattan cousin.

Brooklyn No. 2

A dry, gin-forward pre-Prohibition cocktail layering maraschino cherry liqueur and orange bitters with lemon, drinking tart, aromatic, and subtly nutty — the gin-lover's Aviation.

Casino

An Edwardian-era aperitif pairing dry vermouth with fino sherry, a kiss of maraschino, and orange bitters, yielding a pale, saline, nutty stirred drink full of nuance.

Coronation

The second Coronation variation from Harry Craddock — sherry and dry vermouth with a barspoon of maraschino and orange bitters, producing a nutty, dry, complex low-ABV aperitif of understated elegance.

Coronation No. 2

A pre-Prohibition equal-parts vermouth cocktail of understated elegance — the combination of dry and sweet vermouth with maraschino and orange bitters creates a low-ABV stirred drink of genuine sophistication, ideal as an aperitif.

Diplomat

Phil Ward's modern smoky sour pairing mezcal with Aperol, maraschino, and lime for a rippling, bittersweet tug-of-war between fire, fruit, and nutty cherry.

Division Bell

A Attaboy variation on the classic Division Bell -- mezcal, Aperol, maraschino, and grapefruit in a smoky, citrusy modern classic.

Division Bell Variation

The house daiquiri of El Floridita bar in Havana, created by legendary barman Constantino Ribalaigua Vert. Unlike Hemingway's version, this one incorporates sweet vermouth and grenadine for a richer, more nuanced Cuban cocktail.

El Floridita

A bourbon old fashioned variation sweetened with maraschino liqueur instead of sugar, landing silky and cherry-nutty with two bitters providing structure.

Fancy Free

A Last Word riff created by Phil Ward at Death & Co in New York in 2007, replacing the gin with rye whiskey and the lime with lemon. The switch makes the cocktail warmer and slightly sweeter, with rye's spice complementing the herbal Chartreuse.

Final Ward

Joseph Santini's New Orleans Crusta format applied to London dry gin -- sugar rim, maraschino, and a long spiral lemon peel garnish.

Gin Crusta

Ernest Hemingway's preferred Daiquiri variation — made without sugar because he was diabetic — relying instead on grapefruit juice and maraschino for complexity. Also known as the Papa Doble, it is tart, dry, and unmistakably Cuban.

Hemingway Daiquiri

The writer's personal daiquiri spec from Havana's El Floridita, trading simple syrup for grapefruit juice and maraschino, drinking bone-dry, tart, and bracingly citrus-driven.

Hemingway Special

The IBA's official Tiki cocktail is a nutty, tropical tall drink layering two rums with amaretto, Frangelico, and maraschino over passion fruit, pineapple, lime, and ginger.

IBA Tiki

A smoky, spiced riff on the Daiquiri built on mezcal and dark rum with falernum and maraschino, balancing lime and sugar against campfire smoke and clove-like warmth.

Illegal

Jerry Thomas's gin variation on the 'Improved' cocktail template — London dry gin stirred with maraschino, orange bitters, and a ghost of absinthe. A direct ancestor of the modern Martini with nutty, aromatic complexity.

Improved Gin Cocktail

Jerry Thomas's 1862 'improvement' on the Rum Cocktail — aged rum stirred with a splash of maraschino and a mere dash of absinthe, creating an aromatic, spirit-forward sipper that anticipates the Improved Whiskey Cocktail template.

Improved Rum Cocktail

A Victorian-era refinement of the Old Fashioned, adding maraschino liqueur and absinthe to the classic whiskey-sugar-bitters formula. A forerunner of the modern cocktail movement's interest in 19th-century recipes.

Improved Whiskey Cocktail

A Prohibition-era equal-parts stunner where green Chartreuse's herbal punch, maraschino's cherry sweetness, gin's backbone, and lime's acid collide into something improbably harmonious and vividly green.

Last Word

A riff on Sam Ross's modern classic stirring bourbon with sweet vermouth, Campari, and a splash of maraschino liqueur, producing a bittersweet, nutty Manhattan-Negroni hybrid.

Left Hand

A 19th-century forebear of the Martini, stirring gin with sweet vermouth, maraschino, and bitters into a rich, wine-like sip with nutty cherry depth and a bittersweet orange-peel lift.

Martinez

A rosy Prohibition-era Havana cocktail named for the silent film star, pairing light rum with pineapple juice, maraschino, and grenadine for a fruity, lightly nutty tropical sipper.

Mary Pickford

A smoky rework of the Prohibition-era Last Word, swapping gin for mezcal so that green Chartreuse, maraschino, and lime meet campfire smoke in an herbal, balanced sour.

Mezcal Last Word

A lesser-known stirred classic where gin meets Dubonnet Rouge and a touch of maraschino, yielding a dusky, herbaceous, lightly bittersweet drink with old-Paris elegance.

Opera

A Last Word riff replacing the gin with bourbon, making the equal-parts cocktail warmer, rounder, and more approachable while retaining the herbal intensity of Chartreuse and the cherry sweetness of maraschino.

Penultimate Word

A nineteenth-century classic from Jerry Thomas's 1876 Bartender's Guide — pisco stirred with maraschino liqueur and Angostura bitters. Floral, aromatic, and spirit-forward, this rare pisco template predates the Pisco Sour by fifty years.

Pisco Cocktail

A frothy tequila sour with maraschino liqueur and grenadine that predates the Cosmopolitan and Tommy's Margarita. The egg white creates a silky foam that carries the drink's delicate citrus and cherry aromas.

Prado

A regal Victorian build of rye, maraschino, and muddled pineapple topped with champagne, yielding a bubbly, perfumed long drink that tastes like a spice-kissed fruit salad in a flute.

Prince of Wales

Vincenzo Errico's Manhattan riff pairs rye with Punt e Mes's bitter vermouth and maraschino, yielding a darker, more assertive sibling with cherry-nut depth.

Red Hook

A rum riff on Joseph Santini's 1850s New Orleans Crusta — aged rum with orange liqueur, maraschino, lemon, and bitters served in a sugar-rimmed glass with a sweeping lemon-peel lining, an ancestor of both the Sidecar and the Margarita.

Rum Crusta

A rum-based riff on the Last Word that swaps gin for white rum — the Chartreuse and maraschino retain their herbal complexity and floral sweetness while the rum brings a lighter tropical note, making for a slightly softer, more accessible take on the equal-parts format.

Rum Last Word

A Cuban daiquiri variation from the 1930s adding grenadine and maraschino to the classic rum-lime formula. Named after Santiago de Cuba, it sits between a classic daiquiri and a Mary Pickford in its fruit-forward sweetness.

Santiago

A gilded-age classic from the Saratoga Springs racing resort era — equal parts brandy, rye, and sweet vermouth with a dash of maraschino, it is a rich, spirit-forward Manhattan-adjacent stirred cocktail with genuine depth.

Saratoga

The original vermouth-forward Martinez specification — more vermouth than gin — a reminder that before the dry martini dominated, the first stirred gin-vermouth cocktail was sweet, aromatic, and luxurious.

Sweet Martinez

The Last Word rebuilt around blanco tequila — the agave's grassy, vegetal brightness plays a fascinating counterpoint to the herbal Chartreuse and sweet maraschino. A natural fit for tequila lovers who haven't yet tried the equal-parts format.

Tequila Last Word

One of the oldest cocktails to pair gin with vermouth, the Turf Club predates the Martini itself — dry vermouth and a whisper of maraschino and absinthe transform gin into something bracingly elegant, a window into pre-Prohibition sophistication.

Turf Club

A pre-Prohibition gin-and-dry-vermouth martini variant laced with maraschino and absinthe, landing herbaceous, aromatic, and more complex than its short ingredient list suggests.

Turf Cocktail

An elegant pre-Prohibition Martini variant where dry vermouth meets a whisper of maraschino and absinthe over gin, producing a dry, perfumed sip with nutty cherry and faint licorice.

Tuxedo

A martini variation from Harry Craddock's 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book adding maraschino, orange bitters, and a dash of absinthe to equal parts gin and dry vermouth. More floral and complex than a classic dry martini.

Tuxedo No. 2

The Crusta format -- a New Orleans ancestor of the Sidecar -- dressed up with bourbon, maraschino, orange liqueur, and a sugared rim.

Whiskey Crusta

A spare three-ingredient Prohibition-era stirred cocktail that layers the botanical brightness of gin with the almond-cherry depth of maraschino and the crisp herbal dryness of French vermouth.

White Cargo

An old collegiate martini variation layering gin and dry vermouth with a hint of maraschino and orange bitters, yielding a dry, lightly nutty stirred sip finished with lemon oils.

Maraschino Liqueur