-Color-
Before Water: Vivid red with orange highlights. I actually find it quite attractive and technically it’s natural since it comes from cochineal bugs. But of course proper, traditional coloration is the product of a secondary infusion of herbs and flowers after distillation, so I’m thinking the most this gets is a 3.

After Water: Pinkish peachy orange.

-Louche-
I was entertained by the novel color, seeing an orange fog develop and rise up to overtake the clear red. End result is fairly quick and rather thick, as to be expected by a star anise-enabled louche.

-Aroma-
Before Water: Powerful black jelly bean/star anise essence, subtropical fruit, alcohol heat…and, well, maybe just a hint of fresh grilled steak. No really.

After Water:
More of the almost-tropical fruit which is pretty close to- or maybe partly generated by- “juicyfruit” wormwood aromatics. The black jelly bean aroma is still present but is now thankfully secondary to the fruit.


-Flavor and Mouthfeel-
The almost-tropical fruity/wormwood, aroma is well represented in the flavor and is very enjoyable. Again can’t tell if the fruity is solely from the wormwood but I can also identify some good wormwood dusky/herbal nuance in the mid-low ranges. However, the black jellybean star anise co-dominates and contributes to a thick, tongue numbing mouthfeel ; if they used green anise (unlikely) it was wasted. Mid palate, a dose of spicyness followed by more savory wormwood bitter begin to kick in and are welcome allies to the good flavors vs. the star anise saturation.

-Finish-
The refreshing spice and wormwood briskness continue into the finish along with a fair amount of tongue tingling and a bit of star anise cloying.

-Overall-
I have to confess I find kitschy appeal with the Serpis 65. Its worst aspect is the aforementioned black jellybean flavor, which at times makes me not so eager to finish the glass. I’ve found that a few dashes of Peychaud’s bitters tends to help smooth it out and add a little nuance. Maybe not an everyday absinthe for me but the tropical-fruity-floral makes it a good one for hot weather or if I’m just in a cheesy Serpis kinda mood.

Notes: Multiple tastings averaging 3.5:1 ratio, no sugar.

Color: The color is very pretty with a warm flame-like red that is definitely artificial.

Louche: The louche turns a milky orange-rose like color. Translucency is just about spot on but the artificial coloring still shows by a large amount. Pretty but not natural.

Aroma: Anise heavy and simple aroma. There's other stuff in there too but they are hard to pick out.

Flavor: This is very sweet with no added sugar. Just like the aroma the taste is very anise heavy, unbalanced, and simple. There are some floral tones but they are very subdued. It tastes good but it's not anything really wonderful.

Finish: The wormwood comes out here just a bit as well as something peppery. The finish lasts a good while but changes only slightly.

Overall: This is good for anise lovers but overall it is unbalanced and oddly sweet. Reminds me of some of the simpler blanches out there.

Appearance: A glowing orangey-red. Clearly artificial, but it's not unappealing.

Louche: A peachy apricot color with deeper red reflections. Very attractive, and has just the right translucency.

Aroma: Minimal aroma around 3:1...the slight aroma detectable is particularly anise heavy in a black licorice sort of way.

Flavor: Anise and extremely sweet, with some nice candied floral flavors.

Finish: Very lengthy finish; wormwood and a bit of fruit and caraway, with an enduring sweetness which eventually rounds back to anise.

Overall: Surprisingly tasty. It is a shame it's artificially colored, but it wouldn't keep me from having a bottle in my collection.

A very interesting absinthe. I sampled this at 3:1 and 4:1.

Color: What can you say, it's bright red! How can you grade this? I gave it a 2, despite it being clear of sediment, it just did not look completely natural. The color louched was a light peach. Not something I found terribly attractive.

Louche: Acceptable, and an appropriate clouding without being too thick. Simply again, not very attractive to me in the end.

Arome: I liked the aroma, it was anise and flowers all the way. It smelled candy-like, but was inviting and interesting.

Flavor: This is the highlight of Serpis; despite it being mainly anise, there was a hint of decent wormwood, but it offered an unique light spice, fruit and floral edge that i've not had in anything else. It was light and refreshing, with a tasty twangle. This needed no sugar.

Finish: Decent, but not remarkable. A tingly anise that lingers, with a gentle tingle in the back.

Overall: I can see why this would interest people...it's red. That should not be the reason you want to try it, but let's face it, for most...this will be why! It is worthy of being sampled at an event, and I might buy a bottle every couple years or so for this reason.

Bottle purchased and opened February 2006, review sample louched December 2008.

Serpis 65. What does one say? It's red, and it's heavy on the anise. Neat, it gives an aroma that is quite intriguing - alcohol accompanied by something like citrus and flowers, but not any flower you can identify. The color is striking - clear as crystal, like a red/orange candy diamond ring. Then the water is applied, and it turns peach. A beautiful, alluring peach. The aroma doesn't change, but gets smoothed out a bit - the alcohol drops into the background, and the flower/citrus aroma dominates.

The taste is bitter, wormwood, and anise. The finish is bitter and dry, and makes you want to take another sip to mitigate the bitterness. Sugar doesn't remove the bitterness, but I can't really imagine drinking this without sugar, it would be too damn bitter. It's surprising, but not unpleasant. The finish is long-lasting.

This is one of the strangest absinthes to have in your collection, but it represents a real value. The bottle is 1 Liter, and sells for less than $40 (plus shipping). Every connoisseur ought to have at least one bottle for the novelty.