Surly Dragon

[bheansidhe]

Sour orange and fiery pink pepper with mandarin, neroli, and rum absolute.

This opened with a rainbow parade of sour-sweet, fizzy citrus notes, and then settled into something intensely familiar that I couldn't place. It wasn't until I re-reviewed the notes and spotted the rum that I realized it's a dead ringer, scent-wise, for one of my favorite cocktails, the Boulevardier. The bitter orange and sharp neroli really mimic the rhubarb-and-citrus-pith astringency of Campari liqueur.

Links that better describe what I'm talking about (TW FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE):
https://drinkstraightup.com/2012/12/14/boulevardier/
https://drinkstraightup.com/2013/05/07/side-by-side-bitter-orange-spirits/

I don't specifically get "rum" from the blend until it starts to wear down, but honestly it winds up smelling like a pretty close cousin of Swank on my wrist.

Definitely a classy cocktail, not a pirate-rum boozefest. Edited September 14, 2017 by bheansidhe

[zankoku_zen]

Swanky-citrus booze with a dash of pink pepper. This one is kinda pithy on me, and its sour-sweet, fizzy and citrusy. However, it disappears on my skin after an hour.

 

BOO.

[surlygurl]

In the bottle and freshly applied, I get straight up Orange Julius. Being thrust back to shopping malls of my teen years is disconcerting, so I'm glad when the black pepper comes out to play. The sour-sweet orange is still loud, but pepper tones it down and adds that musty vibe.

 

As the sweet-sour mellows, rum/neroli blend in and tempers the whole thing. It fades quickly from this point on, but doesn't disappear. Every now and then I'll get a faint whiff of...something. Something lightly citrus, but prettier.

[gloame]

Wet: very tangy mandarin/neroli. Stays about the same on drydown. Where is my rum and pink pepper?! I was so stoked for those notes, but my skin is just not having it.

 

Where I'd wear this: A very vibrant day spa