hortus conclusus

I always thought sangria was a stupid invention. I mean, why would you add citrus to wine? It seemed all wrong. Ditto orange in chocolate, coffee, etc. Why take two intense flavor profiles which have little in common—and what they have in common isn't something you want to enhance, like acidity—and then push them together into some Dr.. Frankenstein creation. Such was my line of thought as I sat out on my back patio, sipping my husband’s homemade sangria, which is nice as far as such things go, when I spritzed on Andy Tauer’s newest creation Orange Star, to review.   In a moment of serendipity, it all came together. When I smelled that intense, superfesh, almost Tang-like orange topnote in conjunction with the fabulous Tauer resinous incense, which here smells fabulously bitter, but in a nice way, like a good juicy orange peel, I understood so much more than the fragrance itself. I understood what it means to go out on a limb, to try something intense, problematic, difficult.