I don't have a tremendous amount of experience reviewing absinthe, but here's what I think.



Color:

The color out of the bottle is surprisingly dark, reminds me very much of St. George in this regard. A deep olive green, no particulates. Attractive and natural, but not overly bright. I'll describe post-louche color below in the louche section.



Louche:

For my first glass, I utilized a turkey baster so I could measure the quantity of water added in relatively precise amounts. With a slow drip, each drop yields huge amounts of trails. The louche began with the addition of the first half ounce of cold water. From there it just got stronger and stronger. Fully louched with a slow drip, this is probably the strongest louche I have seen, also very similar to St. George in this regard. With a slow drip it might be too thick for some. This has a color result of a thick, milky green, once again reminding me of St. George. It is not unpleasant, but let's just say you're not going to be seeing much light through the glass.



Aroma:

Aroma from the bottle yields anise, some wormwood, and a spiciness. From the glass the wormwood is not as prominent, the spiciness and anise remain. The aroma is more fresh and herbal as opposed to earthy, but this is an absolutely brand new bottle.



Flavor:

There's an interesting quality to this absinthe that I can't quite put my finger on. The primary flavor is definitely anise. I poured with no sugar, and I can definitely say it is NOT needed with this absinthe, there is plenty of natural sweetness to the flavor. I believe it is a strong green anise flavor that is most prominent, strong and fresh, almost as if you were chewing on a fresh leaf, but not in a bad way.



Finish:

Finish is proper, slight tingling of the tongue, but still an amazing amount of residual sweetness. If I had just picked up a glass of this I would have sworn it had sugar added during the pour. I wound up pouring at about 4:1, but I'm wondering if the richness of this flavor and finish deserves a 5:1.



Overall:

Like Poor's review before me, I'm interested to see what more experienced absinthe palates have to say about this one. It tastes different to me than the other absinthes I've tried, primarily in the areas of this fresh leafy taste and creamy sweetness. By my judgment it seems to be well made, it is not a timid absinthe by any means, but I don't know if some of these distinctive aspects will fit with the expectations of what a traditional absinthe should taste like. Overall I enjoyed the two glasses I drank during this review, I see Sirene as a hearty absinthe that I would probably have 1 or 2 glasses of, but probably not more than that at a sitting due its rich character. I enthusiastically applaud North Shore Distillery for their efforts in creating a new American absinthe.