Obtained from the Marasca, a sour cherry variety exclusively cultivated by Luxardo, this is one of the very few liqueurs in the world produced by distillation! One may think this is going to taste like cherries. You might be surprised to hear that they’d be wrong. The nose smells of pine, tree bark and lemon. The taste is sophisticated, but not unapproachable. It may be bit of an acquired taste, but definitely one worth putting the time into. The up front flavor is very floral with a handful of pine and tree bark. The mild nutty mid palette comes from the cherry pits and is very subtle. Luxardo finishes out with a peppermint candy freshness that cleanses the palette nicely. The texture is dense and syrupy, coating the mouth. Production: Luxardo is distilled from ripe marasca cherries, their crushed pits, sprigs and leaves, honey, and other ingredients that remain a secret. The distillate is allowed to mature for two years in Finnish ash wood vats and is then diluted and sugared. For a nice touch, they leave the cherry pits in with the fruit, which adds a fabulous almond-like flavor.