Amarena Vs Maraschino Cherries: When To Use Each In Cocktails

Is a cocktail even a cocktail until a little red orb of sweetness is plopped in? So many tipples include cherries as part of their basic formulas; the garnish is rivaled perhaps only by citrus. We've been punctuating cocktails with cherries since the 19th century, for the same simple reasons we still do today. They're a pop of flavor that counters or complements a drink's sweetness, they're something fun to chew on with your drink, and they act as a kind of decoration. 

The old fashioned is considered one of the first real cocktails, so it set a precedent by including a cherry. What we're learning more now, though, especially in a golden age of craft cocktails, is that there are different kinds of cherries to use, from those soaked in bourbon to those in brandy. But it all starts with maraschino — the most essential cherry — and from there, the other most important variety to know for its flavor and versatility is the Amarena cherry. 

Maraschinos themselves represent their own mini-category. There are the fluorescent red ones you see in grocery stores; there's the special, high-end brand of maraschino cherries, Luxardo, favored by more elevated bars, and plenty of other options in between. Amarena is a lesser-known option also from Italy, with a bolder real cherry flavor and more tartness. Let's break down the differences and which cocktails each type works best with, in order to help broaden your garnishing horizons.

Amarena cherries are a bit tarter than maraschinos. Picture the range like this: American-made maraschinos are the sweetest, maraschinos like Luxardo's are balanced between sweet and tart, and Amarenas offer more of that bright punch. The latter is a sour cherry that's still pretty similar to the marasca cherry, so it's easy to imagine getting the maraschino character with a touch more acidity. Because of this, Amarenas also tend to have more of a natural fruit flavor. It's worth pointing out, by the way, that while "maraschino" is lowercase because the cherries are named for the liqueur, "Amarena" is capitalized because it's a specific variety, grown in Bologna and Modena.

One of the best-known Amarena cherry brands is Fabbri, which is comparable in price to Luxardo maraschinos. Once you've got your Amarenas, use them in cocktails where you might use a maraschino, but that could stand to have more tartness. The Singapore sling features ingredients like Bénédictine liqueur, cherry liqueur, and sometimes sugar syrup and grenadine, so an Amarena counters that sweetness while highlighting the cherry flavor. This variety also tempers the sweet vermouth of a classic Manhattan while still bringing sweetness to the drink's spicy rye whiskey — expect similar results with a perfect boulevardier. Amarenas are ideal for an amaretto sour, blending their sweetness with the drink's brightness while tartening up the sugar and liqueur.

Maraschino cherries literally originate with booze. Centuries ago, farmers preserved their cherries in alcohol. Meanwhile, people began distilling spirits from cherries: Monks in Dalmatia — Croatia today, but part of Italy then — turned their local marasca cherries into maraschino liqueur. When maraschino cherries, named for the spirit, hit the United States, they were packed in liqueur. The Prohibition made this illegal, so a non-alcoholic sugar syrup was engineered. That's why to this day, the flavor of maraschino cherries is oftentimes more straight-up sugary and almond-y (American maraschinos are made from different varieties like Rainier or Gold). This itself is why many mixologists prefer Luxardo: They still use marasca cherries, soaked in a syrup made simply of the cherries themselves so there's less cloying candy flavor and more complexity.

From cheaper finds to Luxardos, though, maraschinos skew sweeter than Amarenas, so they're best for two types of cocktails: Tropical tipples where you want to double down on sweetness, and more bitter drinks where you need balance. A maraschino plays up the banana, pineapple, and blackberry of a fruity rum runner. Similarly, maraschinos can emphasize sweet coconut in a classic piña colada. A champagne cocktail isn't complete with a maraschino to round out its sugar and brandy, balancing bitters and crisp effervescence. On the balance note, maraschinos temper the acidic pop of a frothy whiskey sour, counter the roast of the popular espresso martini, and bring sweetness to the bitterness of the iconic old fashioned.