Bols Maraschino Liqueur

Bols Maraschino is the house take on a classic cherry liqueur, made by Bols of Amsterdam, distilling and blending since 1575. It is built on Marasca cherries, a rare sour variety, with the fruit and pits distilled together so the kernel lends the signature almond note, then sweetened to a dry, clear liqueur at 24%.

The nose is fine cherry with floral nuances and subtle almond and marzipan, the palate mildly sweet, slightly nutty and gently spiced with fruity cherry, the finish dry, long and faintly floral. Behind the bar that dryness is the point: it adds cherry depth and a nutty, floral complexity without the sticky sweetness of a fruit syrup, balancing and binding a drink. It is the maraschino in an Aviation alongside gin, violet liqueur and lemon, and earns its place in the Last Word and the Hemingway Daiquiri. A small measure also rounds out stirred and sour serves.