Review Detail

0.8 47 0.5
Not like an absinthe
Overall rating
 
1.3
Appearance
 
1.0
Louche
 
3.0
Aroma
 
1.0
Flavor / Mouthfeel
 
1.0
Finish
 
1.0
Overall
 
1.0
I received a sample of LTV from a friend. It was sent in an amber bottle, so I couldn't see the color. I poured out a 20 ml dose, and watered 4:1.

I actually laughed out loud at the color when I poured it into the glass. It's completely artificial. On that basis perhaps I should have rated it a "2", however the color wasn't green, but some kind of blue green, a turquoise color. After some thought, I'll keep it at a 1 simply because I actually laughed.

LTV louches, but ends up being kind of transparent in some ways, but in others it seems opaque. Like I can't actually see through it. If I hold an absinthe spoon in the middle of the glass of louched absinthe it is hazy, and on the far side of the glass I only see the spoon a little. There is no opaline character to the louche, but there was a nice band separating the louched from unlouched drink that went on for a while.

The aroma begins to tell you that something isn't right. Room filling but with a minty mouthwash aroma. There's no detectable alcohol aroma, just this head cleaning mint (eucalyptus I believe).

The taste. Laughing again. The flavors are very thin. Like a lightly flavored vodka perhaps. That mint aroma is very strongly there in the flavor of course. There are at least two other flavors that I notice, but they aren't familiar to me. A strong citrus note, lemony comes to mind. I can't give this a "1" as the taste isn't unpleasant per se. It really seems more like a mouthwash. There isn't any harsh alcohol burn, so that's good. Now it's effecting my nasal passages. Yes it's eucalyptus. I can see I'm not going to finish this glass of "absinthe". I am going to rate this a "1" as I drink a bit more the flavors become more unpleasant.

The finish recedes quickly (thankfully) but not quickly enough, so I had to rate this a "1" because it's so wrong. It's not like a finish of absinthe. There ends up being some bitter notes on the tongue. Not AA like bitterness, but more like you bit on a lemon peel. After a while there's some numbing on the outer gums which is definitely not normal. The mintiness of the eucalyptus gets on the tongue and into the nose. Now I hope the finish will go away because it's just not what it's supposed to be.

I don't detect any wormwood. Not much anise, or the eucalyptus so overpowers everything else in this drink that it's really eucalypte not absinthe. This beverage could be fixed. If the other qualities had been more absinthe-like, I could forgive the funny color. I kept wanting to give a "2" in a rating, but as I drank it, it became more and more unpleasant. This was true with the aroma, taste and finish. If the finish didn't linger so long (over the course of drinking it) it would be more tolerable.

I'd say overall it doesn't qualify as absinthe. As an absinthe it's unacceptable = "1". As an unusual beverage there may be people who will find the eucalyptus/mint flavor pleasant I presume. I did not. In the end I poured my drink out. I doubt I drank even 1/3rd of it. If you're looking for absinthe, you'll have to try another brand.
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