Grande Absente Absinthe Originale Options

[Timothy B.]

Just got an email from dinkupny that Grande Absente Absinthe Originale is now available from them.

Grande Absente Absinthe Originale is based on a pre-ban French recipe that includes Artemesia Absinthium (wormwood), mugwort, green anise, peppermint, aniseed, and lemon balm. Crafted in the Alps of Haute Provence near the Swiss border, Grande Absente is a faithful reproduction of the bottlings of the Belle Epoque.

Product of France
Alcohol by Volume: 69%

Kübler and Lucid were such a promising start. Now there's the La Fee and this. *sigh*.

-- T
(yes I saw the typo - but then I figured it was a Freudian slip)

[Zman (Marc Bernh...]

The funny thing is you can say all true modern absinthe is "based" on a pre-ban French recipe, even crap like La Fee, Tourment, Mata Hari, etc.

[speedle]

Now there's something to get excited about.

Although, they do seem to be trying hard to stock just about every kind of US available absinthe they can, good or bad. Makes it handy for those of us in flyover country I guess.

[ETexas]

Has anyone tried this mix? Is it real absinthe? Funny thing is some of the new brands taste ok to me, but I am but an old drunk anyway.

[Absomphe]

It's , don't even think about wasting your money on that one.

[Ken Hallenius]

I saw this brand when I was last at BevMo in the Bay Area, and I gave it a once-over before I rejected the purchase. The label and presentation just looked.... janky. Gimmicky, I mean. And since I've gotten into the bottle of Kübler, even Lucid is tasting "off" to me.

So, glad to hear that my "judge-a-book-by-its-cover" approach may have paid off this time...

[Joe Legate]

Truth is, I'm curious. Not curious enough to plunk down $60 for a taste but I would like to try it. And, objectively review it, too.

Has anyone ponied-up for it, yet?

[Gwydion Stone]

I have a bottle on the way.

It's , don't even think about wasting your money on that one.

Have you even tasted it yet? This is not the old Absente you know.

[Jonathan D.]

If BevMo has a bottle, I'll be a guinea pig

[Zman (Marc Bernh...]

I have a bottle on the way.

It's , don't even think about wasting your money on that one.

Have you even tasted it yet? This is not the old Absente you know.

I'd be willing to bet that it is the old Absente, just with a pinch of wormwood thrown in. The prior US "sans wormwood" product, the current EU product, and the marketing of Absente don't leave much hope for what they're shilling now.

[Joe Legate]

I wouldn't dare argue with you, Z. I'd just like to have the opportunity of tasting and reviewing. If it's tasty stuff, great! But if it's not (and you are correct) that objective review deserves to be posted, too. I'll try to keep an open mind until the glass is empty.

[Gwydion Stone]

Actually, I have their promo packet right here, and you might be surprised at how responsibly written it is—aside from claiming to be responsible for the absinthe craze in America and a few other typical marketing hyperboles. It has the old recipe in it and it's a little odd, but absinthe.

I thought the substitute wasn't horrible, just not absinthe.

[LeRoy M.]

I'm with you, T. I'd like to try it, but am a little leery of spending $60 for something that may taste like the former recipe worries me.

[Jonathan D.]

Odd, I didn't realize they had FD&C Yellow #5 and Blue #1 during the Belle Époque.

Just picked up a bottle at BevMo, and yes, it is artificially colored.

Having a glass now, will post a review in a bit. First impression: reminds me of La Fee Parisian, only not as bad.

PM me for sample inquiries, I have a whole liter of the stuff.

Edit: half way through the glass, nice buzz with a pleasant secondary lucidness.

[Jonathan D.]

Review Posted

[LeRoy M.]

I was about to PM you and then I read your review. It sounds a lot like the original formula. I'll think about it!

[Green Baron]

Thanks a bunch for the review Doc, my gratitude for taking the plunge and giving us the story on the Grande version!

[Brian Robinson]

I've got a sample on the way as well. I agree with H about the well presented press kit. I'm guessing though that it's basically going to be a rebottled European version. But I'll give it a fair chance.

[Absomphe]

Review Posted

From which I gather it's not much of an improvement on the originals, just as I strongly suspected.

[Jonathan D.]

I hadn't tasted the original, so I can't say. But after having a third glass to see if I notice anything different, I can only say that I wonder if there is sweetener involved as well. I did a back-to-back taste with Doubs Mystique just to get some context and it really confirmed my feelings about it. Very one dimensional flavors, no wormwood whatsoever, none of the earthy tones and subtleties you'd expect from a good absinthe. It doesn't taste gross, but it's just not fulfilling.

[Gwydion Stone]

I don't think it's fair to ding an absinthe simply for using artificial color if they use it well. The criteria state that it should be natural-looking. If it looks like Fresh-Burst Listerine, go ahead and dock it a couple points if you want, but if you have to check the label just to find out, they're not doing too bad.

I feel this is a sentiment spawned by the artisan-driven history of the absinthe community. Not all absinthes were, or are, artisanal products. That doesn't make them inferior by itself. It's true that some artisanal absinthes represent the best that can be had, but that doesn't mean everything else sucks or automatically deserves derision.

We really need more blind tastings.

[Joe Legate]

At the rate my eyesight is going, I'll be all about it.

If it looks good and it smells good and it tastes good...well, that is the point, isn't it?

[Jonathan D.]

Well it's the same color as a Green Apple Jolly Rancher. Doesn't seem right to me, artisan or not. And I just don't appreciate being given a paragraph stressing that it's a faithful reproduction of an old recipe when they are using artificial colors. What's wrong with the color as it is? (My guess is there wouldn't be any)

I can honestly say in this case it would not have mattered if it was a blind tasting as after I saw it louche well I really did have my hopes up. I had every incentive to enjoy it as I just spent $68.99, and I don't like to bash things just for the sake of bashing them (I'll leave that to the other forum).

With a blind tasting I might have guessed this was La Fee Parisian, but it is much more drinkable.

I was not able to ascertain if this was distilled or an oil mix? Given their literature it sounds like it is distilled. Any idea if there is a secondary maceration performed? To me it tastes like a simplistic blanche that they then added food coloring to.

In any case, there will be some samples sent out next week and I trust people will judge it themselves independently.

[dakini_painter]

I just don't appreciate being given a paragraph stressing that it's a faithful reproduction of an old recipe when they are using artificial colors.

If you believe the historical evidence, many absinthes and other beverages were colored with indigo and caramel and a host of other natural colorants. Some of which are actually still legal to use (in the US, don't know about EU).

Just because it was an old recipe doesn't imply anything regarding quality.

[PeterL]

Considering a year ago the only way to get Absinthe was to import a bottle, shell out for shipping...and wait. I think it's fun and equally exciting to see the number of offerings increase.

I love being able to pick up a bottle of Lucid (yes, I enjoy Lucid very much) or Kübler with effortless ease. I still order the better quality of Absinthe from LDF but cost becomes a factor, as I'm sure it does for many folks.

For US brands I can't get locally ~ sources like drinkupny.com have an ever growing lineup and fast, free shipping (on orders over $99)

I say kudos to any effort that isn't using Thujone or myth based lies to pump up sales.


Peter

[Brian Robinson]

We really need more blind tastings.

If we can put together the rules and regulations on how to conduct it, I'll put one together ASAP.

[Jonathan D.]

It would really need to be blind too because you can tell a lot of these absinthes by looking at them so you would need to completely obscure the taster's vision.

[Gwydion Stone]

You'd be surprised. Granted, a blind tasting will work best on a selection of several products that the taster is unfamiliar with, but that's largely because of the relatively small number of absinthes. As the selection grows, it won't be so easy. The halo effect is very persuasive; if you know anything about who made the product or how they made it, it will effect your judgement at least to some degree. Check out this article:

SCIENTISTS AT CALTECH and Stanford recently published the results of a peculiar wine tasting. They provided people with cabernet sauvignons at various price points, with bottles ranging from $5 to $90. Although the tasters were told that all the wines were different, the scientists were in fact presenting the same wines at different prices.

The subjects consistently reported that the more expensive wines tasted better, even when they were actually identical to cheaper wines.

The experiment was even more unusual because it was conducted inside a scanner - the drinks were sipped via a network of plastic tubes - that allowed the scientists to see how the subjects' brains responded to each wine.

When subjects were told they were getting a more expensive wine, they observed more activity in a part of the brain known to be involved in our experience of pleasure. What they saw was the power of expectations.

People expect expensive wines to taste better, and then their brains literally make it so. Wine lovers shouldn't feel singled out: Antonio Rangel, the Caltech neuroeconomist who led the study, insists that he could have used a variety of items to get similar results, from bottled water to modern art.

Well it's the same color as a Green Apple Jolly Rancher. Doesn't seem right to me, artisan or not.

This is a glass of freshly-colored Marteau, colored traditionally by maceration:

 marteau_green.jpg ( 22.44K ) Number of downloads: 9


I'm not saying anything about Grande Absente's quality, just that there's nothing wrong with artificial coloring in itself. It's entirely historic and is an industry standard for mass-market products; the public—especially the American public—expects squeaky clean uniformity and consistancy from one batch to another and from one year to another. That's not as likely to happen with small-batch artisanal products.

An absinthe should be evaluated on what you experience of it, not what you know about it.

[PeterL]

Now that is a gorgeous color!

Definatley more Emerald than any of the Jades I've tried. The color is very pristine and very beautiful.

I can't wait to order a bottle!

Peter

[Gwydion Stone]

I can't wait for you to order a bottle either... but I have to. Send complaints to the Alcohol Labeling and Formulation Division of the TTB.

Now back to our Grande Absente thread, already in progress...