Hi, everyone.

I've only tried absinthe once. I liked it and would like to find more. The stuff I tried had 1792 on the bottle. I didn't get a good look at it; it belonged to a friend of a friend who was kind enough to share. So, my questions:

what was the absinthe I tried?
is it considered good absinthe? I did a site search here for 1792 and didn't find any mention of it at all. good/bad/indifferent?
if that isn't good absinthe, what should I try?
is absinthe24 a good website to order from?

About all I know about absinthe is what was in the FAQ here, and that setting sugar on fire is bad even though it was in the movies. =)

Any help/info would be appreciated.

Thanks so much!

-N-

Hello Nightingale, it was Absinthium 1792 by Trul. It is very low quality. Poorly made Czech absinthe. You should try the Kübler 53 or François Guy to get started.

Those are good unless you want something green then try the Edouard

Although I have yet to taste the Trul 1792 myself, many whose palates I trust have said that it's total drek. This is not to say that it's not drinkable, simply that as an absinthe, it fails.

A lot of people have been so swayed by the "horribly bitter and weird-tasting" reputation of absinthe, that when they try something they can actually get down, they think "that wasn't so bad, I have drunk absinthe!" As I've often said: absinthe should be savored, not endured.

We have a Vendors Page which not only lists the most reliable vendors, but gives purchasing advice for newcomers.

<anti-czech diatribe> As for absinthe24.net, a number of people here buy from Andy regularly. Despite the occasional glitch or delay, he always eventually comes through to the customer's satisfaction, as far as I know. I have corresponded with him myself and found him very friendly; he also occasionally posts on the other forums.

The only reason absinthe24.net is not on my recommended vendors list is because of a difference of business philosophy: Andy sells primarily inferior and fake Czech and German brands. I think it's wrong to "give the people what they want" when those people are, at the moment, incapable of making an informed choice. I think it's opportunistic and dishonest to sell what you know is inauthentic crap just because some poor sucker is willing to pay for it. The markup on that oil-mix Czech crap is practically criminal. Andy knows it's incredibly lucrative to sell that crap to those suckers and just can't bring himself to voluntarily give up that revenue.

He has every legal right (at this time) to sell the crap those unscrupulous manufacturers call "absinth," but to have the right to do something is not the same as to be right in doing it.

While I wish Andy the best in all his worthy endeavors, I'd encourage you to take your business elsewhere. Any worthwhile commercial absinthe can be bought at the vendors on the above-linked page. </diatribe>

Why dontcha head over to the Newbie Intro forum and tell us about yourself?

To add to the diatribe, I like Andy, he is a nice guy. I have argued in favor of him before, however I have seen him pushing "high thujone" and Czech absinth on other sites instead of helping educate. I know it's just business but I no longer support him being added to vendor lists.

There's Good Business Practice and Bad Business Practice. Greed leads to the latter.
Saying something is "just business" is an excuse to screw people and make yourself feel sort of okay about it. Just like people who say "property is theft" are all people who really just want to steal your stuff.

Yikes! Trul, Gack!

I met a local couple that got taken by one of those German vendors that pushes the usual industrial waste called "absinth".
They know better now,....you should have seen their expressions, when they were able to taste something made by a person with real talent.


Be careful asking some of these German vendors what to order, often they push people into buying some of the worst drek imaginable.

Agreed. Markus (and other reputable vendors) often sell some absinth but don't promote it as top quality, push "buy it for the thujone" scams, and provide information on the proper way to prepare absinthe. That's Good Business Practice.

Hello Nightingale,
Though I too have never tried Trul, from what I've read it's crap. Not sure what your budget is but if it's a little tight right now but you do plan on ordering a bottle or two let me toss this at you; I placed an order a while back and picked out several different brands of Absinthe so I could get an idea of what I liked and what I thought sucked. At the last minute I tossed a cheapy bottle in my cart, it was the $28 bottle of Versinthe(Blanche). Upon tasting it, both my Wife and I were surprised as it turns out the stuff is pretty darn good! So for $28 it can't be beat. Besides the great recommendations above(Kübler 53 and François Guy), I would also highly recommend a Suisse Le Bleu. Good luck, let us know what you end up buying and what you think of it. Oh yeah, Welcome aboard!!

Welcome!
My first was the Jade Verte Suisse, I have never tried the Trul either.
Let us know what you get!

I thought the stuff I tried was pretty tasty. However, it pretty much just tasted like licorice, and I like licorice. kinda had a mouthwashy feel to it, tho. There was no complexity to it, just licorice flavour. It did turn a very pretty greenish-white (louche?) when water was added.

I'm not sure what I'm going to end up ordering. Gotta wait til I get paid. Most of my customers should pay up by next week, so I'll probably order then. Probably will order the Edouard (yes, I'm a noob and want to try something green) and the versinthe.

There's nothing noobish about trying something green.

DRINK SOMETHING GREEN EVERY DAY

Skip the Versinthe, unless you want something overly sweet to put on pancakes.

If you are going for a Blanche get a bottle of the so called Clandestine.(T.A.F.K.A.C)

Are you talking about the Versinthe verte or blanche? I have tried the Versinthe blanche side by side with the SLB and the SLB tasted sweeter to me, of course what do I know?? My palate is still just a young whipper snapper.

Hi everyone...........I'm a newbie

Nightingale......I to am new to the world of absinthe, unfortunately my first order was some Czech absinthI got some King of Spirits and Staroplezenecky (which means ???) and some ever mysterious "Red Absinth".... luckily I found the La Fee Verte website before I tried absinthe for the first time, my first real order was some La Fee (Parisian of course) and some clandestine, as well as a spanish brand..."Tech....something"...I forget the spelling.....o'well, I'm lucky I guess, I haven't tried my Czech stuff yet, I will though, well, because I bought it,

I'd vote for the Clandestine, Montmartre, and believe it or not Serpis (just because I like the louche).

I have a couple bottles of Jade but for the for money I think I would diverse a little and try some different things.

That's my newbie 2 cents.

jerseyguy, that spanish one would be Teichenne, which is downright foul (rubber taste O.o)

I would just give those two first ones a taste for understanding what absinthe should not taste like. Then find a sink that has a slow drain....The Teichenne is a Spanish oil mix that is heavy on the wormwood, and not very good..is the clandestine one from Alandia? That's good stuff

A sink would work fine.. a friend also found it's a excellent way to start the fireplace outside in winter.. and I used his stuff as a paint brush cleaner before

Hi..............yeah, I haven't opened the Teichenne yet...so I can't say anything about it, hope it's not too bad, I've already foolishly blown alot of money on Czechsinth and green-devil swill (there's something growing in that bottle I sware)...I liked La Fee, which I tried first follwed by some clandestine (Claud-Alain Bugnon, not from Alandia) which I thought was much smoother, my friends that I shared my absinthe with all liked the clandestine the most. My job slows down in the winter so I can't afford to make anymore errors in my choices, I was about to put in one more order to hopefully carry me over till after Xmas, I just want something I know everyone will enjoy....I'm thinking maybe some Montmartre? I got some Un Emile and Mari Mayans coming, I hear Un Emile is good........what are some good spanish brands ?......if nothing else I'll probably end up with a variety of good and bad stuff........thanks everyone.

Spanish brands like Lasala, Deva and Montana are nice enough drinks, but don't bother. You won't finish them, now as you have tried Bugnon's Clandestine.

Segarra, on the other hand, is good. Very simple recipe, very special flavour, well made. I'm talking about the 45 version - the Segarra 68 is definitely to be avoided.

Oh, and then there is Serpis. It has its crowd of devotees.

Depends on what you consider good. The only thing you'll get from Spanish absinthe, at least from the three I've tried (Mari Mayans, Deva, and one whose name I forget) is overwhelmingly anise. My advice is to save your money and buy cheaper anise liqueurs like sambuca, ouzo, or anisette. Same exact flavour for about half the price.

So would more Bugnon's Clandestine be a sure thing to keep my guest happy....that is, is it good enough until the $$$ flows again and I can try out more stuff.???..........think I will try Montmartre though...is it any good ???.........thanks.

Montmartre is very good. I just tried the Segarra (45) last week, no to bad.

More money does not always mean a better drink...and I'll finish your LaSalla if you get it.

Hi...........just read a review for Segarra 45.....I must say I'm very interested, so I'll either get that or Monmartre then, or both, ....thanks.........I guess I'll save the King of Spirits for some rough times.

Like maybe your death bed.

Go for the Montmartre.

Pitty on the poor soul who gets on your bad side and gets a drink from that

My brother and I went halves on a bottle of Kübler 53. Will let you know what we think.