Name: Absinthe Makes The Heart Grow Fonder
Total time: 4 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 45 ml Gin; 5 ml Absinthe; 10 ml Maraschino liqueur; 5 ml Cherry brandy; 5 ml Red bitter liqueur; 22.5 ml Pink grapefruit juice; 5 ml Sugar syrup (2:1); 10 ml Chilled water

Absinthe Makes The Heart Grow Fonder
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Absinthe Makes The Heart Grow Fonder image

Serve in a Coupe glass

Ingredients:
1 ¹⁄₂ oz	Hayman's London Dry Gin
¹⁄₆ oz	La Fée Parisienne absinthe
¹⁄₃ oz	Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
¹⁄₆ oz	Heering Cherry Liqueur
¹⁄₆ oz	Strucchi Red Bitter (Campari-style liqueur)
³⁄₄ oz	Pink grapefruit juice (freshly squeezed)
¹⁄₆ oz	Monin Pure Cane Syrup (65.0°brix, equivalent to 2:1 rich syrup)
¹⁄₃ oz	Chilled water omit if using wet ice

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill a Coupe glass.
Prepare garnish of orange zest twist.
SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
EXPRESS flamed orange zest twist over cocktail, then use as garnish.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

Absinthe and gin delicately lead this subtle cherry-flavoured cocktail. Bitter liqueur adds more colour than flavour, while pink grapefruit freshens.

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History:

Adapted from a recipe created by Scott Diaz in Seattle, Washington State, USA.

The phrase "absence makes the heart grow fonder" is first attributed to English poet Ernest Dowson (1867-1900) as part of a February 1899 letter to Arthur Moore. However, it was another poet, Thomas Haynes Bayly, who popularised the phrase in his poem Isle of Beauty published in his two-volume 1844 Songs, Ballads, and Other Poems.

What would not I give to wander
Where my old companions dwell?
Absence makes the heart grow fonder;
Isle of Beauty, fare thee well!
Thomas Haynes Bayly

Sadly, Bayly died 10 years before the poem was published.

More cocktails by Scott Diaz

Nutrition:

One serving of Absinthe Makes The Heart Grow Fonder contains 197 calories

Alcohol content:

1.4 standard drinks
18.87% alc./vol. (18.87° proof)
20.3 grams of pure alcohol

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Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Showing 10 of 13 comments for Absinthe Makes The Heart Grow Fonder.
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Landon Brown

28th October 2024 at 11:25

I largely agree with Peter Barth's comments. For me, the cherry heering and maraschino were most prominent. I think I should like to try it with double the absinthe (I see that Difford has halved it from what appeared here previously), which didn't stand out as much as expected. The flamed twist did add quite a bit on the nose, so don't skip that bit!

John CARR

20th September 2024 at 14:33

Despite the number and variety of ingredients, still distinctly an absinthe-led cocktail, as befits the name. Very fresh and on the dry side. I b particularly liked the effect of the flamed twisty here. Very enjoyable drinking in the aperitif /sweet-sour-fruity-herbal realm.

Peter Barth

25th February 2024 at 00:21

A complex and floral cocktail. Strong notes on anise, grapefruit and cherry.
However just being complex doesn't make this an excellent cocktail, imho. Misses a little bit of an edge/point for me. The gin is barely notable.
Lastly the cocktail is far more on the sweeter side than the rating towards 'dryness' sugests.

Miguel Perales

13th August 2023 at 22:53

Just pushing my envelope on the sweetness scale. Absinthe is prominent upfront but the Campari and grapefruit come in nicely at the end. In my palate, the cherry was not prominent. May try a mist of Absinthe next time. Overall this was a nicely complex cocktail, and as Felicia noted, there is a lot going on in this one.

G. M. Genovese

17th October 2022 at 16:58

Is the 5 ml sugar syrup really necessary here? Maybe my view is skewed because I had to sub Aperol for the Campari (which I can't seem to not rapidly drain around my homestead). Loving the absinthe-cherry combo. Reminds me of a sort of Last Word / Corpse Reviver hybrid mutation... Do I really need more cocktail recipes to experiment with? Oh my. (17 Oct 2022, 12:58p)

Felicia Stratton

3rd April 2022 at 22:36

So many notes! I did an absinthe rinse in the coupe and it was just right for me. Cherry Heering works, and Campari is always a rock star.

Florian Ruf

29th March 2022 at 18:18

I did this cocktail for the second time strictly following the recipe. The absinthe, although in the title, is for my taste way too dominant. next time I will use only a barspoon, maybe less.

Simon Difford

29th March 2022 at 20:50

Agreed! I've cut the absinthe back to 5ml (1 barspoon). Many thanks for the feedback.

John Hinojos

14th January 2022 at 01:08

This is a great aperitif. The absinthe is present along with the taste of cherries. The gin, pink grapefruit, and bitters round out the flavour. Went well with our hors d'oeuvres.

Jeremy Harrold

8th September 2021 at 16:23

The first time I realised Absinthe and Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur can work together. Both separately very dominant flavours but they work together harmoniously. Worth the effort of fiddly measures!

Calvin Grant

8th June 2021 at 04:18

This drink was delicious although my grapefruit wasn't pink. Perhaps I'll sub Sangue Morlacco for the Heering next time for it's stronger cherry notes.

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