Absente - Reviewed by Experts and Consumers at The Wormwood Society

I should note that I have limited experience in reviewing absinthes, but it is something I'd like to get into. What better place to start than with the cheap stuff?

BOTTLE DESIGN: Nice overall shape, with an olive tone. Raised emblem on front is obtrusive; too bulky. Slight taper to bottle is pleasantly subtle. The filigree and central design on the label are solid, but the fake stamps and stickers muck it up.

AROMA: Incredibly subtle out of the bottle. Even once it begins to louche, the aroma doesn't increase greatly.

COLOR: Very bright peridot. A little too bright in the shot glass, but once it was in the drinking glass, it seemed much less toxic-looking. The intense color made the clarity of the drink less obvious.

LOUCHE: Having little experience with louches, I have little to compare it to. That said, the louche didn’t blossom in a particularly pleasing or notable way. It seemed less puffy/cloudy and more foggy as it formed. Once it was fully developed, it had a fairly nice green "milk glass" appearance. Very even and with a tint of jade. Very little noticeable opalescence. The final color seemed closer to yellow than blue in the green spectrum.

TASTE: The first mouthful comes on light, with a gentle anise flavor. The fennel taste is even milder. If you’re looking for a strongly-herbed absinthe, this is not the drink for you. Much like its aroma, the flavor is incredibly subdued. After it sits in the mouth for a moment, I’m hit strongly with the alcohol flavor and it builds until swallowed, radiating up into the nose.

FINISH: The flavor left behind is actually quite pleasant in my opinion. While this is by no means a refreshing drink, the anise flavor sits nicely on the tongue afterwards. I should also note that it’s true what others have said about this absinthe: it does have a fairly profound numbing effect on the tongue. I didn't find it unpleasant, but can understand where this could be considered an undesirable trait.

PRICE: ABSENTE is the cheapest brand of absinthe in my location, and one of only three in our town (the others being Lucid and Leopold Bros, both of which sell for $60). I bought the 750ml bottle for $40, which is the most I have spent on a single bottle of alcohol so far. That really isn’t saying much as a poor college student, but I would place it at a medium to medium-high position on a pricey alcohol continuum.

OTHER NOTES: ABSENTE, though now containing the wormwood that previously caused it to be labeled as a substitute, is still not a true absinthe. It is a liqueur, containing added sugar. While this doesn’t cause it to be overly sweet, it does mar the overall experience. ABSENTE is 55% ABV.

OVERALL: A decent drink to get you started into the world of absinthe, but certainly not up to snuff for those that have experienced nicer drinks. If the price difference between other cheap absinthes and ABSENTE was greater, I would certainly consider picking up another bottle. That said, it is still pricey for its quality and I'll be shelling out the extra $20 for other products in the future.

The best thing one can say about Absente is that it looks the part. The color before water is actually quite nice, a natural looking pale peridot. The louche is also reasonably convincing, though it forms rather rapidly and in the end isn't quite right.
The aroma is acceptable if one dimensional, but the taste is quite unbalanced. Whatever herbs are in this faux absinthe are overwhelmed by sweetness, almost as though there is sugar added in the manner of a liqueur. I'm not sure what to say about the finish; there is something odd about it that I do not care for.
Overall, Absente is not horrible, but it's a poor substitute for the real thing.

First, I did not see any indication of artificial colors and/or dyes on the label. I looked!

I believed that it was not "absinthe" as indicated on the label. However, and according to other reviewers AND your web-site, it is an absinthe substitute. I explained to the liquor store cs that it was not absinthe, as it did not contain the correct wormword. This product was sold as an absinthe.

I was going to award a "2" for taste, but after tasting le Termente...I gave this product a 3.

For the $48 I paid for it, I would choose another spirit (a good vodka, tequila, for a lot less)..or pay a few dollars more for real absenthe. However, I would recommend it to others.

In closing, Absent has a good enough flavor but I knew right away, and I am no expert, that even Lucid is better than Absent.

Color is artificial, as the label (honestly) attests. However, it's attractive and looks a lot like the real thing - a very nice, clear, peridot green.

As a friend said: "It's really pretty and it *looks* like a drink I'd really like, except I don't like licorice." Ah, there's the rub. Good thing that I *do* like

licorice.



Louche is not remarkable, but is acceptably dense. Louches early and action is not exciting. Color when louched is very pretty, almost authentic, but slightly on the day-glo side of green. It's chemistry, plain and simple, but chemistry by people who clearly care about the craft.



Aroma is pleasant but weak and one-dimensionally anise.



Pleasant but again, one-dimensional. Some welcome bitterness from the Southern Wormwood balances the flavor a bit.



Finish is short, shows some bitterness, but nothing that really lingers and makes you want to hit it again.



Overall, this a nice anisette liqueur that has no catastrophic flaws. I mean that sincerely; it is a well-made anisette absinthe substitute. It is a nice introduction to the anisette spectrum, and is up a notch in complexity from raki, arak, and other plain anisette beverages. In complexity, it is nowhere near real absinthe, but if you can't find the real thing, this will be (at least) a drinkable reminder.

I DJed an "absinthe" night at a local bar here in NC for a year or so. Absente was/is the only thing close to absinthe available through the NC ABC (and it too is a special order that needed special approval. So in addition to pay I did receive a couple of these each night i spun. Works OK in a Sazerac, not quite sinkable, but it is not absinthe.