Belle Amie - Reviewed by Experts and Consumers at The Wormwood Society

 
4.1 (4)
 
1.7 (45)
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Belle Amie - Reviewed by Experts and Consumers at The Wormwood Society
Belle Amie - Reviewed by Experts and Consumers at The Wormwood Society

Product Details

Style/Color
Degrees ABV (% alcohol)
Year of Make (if known)
Country of Origin
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Editor reviews

8 reviews
Overall rating
 
4.1
 
4.0(4)
 
3.5(4)
 
4.8(4)
 
4.0(4)
 
4.0(4)
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A bit monotonous...
(Updated: July 11, 2008)
Overall rating
 
3.5
Appearance
 
4.0
Louche
 
4.0
Aroma
 
4.0
Flavor / Mouthfeel
 
3.0
Finish
 
3.0
Overall
 
3.0
Color: nice green olive with an amber shade, a little too deep for a modern absinthe imo.



Louche: not opalescent but still nicely formed. But pay attention, you have to stop the water drip quickly, otherwise the louche is ruined (see 'Overall' below).



Aroma: Typical wormwood/green anise from the Emile Pernot distillery in Pontarlier. Then I smell a good fennel hidden behind spiciness. Overall pleasant and floral, Belle Amie strength.



Flavor: This is mainly where I'm disappointed, the flavor doesn't follow the great aroma. Ok it's good but quickly monotonous, a bit one-dimensional.



Finish: good but a little too biting, the coriander takes the podium here.



Overall: I would say "too well balanced", it's missing some punch, a true character, something that would make say "wow! let's have another one".

Also, if you're not tasting it at different louching steps (I've tried many), or if you're used to a higher ratio from your past 'vertes' experiences, then you're taking the risk of drinking an absinthe-perfumed water glass. Start tasting it at 3:1 or just before that, do not wait for the usual undiluted layer to disappear before drinking it!
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One of my favorites
(Updated: May 13, 2009)
Overall rating
 
4.2
Appearance
 
4.0
Louche
 
3.0
Aroma
 
5.0
Flavor / Mouthfeel
 
5.0
Finish
 
4.0
Overall
 
4.0
Bottom line: this absinthe is great.

Color is a very attractive fuille morte which really reminds one more of a vintage brand than a currently available brand.

The louche is the only drawback to this absinthe. I myself enjoy a well formed, thick louche, but Belle Amie tends to be a bit weak, and subject to very easy overwatering. You have to use VERY cold water and a slow drip to be able to coax it out. At full dilution, the louche is a relatively opaque greenish brown, but not opalescent.

The aroma is stunning. It's got such a fresh, spicy herbal quality to it with strong scents of high quality wormwood. It's light on the anise but makes up for that with a boquet of floral essenses.

The taste is very refreshing. Lots of herbal character with high quality wormwood mintiness and great vegetal undertones. The coriander adds a great depth of flavor.

The finish is long and lovely. It will stay with you for a long long time and makes you want more.

Overall, this absinthe was a welcome addition to my collection. Although there are potential problems with overwatering, when it's done just right, it's one of the most memorable CO absinthes out there.
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I'll pass on this bandwagon.
Overall rating
 
4.0
Appearance
 
3.0
Louche
 
3.0
Aroma
 
5.0
Flavor / Mouthfeel
 
4.0
Finish
 
5.0
Overall
 
4.0
Belle Amie is good but...

Color: A bit of olive that's not very pretty but quite dull and even a little hazy. If it had some age to it, I might forgive it but it's new.

Louche: Temperamental, demands very cold water and a slow drip to get a thick louche. As in other areas, it is too delicate to be consistent.

Aroma: Excellent...don't over-water, not even a drop.

Flavor: Very good flavor, nice herbal qualities that are sustained well after the drink has been swallowed. If even slightly over-watered, the flavor profile falls apart. Under-watered and there is a distinct medicinal quality.

Finish: Here Belle Amie shines.

Overall: Belle Amie is good but the delicate temperament is a real distraction.



Belle Amie's real problems develop when slightly over-watered and it begins to fall apart in the glass. At that point, it goes from a good glass of absinthe to absolutely undrinkable. This is a real Jekyll and Hyde in a bottle. The real issue is over-watering but not in the usual sense if the drinker should become distracted and water at 5-to-1 but only slightly over-watered at a very common 4-to-1. In my mind, this is not a little thing but a real concern. If the drinker can find that very shallow "sweet spot," it's a good beverage but not close to any of the Jades or Marteau or even Eichelberger Limitee Verte.
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Beautiful Belle Amie
(Updated: December 14, 2007)
Overall rating
 
4.7
Appearance
 
5.0
Louche
 
4.0
Aroma
 
5.0
Flavor / Mouthfeel
 
5.0
Finish
 
4.0
Overall
 
5.0
Belle Amie pours clear, bright gold with a hint of green, a colour I've only seen in absinthe that has been aged for at least a few years. The louche is very slow and theatrical, dancing back and forth. The louched spirit is slightly thin and a bit more green than before adding water.



The aroma reminds me strongly of preban Pernod Fils, but is spicier and not as sweet. The anise is deceptive; it's light in intensity but stands out so strongly in character that it seems more intense than it is. Coriander, pontica, and hyssop, all of excellent quality, mingle in more of a homophonic theme than counterpoint. However, all of it is backed up by a wormwood so gorgeous it's like listening to music where the bassist steals the show.



And boy, does that carry over to the flavour, plus some. The wormwood is fantastic; definitely that same juicy, floral, and simply luscious wormwood that was used in L'Artisanale. Here it's used a tad more sparingly but to no less spectacular effect. Anise is hardly noticeable to me on the palate, and instead fennel and coriander provide most of the accompaniment. I disagree with some of my peers on the colouring herb flavour being too strong or vegetal... but that may just be because I enjoy a prominent pontica profile.



The one area where I think Belle Amie could use adjusting (as opposed to minor tweaking) is the mouth-feel. It could stand to be a good deal creamier. The finish is long and dominated by wormwood. This is one of the dryer absinthes I've had, with a respectable bitterness that lingers pleasantly on the palate. The juxtaposition of the somewhat wild bitterness with the extremely sophisticated flavour is pure joy, not entirely unlike the experience of sipping a very good, well-aged bourbon.



It's wonderful.
A
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Overall rating
 
1.7
Appearance
 
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Louche
 
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Aroma
 
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Flavor / Mouthfeel
 
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