Opinions were mixed. GG will barely bring herself to taste anything with any absinthe, and this has a strong absinthe scent. (A little absinthe goes a long way, which, frankly, is part of what I like so much about it. It's fantastic as a flavoring agent in small quantities.) Another sampler said, I believe, that it was the worst thing ever, but all my friends who've tried a few of the earlier concoctions were perfectly happy with this one.
The taste is mostly absinthe and orange, with some grenadine sweetness. The gin and dry vermouth get pushed to the side.
This is complicated, with big, competing tastes, but it's also pretty nice. Reminds me of some discussions of licorice with a British coworker. In this country, we eat hardly any licorice, and when we do, we eat it straight, and prefer it rubbery. In Britain, they mix licorice with Everything, and it's awesome. I would eat orange licorice by the handful if anyone wanted to sell it to me. It works just fine, unless you are an absinthe hater. And who wants to be an absinthe hater? If it was good enough for Van Gogh, it's plenty good for me.
Closest I can find to this one in Difford's is a Maurice Martini, which includes sweet vermouth but no grenadine. Similar, and different. I probably like this one, with the grenadine, better, but maybe I'll try a Maurice sometime.
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