Interesting article about how Luxardo made its way to US cocktails

LINK

There's a good bit about the history of the company, being bombed to nothing in Zara. Also about how the FDA had previously defined maraschino cherries since the 40s as artificially sweetened and died cherries.

Wraps up with the story of how Audrey Saunders tasted them in a cocktail in London right before she opened Pegu in NYC in 2004. Bought all the jars at the one local shop she could find that sold them and used them for opening.

quote:

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The Luxardo cherries were a huge success. A writer from The New York Times mentioned them in a blurb, and other bartenders asked Saunders for information about the brand. “Of course I was happy to fill them in because my goal was to get them out into the universe,” she says. Saunders then reached out to Matteo, who connected her with Preiss to supply Pegu Club permanently. As Saunders and others popularized Luxardo by word of mouth, Matteo says, “The sales...started to grow [by] double digits every year.” The word was out. American drinkers could finally order a Manhattan with a real Italian maraschino cherry.

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