Commonly, when someone speaks of Maraschino Cherries, our minds picture those bright red cherries that used to garnish our Shirley Temples or our ice cream sundaes. But in fact, those cherries are nowhere near the real deal, being that they are mostly artificial flavorings and red dye. The “original” Maraschino cherries were made available in the 1880′s by the Luxardo Company. They were marasca cherries that came from the Adriatic Sea region, and soaked in Luxardo Maraschino liqueur. They have a deep red color and a dark brown sugar fruit flavoring. 50% candied cherry syrup and 50% cherries, these babies are a master mixologist’s dream garnish. Ingredients: cherries, sugar, Marasca cherry juice, glucose, citric acid, natural color, Maraschino flavor.