I am not sure why, but I bought a bottle of Herbsaint. (I think it was because there is a perpetual dearth of interesting bottles at the state-owned liquor store a block away from my house, and if I find something interesting I am compelled to buy its for novelty's sake alone.) I have had this bottle sitting in my basement for around six months, and finally I wanted to make something with it (the Sazerac is the obvious choice, but half of making a sazerac is the showmanship of the thing — which feels a little pointless when it's a Friday night and I just want to drink a cocktail before dinner.)
Punch led me to the Rhythm and Soul, which is very much a mashup of a Manhattan and a Sazerac. Fine! I can get behind that. I have all the ingredients, and I am going to make it.
I... do not have much to report. It's exactly what it sounded like, and exactly what I expected it to taste like. The Herbsaint on the nose is quite strong, in a pleasant way, and the averna adds a bit of an edge to the drink without pushing it fully into amaro territory. I enjoyed drinking it; it's hard to recommend over a Manhattan or any of the numerous manhattan riffs. I certainly don't regret making it, and may do so again at some point in the future, but it's not a "oh god, I can't wait to futz with this!" kind of recipe.