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 'rich' (2:1); 7.5 ml Chilled water

Ingredients

1 ¹⁄₂ fl oz

Hayman's London Dry Gin

¹⁄₆ fl oz

La Fée Parisienne absinthe

¹⁄₃ fl oz

Luxardo Maraschino liqueur

¹⁄₆ fl oz

Cherry (brandy) liqueur

¹⁄₆ fl oz

Italian red bitter liqueur

³⁄₄ fl oz

Pink grapefruit juice (freshly squeezed)

¹⁄₆ fl oz

Sugar syrup 'rich' (2 sugar to 1 water) 65.0°Brix

¹⁄₄ fl oz

Chilled water/mineral water (omit if using wet ice)

How to make

Glassware

Prepare

Select and pre-chill a COUPE GLASS.

Prepare garnish of orange zest twist.

Method

SHAKE all ingredients with ice.

FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.

Garnish

EXPRESS flamed orange zest twist over cocktail, then use as garnish.

Flavour Profile

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

Health & Nutrition

Nutrition:

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

Alcohol content:

1.6 standard drinks
19.32% alc./vol. (38.64° proof)
21.8 grams of pure alcohol

History

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

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.

Comments & Discussion

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Mason Hanson Premium Member 18w

Yum! We liked this with 1/4oz Cherry Heering and 1/4oz Campari (instead of 1/6oz each). That gave it a little body it was missing originally. Love it!

Laura Blankenship Premium Member 27w

Didn't have orange on hand and thought the drink needed a little spark. I expressed lemon peel over the top. Added just a little tartness that I thought it needed. Overall tasty drink.

Doug Bain Premium Member 37w

Very interesting. Tasty, with a lot going on, but a bit thin in the middle. I think I'll skip the sugar next time and maybe up the campari a bit. Or maybe the Heering. Work to be done!

Landon Brown 1y

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 Premium Member 1y

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 2y

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.

Erik Lindgren 1y

I agree with you on the whole. It either needs to be more on the bitter, boozier side or more sour. Now it sits a bit awkwardly inbetween, quite sweet and a bit thin. The flavors are good though. When I made this one I ended up adding some lime, which made it into a pleasant sour style cocktail. Quite a change from the original, but much more enjoyable and balanced. Might try stirring it next time, skipping the simple and increasing the campari.

Miguel Perales Premium Member 3y

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 Premium Member 3y

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 Premium Member 4y

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 Premium Member 4y

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.