Classic cocktail · Guided recipe

Casino

Cousin to the Aviation, minus the violet and with the maraschino pulled back to a bar spoon or two. What's left is a dry gin sour where the cherry sits underneath the drink rather than on top of it. Orange bitters do the rest.

Preparation~2 minEasyStrengthStrongabout 32% ABVMethodShaken8 guided stepsIngredients4Coupe or martini glass

Sour

In the glassGin · Maraschino liqueur · Fresh lemon juice · Orange bitters

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Make it with guidanceOne clear action at a time, with timers built in.

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What goes in

Ingredients

An empty clear coupe glass with a shallow rounded bowl and slender stem. — Serving glassCoupe glass

Set up before you pour

Use a coupe glass.

The stem keeps your hand away from a cold drink, while the rounded bowl makes an up serve easy to sip.

Standard size: 200 ml6¾ oz
Ice & serve: Chill it first; serve without ice.
If you don’t own one: Use a small martini glass or stemmed dessert glass.

Tools to set out

cocktail shaker
strainer (or a small sieve)
jigger or measuring spoon

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Scale to your coupe or martini glassWe’ll remember this glass size.

Gin60 ml
Maraschino liqueur8 ml
Fresh lemon juice15 ml
Orange bitters2 dashes

Start making

From bottle to glass

Method

01
Measure into the shaker
Pour 60 ml gin into your shaker
- Gin
02
Measure into the shaker
Add 8 ml maraschino liqueur
- Maraschino liqueur
03
Measure into the shaker
Add 15 ml fresh lemon juice
- Fresh lemon juice
04
Measure into the shaker
Add 2 dashes orange bitters
- Orange bitters
05
Ice the shaker
Fill the shaker with ice
Why it mattersFill it right up — more ice chills faster with less watering down.
06
Seal and shake
Seal and shake hard
Why it mattersCold hands mean it’s working. Shake until the tin frosts over.
07
Strain cleanly
Strain into a chilled glass — no ice
Why it mattersPour through the strainer so the spent shaker ice stays behind.
08
Finish the drink
Finish it — add a cocktail cherry

Know your drink

About the Casino

A gin highball, dry Martini and ruby bitter gin cocktail in a botanical bar.

Maraschino, properly understood

Maraschino is distilled from Marasca cherries with the stones included, then rested and sweetened. That's why it reads as almond and pit as much as fruit, and why it comes out clear rather than red. Luxardo has been making it more or less the same way for two centuries, first in Zadar and later in Italy. A bottle lasts years and turns up in a startling number of classics.

The trap is treating it as a sweetener. It isn't one. Measure it against the lemon rather than against the syrup you'd otherwise use, and taste before topping up. A Casino carrying 15 ml of maraschino stops being a gin drink and becomes a maraschino drink with gin in it.

Common questions

Casino FAQ

Why so little maraschino?

Because it's loud. Luxardo runs 32 percent and carries a funky, almost nutty cherry-pit note that swallows gin at anything past 10 ml. Eight is enough to perfume the whole glass. If you can taste it as a separate ingredient, there's too much in there.

Can I use cherry brandy or cherry liqueur instead?

No, and that substitution is why maraschino has a bad reputation with people who've never had the real thing. Cherry brandy is sweet and red. Maraschino is clear, dry and distilled from Marasca cherries with their pits. Swapping them gives you cough syrup.

How is it different from an Aviation?

The Aviation adds crème de violette and usually more maraschino, which turns it floral and pale purple. Casino stays dry and leans on orange bitters for lift instead. Three quarters of the same recipe, two drinks that taste almost nothing alike.

Does the cherry garnish matter?

It's the only sweetness that reaches the drink after it's poured, so use a real one. Luxardo or Amarena, never the fluorescent kind. Drop it into the glass instead of spearing it across the rim, and eat it at the end.

What ingredients are in a Casino?

A classic Casino calls for 60 ml (2 oz) Gin, 8 ml (0.25 oz) Maraschino liqueur, 15 ml (0.5 oz) Fresh lemon juice, 2 dashes orange bitters Orange bitters. That single-serve spec scales cleanly — the recipe above converts it to oz and multiplies it for 2–4 drinks.

How strong is a Casino?

A standard Casino is roughly 32% ABV once mixed (before ice melt softens it further). That makes it spirit-forward — closer to a Martini than to a beer, so sip it slowly.

Is a Casino shaken or stirred?

A Casino is shaken — the rule of thumb is to shake anything with citrus juice. About 13 seconds with plenty of ice chills and dilutes it correctly.

Sharpen the technique