This has the most amazing fruity spice smell, ever. I know it says the liquor is golden green but I was really expecting it to turn red with the amount of cranberries I see in the blend. In this serving I got a gigantic piece of cinnamon the size of the top digit of my thumb- so as huge as a mountain, everyone!I didn’t read the ingredients carefully so it was a surprise to get a licorice scent from the liquid- from the anise.
Drinking it, I’m mainly picking up spicy sweet and something leafy that I can’t place. This is different. I thought it tasted alcoholic at first but it’s just the anise/licorice association. The cranberry-apple sweet notes and this leafy-ness come out more as it goes from hot to warm and reminds me of the Cranberry Pear tea. The anise has a nice sweet component too and I can handle it a lot better than fennel. Tangy sweet aftertaste with cinnamon prevailing throughout… that’s what I get for dumping a jumbo cinnamon stick in! Texture: somewhat oily (safflower) and tingling on lower cheek walls.
This is, without a doubt, a little taste of Christmas and I don’t think I would enjoy it as much out of season. It’s perfect for right now though and making me very excited for the upcoming holiday. Apparently there are mistletoe and green tea leaves in this? I don’t know what mistletoe leaves tastes like but you could have fooled me with the tea.
