A gin sour built on the soft, gently sweet body of Old Tom gin, with maraschino bringing a nutty-cherry sweetness, a measured squeeze of lemon keeping it bright, and orange bitters knitting the whole together. It drinks like a drier, more aromatic cousin of the Aviation — cold and crisp in the coupe, with cherry and citrus lingering over the gin's botanicals.
Garnish: Lemon Peel, Maraschino Cherry
Shaken · Coupe · Up
add
Combine Old Tom gin, maraschino liqueur, lemon juice, and orange bitters in a shaker.
shake
Add ice and shake well until thoroughly chilled.
strain
Strain into a chilled coupe, served straight up.
garnish
Express a lemon twist over the surface and drop in a maraschino cherry.
No inventor is on record for the Casino; its earliest known appearance comes around 1909, in Jacob A. Didier's vest-pocket bartender's guide "The Reminder." Hugo Ensslin printed it in "Recipes for Mixed Drinks" (1916) as a stirred drink, and Harry Craddock carried it forward in "The Savoy Cocktail Book" in 1930. When Old Tom gin fell out of use the Casino faded along with it, until the craft cocktail revival brought it back and the IBA listed it among its "Unforgettables."