Moonshine Martini

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (63 ratings)
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    Moonshine Martini

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Moonshine Martini image

Serve in a Coupe glass

Ingredients:
1 1⁄2 oz Hayman's London Dry Gin
1⁄2 oz Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
1 oz Strucchi Dry Vermouth
1⁄12 oz La Fée Parisienne absinthe
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

  1. Select and pre-chill a Coupe glass.
  2. Prepare garnish of Luxardo Maraschino Cherry.
  3. STIR all ingredients with ice.
  4. FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
  5. Garnish with maraschino cherry.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 9/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 6/10
More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile
Cocktail of the day:

3rd June 2025 is Anniversary of the first American spacewalk

Review:

A wet Martini with balanced hints of maraschino and absinthe.

View readers' comments

History:

Adapted from a recipe in Harry Craddock's 1930 The Savoy Cocktail Book.

Moonshine Cocktail. (6 people)
3 Glasses Gin.
2 Glasses French Vermouth.
1 Glass Maraschino.
Before shaking add a drop of Absinthe Bitters.

Harry Craddock, 1930

Martini cocktail and its evolution

More cocktails by Harry Craddock

Nutrition:

One serving of Moonshine Martini contains 180 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.7 standard drinks
  • 25.91% alc./vol. (25.91° proof)
  • 24 grams of pure alcohol

Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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John Hinojos’ Avatar John Hinojos
4th June at 00:23
WOW, still love this cocktail. It does have a bit of sweetness. Being great lovers of absinthe, we added a spray of absinthe on the top to counter the sweet. Would consider reducing the Maraschino liqueur a bit. Love it.
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John CARR’s Avatar John CARR
4th July 2024 at 13:41
I saw the 15ml of Luxardo and hesitated (even as a Luxardo fan)… but read the comments and went ahead as per spec and was pleasantly surprised. A lot of sweetness but the herbal and mineral qualities of the gin and vermouth still very forefront. Certainly in the vintage Martinez/tuxedo mode. I added a spritz of lemon to sharpen it slightly.
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Roberto Boertje’s Avatar Roberto Boertje
21st June 2024 at 23:30
Vey nice, but certainly not dry enough for my taste. I'd cut the maraschino in half next time.
1
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John Hinojos’ Avatar John Hinojos
4th June 2024 at 00:33
Retried this after our first 4 years ago. Changed my rating up and added to my favourites. Dropped the cherry garnish as I find they made the cocktail a bit sweet. Love anything with absinthe and it shines in this cocktail.
Saw the comments about the Luxardo Maraschino. Sometimes I think people are expecting Maraschino to be strong cherry and sweet like Cherry Heering. Maraschino has a hint of cherry; more between Kirsch and Heering. It has a bit of sweetness, but more alcohol flavour.
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Tuber Magnatum’s Avatar Tuber Magnatum
29th January 2022 at 23:18
I love the flavour combination. However, I found it as anonymous a tad sweet / unctuous from the maraschino. Will try with slightly less next time as it is for me otherwise a lovely drink. I especially enjoyed the hint of Absinthe.
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Beth Hagberg’s Avatar Beth Hagberg
5th October 2021 at 12:03
Interesting. I’m still baffled by the taste. Thank you for your input
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Beth Hagberg’s Avatar Beth Hagberg
4th October 2021 at 23:09
Simon, it’s Luxardo, 32% alcohol. I have not been impressed from the moment I opened it. It smells like vermouth and is not what I thought it would be.
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Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
5th October 2021 at 07:04
Luxardo is a high-quality brand and will definitely not have "turned". It is aged for two years in ash wood vats.
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Beth Hagberg’s Avatar Beth Hagberg
4th October 2021 at 00:02
Meh. Is it possible my marischino has turned? I have only had it a year, and I keep it in a cool cabinet. It never has tasted good. Is it possible it was bad when I purchased it?
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Gary Penn’s Avatar Gary Penn
14th April 2023 at 16:54
Oh! Our first ever bottle of Luxardo smells and tastes like Plasticene :( Much prefer Maraska.
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Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
4th October 2021 at 07:26
Doubtful your maraschino has turned. What brand is it and what alc./vol.?
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Avatar

Anonymous

3rd June 2021 at 02:15
I agree about “almost savoury”, but it might be a tad sweet for me. I may back off on the maraschino a little.
1
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John Hinojos’ Avatar John Hinojos
9th May 2021 at 23:49
Found this very complex. It is almost savory. We take out our cherries with a spoon, so a small amount of cherry juice is in the base. If you use the pick in the cherry to agitate the cocktail it adds just another interesting layour of flavour.
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