Casino Cocktail Recipe

Learn how to make a Classic Casino Cocktail recipe made with gin, fresh lemon juice, and Luxardo, slightly sweetened with simple syrup and with a couple of dashes of bitters for that extra level of sophistication. Easily shaken together in just minutes, this old-fashioned gin and lemon cocktail with Luxardo is a grown-up, not-too-sweet gin cocktail perfect to enjoy as a nightcap.

Why I love this gin cocktail recipe

The Casino Cocktail is an old-fashioned cocktail that has been around since the 1900’s. And once you’ve tasted one you’ll realize why people are still drinking them!

This is a gin and lemon cocktail with Luxardo is different from a sour or gimlet making it a fun option if you love gin cocktails.

Related: Classic Gin Gimlet

Luxardo is something new I’m playing with. It’s a marschino liqueur which means it has a bit of a cherry flavor, but it also has almond notes too. YUM. While I like to keep my home bar small, I think this one will be great in tons of easy cocktail recipes.

Ingredients

Here’s what you need to make this simple Luxardo cocktail recipe:

• gin
• fresh lemon juice
• Luxardo
• simple syrup
• bitters

I’m using Silent Pool gin (I was sent a bottle a while ago by the brand and really like the flavor) in my drinks at the moment because I think it works really well in most cocktails and I think its herbal flavor really comes through here, but you can use whatever gin you’ve already got open.

Luxardo is a strong, clear liquor from Italy that tastes really sophisticated with a generous hit of cherry, enhanced by pairing it with a Maraschino cherry dropped into the bottom of a glass. I’d not drink it by itself, but it is great for leveling-up cocktails.

I’ve used store-bought simple syrup to make this a quick-to-make drink but it really is important to balance the cocktail so if you’ve run out make your own!

I add bitters to almost every cocktail I make because it is the easiest way to make them taste like you’re in a fancy cocktail bar, rather than at home. But, I think they’re really essential to the flavor here!

I prefer Angostura bitters here, but if you only have orange bitters on hand use them instead because they’re what you’d usually find in a classic Casino cocktail.

See the printable recipe card for quantities and full recipe.

Directions

Step 1

Add all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well.

Step 2

Strain into a Nic and Nora glass (the classic glass for this drink, but you could use any fancy cocktail glass with a stem) and drop a Maraschino cherry into the bottom of the glass for a classic serve.

Step 3

Garnish with a lemon wheel, and enjoy!

Variations

• Use lime – for some reason (probably science?) lime juice makes cherry taste more like cherry. So feel free to switch out the lemon juice and use lime in this Casino Cocktail.
• Add almond extract – or you could just up cherry’s natural almond flavor with the tiniest drop of almond extract – but be careful because any more would be overpowering.
• Use vanilla syrup – vanilla also works really well with cherry, so you could use vanilla simple syrup to make this drink instead.
• Make a Casino Royale – leave out the simple syrup and shake an egg white in the shaker to make a Casino Royale, a variation on the Casino Cocktail created in the 1960’s.

Top tips

• Chill the glasses. Short, citrus-forward cocktails like this are best served in the coldest glasses possible. If you don’t have room in the freezer, fill the glass with ice while you’re making the cocktail, and remove it just before straining in your drink.
• Get ahead. While these drinks are best enjoyed the moment you’ve mixed them you can squeeze the lemon juice in advance and keep it chilled in the fridge for up to 3 days. This is my favorite citrus squeezer [affiliate link].

More classic cocktail recipes

• Classic Daiquiri Ingredients
• Classic Gin Gimlet (with fresh lime or Rose’s Lime!)
• Best Hugo Spritz Recipe with St Germain
• Simple Vodka Sour Recipe (with no egg!)
• Perfect Gin and Tonic Ratio and Ingredients
• Lavender French 75
• Cocktail Smoker

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