Review Detail
2.2 12 0.5
Below Average
(Updated: May 16, 2009)
Overall rating
2.1
Appearance
3.0
Louche
4.0
Aroma
1.0
Flavor / Mouthfeel
2.0
Finish
2.0
Overall
1.0
-Color-
Before Water: A nice yellow-green. Maybe too yellow, and ½ a degree too neon bright, but it might be natural (I am pretending that I don't know that FD&C artificial coloring is used). Basically correct and even attractive.
After Water: Natural looking light greenish-yellow. Opalescence and depth could be better however.
-Louche-
Decent trails, entertaining, slowly forming cloud layer.
-Aroma-
Before water: Smells unfortunately like rubbing alcohol.
After water: Licorice and maybe star anise or green anise, whatever it is, it’s kind of flat. Along with this is a very unappetizing alcohol scent that smells to me almost like mint-accented rubbing alcohol. I ended up sinking the first glass. I had another glass from my large sample bottle a few months later, and this was more subdued- but still slightly off-putting.
-Flavor-
A bit o’ the ol’ black jelly bean taste here. Very simple. I’m not really sure if there's any green anise at all, probably just star anise essential oil. I think I might taste a little fennel and some basic wormwood as it moves toward the finish. Overall, it’s much flatter and one dimensional than I’d like it to be, as well as the significant minus of being pre-sweetened (as we know authentic absinthe is not). The funny thing is, it’s actually a bit better after a few months of aging, which is likely due in part to the producer not having aged it themselves.
-Finish-
Not harsh in any way, moderate tongue numbing, not much body or creaminess. The first glass kinda grossed me out, but after breathing the second glass actually had some acceptable wormwood and anethole notes. There is also some unpleasant cloying from pre-added sugar.
-Overall-
There are definitely worse products that are further removed from what absinthe actually is. But this is really NOT authentic absinthe, since it’s pre-sweetened and gets major negatives for taking all the producer shortcuts (star anise, oil mix, artificial color). When all is said and done, it’s a cheep imitation that mimics the real absinthe, but costs just as much.
The drink itself is a 2/5, but I dropped the Overall score to a 1 for the myriad unforgivable inaccuracies represented in the packaging and other marketing for this product. No reason at all to give these people my money. How unfortunate that many will try this and believe it's among the best the absinthe world has to offer.
Notes: 3:1 with medium fountain drip, no sugar.
Before Water: A nice yellow-green. Maybe too yellow, and ½ a degree too neon bright, but it might be natural (I am pretending that I don't know that FD&C artificial coloring is used). Basically correct and even attractive.
After Water: Natural looking light greenish-yellow. Opalescence and depth could be better however.
-Louche-
Decent trails, entertaining, slowly forming cloud layer.
-Aroma-
Before water: Smells unfortunately like rubbing alcohol.
After water: Licorice and maybe star anise or green anise, whatever it is, it’s kind of flat. Along with this is a very unappetizing alcohol scent that smells to me almost like mint-accented rubbing alcohol. I ended up sinking the first glass. I had another glass from my large sample bottle a few months later, and this was more subdued- but still slightly off-putting.
-Flavor-
A bit o’ the ol’ black jelly bean taste here. Very simple. I’m not really sure if there's any green anise at all, probably just star anise essential oil. I think I might taste a little fennel and some basic wormwood as it moves toward the finish. Overall, it’s much flatter and one dimensional than I’d like it to be, as well as the significant minus of being pre-sweetened (as we know authentic absinthe is not). The funny thing is, it’s actually a bit better after a few months of aging, which is likely due in part to the producer not having aged it themselves.
-Finish-
Not harsh in any way, moderate tongue numbing, not much body or creaminess. The first glass kinda grossed me out, but after breathing the second glass actually had some acceptable wormwood and anethole notes. There is also some unpleasant cloying from pre-added sugar.
-Overall-
There are definitely worse products that are further removed from what absinthe actually is. But this is really NOT authentic absinthe, since it’s pre-sweetened and gets major negatives for taking all the producer shortcuts (star anise, oil mix, artificial color). When all is said and done, it’s a cheep imitation that mimics the real absinthe, but costs just as much.
The drink itself is a 2/5, but I dropped the Overall score to a 1 for the myriad unforgivable inaccuracies represented in the packaging and other marketing for this product. No reason at all to give these people my money. How unfortunate that many will try this and believe it's among the best the absinthe world has to offer.
Notes: 3:1 with medium fountain drip, no sugar.
G
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