Fennel, what does fennel....taste like?

[absinthiac]

So I'm trying to discover the taste of the basic ingredients of Absinthe.

I can spot the Green Anise, as that's the, (hate to say it), licorice flavor,

the Grand Wormwood accounts for the bitterness.

I can't say that I have tasted fennel and have no idea what it tastes like or what I should be looking for.

I would appreciate, if someone could put into words what Fennel tastes like.

 

Thanks for any opinions offered.

 

 

[Selmac]

That's a little tough to describe for me, because it's very similar to anise. Maybe a bit earthier. If you really want to get to know the different flavors in absinthe, get your hands on some of the raw herbs. I think there might be a set of single-herb distillates out there. I've never tasted those, but I imagine they would be really helpful. To me, Grand Wormwood imparts some of the more ethereal or purely aromatic aspects to a good absinthe. Bitterness really shouldn't be a big part of the equation, unless the Wormwood was used in the coloring. I consider that just wrong, but others might have a different view.

 

I highly recommend getting some fresh wormwood and rubbing the leaves between your fingers. Smell that, and I think you'll start to realize what the plant brings to the overall flavor profile. If you're morbidly curious, taste it. The difference between the smell and the taste is a vivid demonstration of why it needs to be distilled.

[absinthiac]

Thanks Selmac,

In another life, I grew wormwood, I remember it was aromatic, I'll try to buy a jar of fennel and wormwood, give it the smell test!

[Songcatcher]

Its like anise, with soy sauce.

[Conju]

I've always thought of fennel as a grainy (as in malty, but not sweet) version of anise. It's probably bar none my favorite flavor, because it rounds out a lot of otherwise uni dimensional absinthes.

[Jonathan D.]

You can buy fennel in the grocery store, it's quite nice, it's like very mildly licorice-y celery. But be forewarned growing it, this stuff goes what I call "Jurassic" in a hurry!! Between the Florence fennel and bougainvillea, the little side yard at my townhome got pretty crowded.