The company's current products include a variety of liqueurs and similar products (Maraschino, Sangue Morlacco, Sambuca, Amaretto, Grappa, Passione Nera, Slivovitz, Luxardo Fernet, etc.) as well as other baking related products, such as liqueur concentrates, fruit syrups, and jams.[1] Luxardo products are sold in about 70 countries worldwide. The distillery employs approximately 45 people, as well as roughly 100 salespeople throughout Italy. The 6,800-square-metre (73,000sqft) distillery is capable of producing 6,000 bottles per hour. In 2010, it produced a pre-tax profit of €16 million.[2]
History
The firm was founded in 1821 by Girolamo Luxardo in the city of Zara, Kingdom of Dalmatia. Luxardo had moved to Zara with his family in 1817, as the consular representative of the Kingdom of Sardinia. His wife (Maria Canevari) produced liqueurs at home, specializing in "rosolio maraschino", a liquor from Dalmatia, and Luxardo founded the distillery to produce Liquore Maraschino.[1] Within eight years of existence, the Luxardo Maraschino was recognized a superior product by the Emperor. By 1839, the Luxardo Maraschino was consumed in overseas New Orleans.[3]
Girolamo Luxardo died in 1865 at age 81, and his son Nicolò took over the business.[4][3]
Old headquarters of Luxardo in Zadar
In 1913 a new distillery was built by Michelangelo Luxardo, who was of the third generation of Luxardos. The distillery was one of the largest in the Austro-Hungarian Empire (maybe the largest distillery in Europe at one time[3]). The building still stands today.[1]
Zara became part of the Kingdom of Italy as per the peace treaties at the end of World War I. The distillery was almost completely destroyed by Allied bombings during the Second World War. In 1944, at the end of Nazi German occupation, the city was occupied by Yugoslav partisans and later integrated into Yugoslavia at the end of the war. Pietro Luxardo, Nicolò II and his wife were killed by Tito's forces (Foibe massacres). The business was temporarily refounded in Venice by Giorgio Luxardo,[4] who allegedly fled with a sapling of marasca cherry tree and an original Maraschino recipe,[5] before Giorgio moved to Torreglia, near Padova, in the Veneto region of Italy, where he built a new distillery and continued the family's and firm's activities. The sixth generation of the family is still active in the operations of the company, including: Piero Luxardo, Franco Luxardo, Guido Luxardo, Matteo Luxardo, Filippo Luxardo and Giorgio Luxardo.[1]
The company owns 22,000 marasca cherry trees in what is the largest cherry orchard in the European Union.[2] It also holds the naming rights to its own marasca variety.[6]
Awards
In 2011 at the New York World Wine and Spirits Competition, the Amaretto di Saschira won double gold and best liqueur in show and the Triplum Triple Sec Orange won double gold and best fruit liqueur in show.[2]
2019: gold medal at the International Spirits Challenge[6]
A maraschino cherry is a preserved, sweetened cherry, typically made from light-colored sweet cherries such as the Royal Ann, Rainier, or Gold varieties. In their modern form, the cherries are first preserved in a brine solution usually containing sulfur dioxide and calcium chloride to bleach the fruit, then soaked in a suspension of food coloring, sugar syrup, and other components.
Maraschino is a liqueur obtained from the distillation of Marasca cherries. The small, slightly sour fruit of the Marasca cherry tree, which grows wild along parts of the Dalmatian coast in Croatia, lends the liqueur its unique aroma.
Amaretto is a sweet Italian liqueur originating from the comune (municipality) of Saronno. Depending on the brand, it may be made from apricot kernels, bitter almonds, peach stones, or almonds, all of which are natural sources of the benzaldehyde that provides the almond-like flavour of the liqueur. It generally contains 21 to 28 percent alcohol by volume.
Disaronno Originale is a type of amaretto—an amber-colored liqueur with a characteristic almond taste, although it does not actually contain almonds. It is produced in Saronno, in the Lombardy region of Italy, and is sold worldwide. According to the company, the liqueur is an infusion of apricot kernel oil with "absolute alcohol, burnt sugar, and the pure essence of seventeen selected herbs and fruits". The liqueur is sold in an oblong glass decanter designed by a craftsman from Murano.
Crème de Noyaux is an almond-flavored crème liqueur, although it is actually made from apricot kernels or the kernels of peach or cherry pits, which provide an almond-like flavor. Both Bols and Hiram Walker produce artificially colored red versions of the liqueur while Noyau de Poissy from France is available in both clear (blanc) and barrel-aged amber (ambre) versions.
The bombing of Zadar during the Second World War by the Allies lasted from November 1943 to October 1944. Although other large cities in Italy were also bombed, the bombing of Zadar stands out because of the number of attacks and the number of fatalities. Reports vary greatly; the Allies documented 30 bombing raids, while contemporary Italian accounts claim 54. Fatalities recorded range from under 1,000 to as many as 4,000 of the city's 20,000 inhabitants.
The marasca cherry is a type of sour Morello cherry known only from cultivation. It is reputed to attain its finest flavor when grown in coastal Croatia.
The Polmos Łańcut distillery is one of the oldest producers of liquors and liqueurs in Poland. A small amount of the distillery's output is exported to Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, and the United States.
Davide Campari-Milano N.V., trading as Campari Group, is an Italian company active since 1860 in the branded beverage industry. It produces spirits, wines, and non-alcoholic apéritifs. From its signature product, Campari, its portfolio has been extended to include over 50 brands, including Aperol, Appleton, Cinzano, SKYY vodka, Espolón, Wild Turkey, Grand Marnier, and Forty Creek whisky.
Dalmatian Italians are the historical Italian national minority living in the region of Dalmatia, now part of Croatia and Montenegro.
Lucas Bols N.V. is a Dutch public company in the business of production, distribution, sales and marketing of alcoholic beverages. It claims to be the oldest distillery brand in the world. Its brand portfolio consists of Bols, Galliano, Vaccari, Pisang Ambon, Gold Strike and a large group of Dutch genevers and liqueurs. It produces about 3 million cases a year, with yearly revenues exceeding 95 million euros.
The Governorate of Dalmatia was a territory divided into three provinces of Italy during the Italian Kingdom and Italian Empire epoch. It was created later as an entity in April 1941 at the start of World War II in Yugoslavia, by uniting the existing Province of Zara with occupied Yugoslav territory annexed by Italy after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers and the signing of the Rome Treaties.
Leopold Bros. is a family-owned and operated distillery located in Denver, Colorado. They are well known as an independent distillery that floor malts, mills, mashes, and ferments all the grains in their spirits, as well as distills, ages, and bottles their entire portfolio at their one and only distillery in northeast Denver. They currently have the largest traditional floor malting room of any distillery in the United States, where they malt Colorado barley onsite.
Chase Vodka is a single estate potato vodka made in Herefordshire, England, UK by William Chase, who is also known for founding Tyrrells crisps.
Proximo Spirits, Inc., is an American multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in Jersey City, New Jersey. It is a major distributor of tequila and other spirits, it is best known for Jose Cuervo, the world's largest-selling tequila brand.
The Schlitzer Korn & Edelobstbrennerei GmbH is a liquor manufacturer in Schlitz, a small town in the Vogelsbergkreis in eastern Hesse, Germany.
Girolamo Luxardo (1784–1865) was an Italian entrepreneur and diplomat, founder of the Italian liqueur brand Girolamo Luxardo.
Franco Luxardo is a Dalmatian Italian entrepreneur, sports manager and former fencer.
Maraska is a Croatian company best known for its maraschino, a liqueur obtained from the distillation of Marasca cherries.
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