What Exactly Is a Maraschino Cherry?

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The maraschino cherry is the star atop the cocktail Christmas tree. It’s an exclamation point on a beautiful mixed drink, a prize at the bottom of your aperitif, the goody when you’ve gulped down your glass.

For more than a century, drinkers have come to expect the cerise cutie stirred into their Manhattans, skewered onto tiny swords for daiquiris, or plopped atop their Tequila Sunrise. For as dainty and darling as the drink garnishes may be, however, the modern maraschino cherry is more science than nature. In fact, you might could call it a fruity Frankenstein.

Maraschino cherries were born out of necessity. European orchardists needed a way to preserve their precious marasca cherry harvests, which were prone to mush and rot as soon as they were plucked from the limbs of the trees. In the 18th century, cherry growers began bathing their crop in maraschino liqueur, which is made from the cherry’s fruit, pits, leaves, and stems. This helped the fruit last longer and also made it a treat that could transport easily.

By the late 19th century, the preserved cherries found their way to the U.S., where they were used in some hoity-toity foods of the day, like ice cream sundaes, custards, even salads. Soon, however, enterprising bartenders discovered the secret of the preserved cherry and began using them as a way to garnish glasses without having to stock as much fresh fruit.