Gin and Maraschino

Day 165, Cocktails 163 & 164

As I contemplated what to drink tonight I decided I wanted to strike out on my own.  I’ve been a fan of Luxardo maraschino since my first Aviation and really like how well it works with gin.  But rather than the lemon juice that makes up the third leg of the Aviation I decided to experiment on my own and see what else I could come up with.

My first effort used Plymouth gin, Luxardo maraschino and Ty Ku, the asian superfruit flavored liqueur.

  Ty Ku Flyer

• 2 oz Plymouth gin
• 1/2 oz Ty Ku liqueur
• 1/4 oz Luxardo Maraschino liqueur

Combine the ingredients in a mixing glass with 4-5 ice cubes.  Stir to combine and chill.  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Wow, pretty good, if I say so myself.  It’s not often that the first crack at a cocktail yields a drink that is well balanced and tasty, but I think I hit this one on the first try.  The Ty Ku mellows the Luxardo, leaving a delightful cherry, melon flavor that mixes well with the relatively mild Plymouth.  No garnish is needed for this one!

The next one I tried really was a flyer.  I switched to Bombay gin, kept the Luxardo Maraschino liqueur and tried using Pernod.  Pernod is considered an absinthe substitute and is one the many annise flavored liqueurs out there.  I keep sipping this trying to like it, but the Pernod is a flavor that doesn’t seem to play as well with gin as it does with rye or scotch.   At this point, although I’m counting this as a cocktail drunk towards my goal, it is not a recipe that I’m ready to publish.

Ultimately, the point here is to go ahead and experiment.  Try mixing and matching flavors that you like and see what you get.  If you come up with something good let me know and I’ll publish it here!

Cheers!