I was wondering if anyone has played with the various Absinthe essences that are available on the internet today. I noticed that a good deal of commercial examples use essences and some of them even scored decent on one of the absinthe review websites (rueverte.com?) Anyways, I have access to some high strength neutral spirits and was toying with the idea of trying out some of the essences available out there and was looking for some input from those that have sampled some of them.

http://www.wormwoodsociety.org/index.php?o...p;limitstart=10

Yep. I'd say that makes it pretty clear.

Maybe members are smarter now but there are more than a few of us that tried dumb ideas in the past. My personal stupid idea was to macerate wormwood in Pernod pastis. It was a $30 lesson I never forgot. Blech! You can't make absinthe from kits. You can make horribly flavored vodka but that's not absinthe.

I've bought my share of bad bad absinth that I'd never try essences or kits. I'd rather pay shipping.

You can cut your neutral spirit and make some dandy fruit or whatever infusions. Much tastier and won't hurt as bad.

This is just a bit of "learned the hard way" info.

Good luck and drink responsibly.

DO NOT BUY ABSINTHE “KITS”! These are gimmicks aimed at the gullible. They will not make absinthe or anything remotely like it. The people selling these kits either know nothing about absinthe or how it is made, or simply don't care. The results of these kits are a positively vile-tasting, insanely bitter, potentially poisonous mess.

Excellent advice...

That said...

I still maintain that it's theoretically possible to make a decent absinthe from essences, although none have made it to market yet. My own efforts remain unsatisfactory and while others who've tasted them have enjoyed them quite a bit, I've yet to come up with anything I'd put my name on.

The primary obstacle is the absence of a quality wormwood oil. Since they're steam distilled and made for a completely different industry, they're not suitable for beverage use. And don't even think about those "absinthe essences" from Gert Strand. Trust me. Nasty.

Well, first off, rueverte.com isn't a review website, but a shopping one. This website and Fee Verte have the most comprehensive collections of community reviews. You won't find any absinthes made from essences scoring well on these sites, or generally getting positive reviews from anyone who isn't a newbie.

Dang, those are the exact ones I was talking about. I have a few of those on the way to my house some time next week. So I wonder what the commercial brands that use essences are using?I guess I should do things properly and come up with some $ to properly school myself. To be honest I have known about Absinthe for quite some time but never tasted the real stuff because the price always seemed so high. I started doing some hobby distilling recently and this is when my interest in Absinthe got its jump start. I was really hoping to be able to make atleast some decent stuff with what is available out there. That said, I guess I need to make it a priority to try and get some samples of some good commercial samples so I know what to look for as far as quality and what not. Absinthexplore needs to hurry up and get those sample packs together..... Really wish I knew someone in North Carolina that knew where to get it at or had some for me to sample....

Some absinthes can be had at a decent price. Both Kubler and Obsello price around $50.

Good absinthe is pricey. But then again so is good Scotch and good Cognac, and good anything else.

At least absinthe is a concentrate, meant to have water added, so it lasts a bit longer. Just think, if you're adding 3 parts water to 1 part absinthe, each 750ml bottle you buy is going to come out to 3l of refreshment.

Those essence packs you can buy to make "home made absinthe" don't make anything that approximates absinthe. If you use them and hate it, don't be turned off of absinthe because they're not similar.

One option, although I haven't had it and can't speak to its quality, is Edward III at Drink Up New York. It's like $37 for a 325ml bottle. Then there's Vieux Carre at about $56 for a 750ml bottle. And of course Kübler is $50 for a full liter. So there are budget options.

The idea of making one's own to circumvent the expense of buying the real thing is older than the absinthe revival. But it just doesn't work. Until you're familiar with the flavour profile of real quality absinthe you won't be able to make something that tastes like it.

strange... a double post.... For some reason when I post it seems to disappear for a while.

That's probably the Gert Strand effect.

I have had success taking a decent, slightly dry, Lebanese Arak that is 103 ABV, and then using a combo of organic, liquid herbal extracts, a touch of liquid chlorophyll, and finally steeping in a mesh bag, dried hyssop and melissa. I haven't got my hands on any pontica yet. The wormwood and fennel aren't as floral as the best distilled absinthes, but others have enjoyed these absinthe replica attempts of mine, particularly when I have added small amounts of violet and angelica (again in liquid extract form).

I want to emphasize that at all times I am using herbal extracts designed for internal ingestion and not topical, essential oils which are not safe for consumption.

42 and change after tax here in my neck of the wood for obsello! Werd! Local liqour stores also seem reeeeeeeeeal helpful where I am, one of em said they could order whatever for me if I so wanted. Strike up a convo with your local liquor jockey and see what s/he can do for ya.

You have It good I'd say. The guy at the liquor store by my house was pretty rude.
I went into my local store on Broadway, just to see what the selection was like mind
you. Witch I must say is not good. The first "Absinthe" you see when you walk in is a
prominently hideous bottle of LTV swill. As well as some Absente, Pernod, Lucid,
and the light at the end of the tunnel, Pacifique. So I go over to the counter to see If
I could order some Vieux Carré or Clandestine. When I asked about it all the guy said is
"Are you gonna order a case?" in the most aberrantly rude manner. He also acted kind
of weird as soon as I said Absinthe. Like I was a criminal about to engage in a most
heinous act. It seemed like he regarded Absinthe with particular disdain as soon as I
mentioned it. But judging by the the fact that he looked like a biker who's favorite
drink was probably Rebel Yell, this seemed hardly surprising.

is Serpis distilled or is that from essences too?

From what I know, it's oil mix. Could be wrong.

how do you think it holds up for an oil mix?

I'm not the best person to ask about Serpis as I'm partial to Spanish Absentas anyway. It's got a huge star anise kick, and of course, it's crazy frikking red. But the louche is unbeweavable, and I still like the flavor.

If you want to take some really cool louche pics, that's a good one to use.

Click to view attachment

I digs me some Spanish Absentas too

Not a fan, huh? I don't know...

Hi: I started researching Absinthe recently. I have a lot of experience in compounding herbals and aromatherapy products. The essentials are not made for beverages at all as the steamed distillates are different from alcohol processed ones even though both are distilled. Bulk herbs macerated and soaked for several days is the route to go. The basic problem is getting quality herbs and balancing the mix. An American in France uses only three ingredients to make the companies commercial brand. While I am sure that the kit guys did a fair amount of research, it is evident from reading these posts that they have missed the mark. I take it that the results are excessively bitter. I have a bulk French recipe that is quite different from other published ones in the amounts of ingredients is different, although the same ingredients are used as other recipes. Remember that recipes are guides only and a certain amount of proprietary skill and knowledge is not in the text. No body gives all of their secrets away for free. contact

Before you hang your business shingle, an introductory thread is usually considered appropriate. Give us a chance to get to know you, huh?

Steamin'!

Seriously...what's not to like?

I e-mailed Licores Del Sinc asking about this and this is what they had to say: