Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur

While the nose is nothing but a hardcore ch-ch-cherry bomb, both sweet hard candy and tart juice, the palate is almost too complex for what it should be. The entry starts with flowers: violet, honeysuckle, and even a little mint. Then after that, a *very* subtle hint of alcohol introduces what can only be described as sugar water, with a level of sweetness that even the most discerning hummingbird would scoff at. However, the midpalate continues to develop with a hint of rose, and then finishes with saccharine cherry candy, and finally, of course, maraschino cherry. This stuff is WAY too sweet for a normal drink on a normal day, and despite its subtle floral complexities, should only really be paired with copious amounts of gin (at minimum). I also greatly enjoy a dash of this in bourbon, and paired with dark chocolate.

I held off buying this for a months despite seeing it listed as an ingredient in endless cocktails because, based off some comments online, I was worried it would overpower my drinks and I'd hate the flavor. I was expecting a somewhat medicinal, cough syrup flavor, but that was totally off-base. This is sweet, in a similar way to Chartreuse Green, bright and has an hints of something like cinnamon. In a cocktail (The Symphony) it added a roundness that was really nice. The recipe called for a decent amount of Luxardo, and I didn't find it overpowering at all. Definitely recommend having a bottle on hand.