69 replies to this topic

[TheLoucheyMonster!]

Looks like it is available only at the distillery at this time, but wider sales in future possible. Link

[peridot]

160 proof. Dayum.

[baubel]

Grape base. All right!

[Hedonmonkey]

It's a nice, easy drive to Medford...

Hmmm...

[Brian Robinson]

I'll trade for samples.

[Hedonmonkey]

Didn't see a price listed. Didn't find a phone number either.
I'm on their mailing list.
I'd be for going down to pick up a bottle or three.
I imagine we could work something out.

[Scott M.]

This could be promising, but did they HAVE to mention Van Gough?

[Jay]

Well, they definitely did after making "4.20" of this year the date of their first release party. Coincidental drug reference? Possible. Likely to have been coincidence? Hardly.

If there's anything I dislike more than the proverbial cliche of judging a book by its cover, it's that such a judgment is so often on the mark. I'll withhold final judgment until I taste it, though. Given that it's naught but a short hop for us to Medford when we visit friends in Portland, we'll visit for a sample soon enough.

[Derrick]

It's a nice, easy drive to Medford...

That's a 10 hour round trip drive from my house...not worth it. I'll wait until it appears at my local liquor store.

[baubel]

I wish I could do that, but I'd be an old curmudgeon by the time it got here, as well as any other absinthe.

[Hedonmonkey]

That's a 10 hour round trip drive from my house

It's a 3 hour RT for me.
I like to stop off at the mystery spot and see a friend or 2 while I'm there.

[Herbaceous Vic]

Interesting - and an 80% Absinthe is certainly KNARR-LY...

Standing by for assessments from those in the know.

[peridot]

Grape base. All right!

Eh, to me that's nothing to get excited about. Well handled that could be a great thing but I've had as many absinthes ruined by a bad or mishandled grape base as ones that were enhanced by it.

[Absomphe]

Knarr, yes.

But is it Knarrly?

[OMG_Bill]

From the same guy that brings you Badminton.

[baubel]

Grape base. All right!

Eh, to me that's nothing to get excited about. Well handled that could be a great thing but I've had as many absinthes ruined by a bad or mishandled grape base as ones that were enhanced by it.

I've had a few good and that were bad as well. Mostly my excitement over a grape base is due to some weird personal issues and strange sexual urges.

[OMG_Bill]

Aw, come on bauble, not you too. <sigh>

[baubel]

I usually can't tell the difference between bases and if it weren't for some reasons I'd feel awkward explaining out in the open, I probably wouldn't give a rats ass.

We can talk about it in person next week though.

[Père Ubu]

Grape bases seem to be to absitnhe, what $$$ light weight wheels are to sports cars, gimmicky and pointless. Or people evaluating HiFi sound systems geeking out about $600 power cords, when speakers, amplifiers, and room accoustics might have more to do with good sound.

Is it me, or:
The purity of the ethanol, the herb bill, and the freshness, the procedure, the care in the actual doing of things, etc. probably affect the quality of the product far more. Only when that is addressed, the source of the ethanol might make a difference.

Edited by Miguel, 14 June 2011 - 07:23 AM.

[m.a.mccullough]

I love to try new things Let me know if you get a hold of a bottle or two Hed

[peridot]

Grape bases seem to be to absitnhe, what $$$ light weight wheels are to sports cars, gimmicky and pointless. Or people evaluating HiFi sound systems geeking out about $600 power cords, when speakers, amplifiers, and room accoustics might have more to do with good sound.

Is it me, or:
The purity of the ethanol, the herb bill, and the freshness, the procedure, the care in the actual doing of things, etc. probably affect the quality of the product far more. Only when that is addressed, the source of the ethanol might make a difference.

A grape base can have a pretty substantial impact, for good or ill. There are a bunch of flavours that it can impart (not all high proof grape spirits are the same and neither are production methods), some subtle and some very much not.

[Absomphe]

Grape bases seem to be to absitnhe, what $$$ light weight wheels are to sports cars, gimmicky and pointless.

See if you say that that after tasting, in particular, the Pisco base in Leopold's.

[Hedonmonkey]

Let me know if you get a hold of a bottle or two Hed

Will do, but I'm not going down until I get a price and business hours for the distillery store.

[buddhasynth]

what the clown said--I'm all about a well-handled grape base.....love that round purple smell.

But then I've been told I'm pretty persnickety about these things.

[m.a.mccullough]

I don't care if its snobby, I prefer a good grape base. Snoot Snoot

[Père Ubu]

See if you say that that after tasting, in particular, the Pisco base in Leopold's.

Ah, so the alcohol for the pre distilling maceration does not need to be pure ethanol. Pisco being ~50% alcohol. I do love Pisco, so it does have an appeal.

[Brian Robinson]

Rectified Pisco. And FYI, nothing can be 100% pure ethanol in a commercial setting, as the alcohol itself actually starts pulling moisture out of the air once it gets into the high 90s.

[Absomphe]

Rectified Pisco.

Indeed.

To my palate, it adds an almost rum-like character to the Leopold's, which blends perfectly with the herb bill.

[Brian Robinson]

Yep.

[Phoenix]

After having many a pisco sour, I was then able to pick out the base of Leopold's absinthe much better. The base an absinthe uses absolutely has an impact on the final product (for better or worse). In the Leopold's Absinthe Verte, it's definitely for the better.