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VIP Price: $12.76
Regular Price: $15.95
ORASELLA ELEVATES THE ABANDONED
MARASCHINO CHERRY AND BRINGS IT BACK TO ITS ROOTS.
Made from little more than cherries and maraschino liqueur, the traditional maraschino cherry was pure, had depth of flavor, and sat elegantly in the glass. 1950’s industrialization gave birth to the American maraschino cherry, a bright red, cloyingly sweet garnish that attempted to standardize the appearance and flavor of cherries of variable quality. Often bleached, dyed, and chemically hardened, these cherries have been abandoned by the craft cocktail movement. Thankfully Orasella has rescued us, by reviving the original maraschino cherry. Although there are many craft cocktail cherries available, most are still sweet and syrupy and none are made with the original recipe and process brought to this country from Italy.
Made and produced in Washington – the nation’s top sweet cherry producer – Orasella uses local cherries that are harvested, prepared, and preserved by hand. Other ingredients are carefully selected and balanced to produce a sophisticated garnish worthy of its heritage.
ABOUT THE MAKER
Anne and Heidi had been friends since college when one snowy evening they decided that the world needed a better cocktail garnish. The two women, now moms with careers and homes to manage, set out to elevate the lowly maraschino. With an engineer's rigor and a designer's flair, the friends systematically produced and tested batch after batch (after batch) of maraschino cherries. Seven different cherry varieties were tested and discarded before finding one that would hold its shape, withstand processing, and give the liquid a beautiful, rich color in the jar. Stems were trimmed in the Italian tradition at varying lengths until they provided the perfect handle with which to grasp the fruit at the base of the glass. Sweetness, acidity, alcohol, and other flavorings were varied individually and in concert to provide just the right complement to cocktails. After recipe testing over 250 pounds of cherries, they finally arrived at a recipe that satisfied them.