Sleeper Cocktail: The Casino
Long one of my favorite drinks, you’ll be lucky if you visit a bar that can make a proper Casino. A full three of the ingredients are uncommon to rare in all but the swankiest of establishments… but if you find one on the specialty menu of that fancy restaurant you’re dining at, try one. You won’t be sorry.
The Casino is a lot of gin with some subtle but crucial flavorings. Maraschino (cherry liqueur, mainly from Croatia) gives it a well, cherry bite. Lemon juice makes it tart, cutting the alcohol very well. Orange bitters add a little je ne sais quoi, and a brandied cherry provides the perfect way to polish the thing off.
The Casino
2 oz. gin (I prefer Plymouth or Bombay Sapphire)
1/4 oz. Maraschino liqueur
1/4 oz. fresh lemon juice
4 dashes orange bitters
Shake all the ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a brandied cherry (a maraschino cherry will work in a pinch, but it’s not the same). (Add a tiny bit of the brandy liquid from the cherry jar into the drink to give it a nifty pinkish tone.)
You can find Maraschino in most liquor stores and orange bitters are becoming more common these days. Fee Brothers can tell you where to get their fine product in your area if you email them. I found brandied cherries at my local upscale market, in the preserves aisle, but you can even order them from Amazon.
Some notes: This cocktail is also called an Aviation, typically without the bitters or the cherry. You’ll also see the proportions vary wildly: Many online recipes will say you should put 1/4 teaspoon each of lemon juice and Maraschino in the drink, but that’s way too little to counter a full 2 ounces of gin. 1/4 ounce (about 1 1/2 teaspoons) is far more appropriate and makes a much tastier drink.
I’ve also tried this drink with lemon-infused vodka, but it doesn’t taste as good. The aromatics in the gin really make the Casino sing. Use a gin that doesn’t have too much juniper in it: Tanqueray is awful in a Casino.
April 4th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
[...] a spin on the Casino recipe that I love so much, adding St. Germain (which I also love so much) to give it an extra [...]
May 21st, 2008 at 9:38 pm
[...] you like yours with a twist instead of olives) but good news for fruit-oriented cocktails like the Casino. Most of New Amsterdam’s cocktail ideas are heavy on fruit like watermelon or guava. Sounds [...]
October 17th, 2008 at 9:31 pm
[...] impressive in cocktails, and I’m now even pondering whether to replace it in my cherished Casino recipe, color be [...]
March 24th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Interesting variation on an Aviation, I look forward to trying it. Your proportions are spot-on, I expect, and of course Plymouth is the stuff to use. And of course, many of us use Creme de Violette in our Aviations to give them that lovely evening-sky color, which adds a little extra too….
September 2nd, 2009 at 2:20 am
Hmm, I used “amer picon l’orange” for orange bitters, but that gave the casino a dark orange color. Strange. What kind did you use?
For the rest, it’s an excellent cocktail. You really don’t taste it is that strong, and I like that. Way better then, let we say, the avarage martini.
September 2nd, 2009 at 7:44 am
I use Fee Brothers.
December 22nd, 2009 at 3:54 pm
[...] to stand out more than that? My two favorite cocktails are the Casino and the Sazerac — though both are a bit labor intensive and, in my experience, you’ll [...]
February 24th, 2010 at 2:46 pm
[...] The Sazerac and the Casino — those are my favorite drinks and I make them at home often. I still tinker and try to come [...]