Pop your cherry

One thing you must try in Zadar is a drink made out of local Maraschino cherries – a particularly aromatic variety, a little bitter, therefore not used for eating, but great when sugared up to the max.

As we all know, it’s the quiet ones you have to watch, and, like all the most potent brews, Maraschino liqueur (crystal clear and syrupy) was first made by 16th Century monks, who called it sun dew. Apparently the fruits and young leaves of the Maraschino cherry tree were so full of the goodness of sunshine and the bountiful earth that the drinker would be imbued with positive effects.

The city’s Maraška factory is the yellow building on the mainland opposite the footbridge, and has been producing alcoholic and non-alcoholic variations of the cherry, as well as other drinks, for years. It’s something which the locals are rightly proud of.