Vieux Pontarlier seems like it could have been great absinthe that hits all the right notes and has a pleasant flavor. But there is a hint of an odor and flavor that I can only describe as a vegetal flavor mixed with “burnt rubber”. This being one of my First bottles I had to power through it and drank the whole thing, but I’ve later found out that this flavor is that of the “tails”.

For newcomers this is the bit of fluid at the end of the distillation, the “tail”. It shouldn’t be collected with the body of the distillation that is to be bottled, as it gives the Absinthe these strong vegetal flavors. Artichokes are the common descriptor used when trying to explain what the tails taste like.

Pre-louche the color is a proper and natural green. A vibrant, lighter green. When louched, it is quite milky while retaining much of the green coloring. With that said... positives are over.

The aroma is odd. Sort of a mintiness combined with what I can only describe as a "bubblegum" scent. These attributes are also strongly present in the taste. Not what I would expect in an absinthe. I have known no other absinthe out of the 15+ varieties I've had up to this point to have any such characteristics. It's just plain odd.

Vieux Pontarlier looks the part with proper coloring and louche but falls so far short with these aroma and flavor oddities...

I really expected more from this absinthe!

Appearance: Extra green, without being too dark.

Louche: When louched it's a pretty light green, but it's extremely milky and thick.

Aroma: Hella minty, with a bit of a still scent, and a somewhat masked smell that's redolent of rubber.

Flavor/Mouthfeel: Light and creamy in texture, but really, really minty, and something vegetal is coming through on the flavor that I don't particularly like. It ends up fairly bitter in the end.

Finish: The finish is very fuzzy in the mouth and there's some alcohol heat that takes a long time to fade.

Overall: There are some quality aspects of this absinthe, but there are also some pretty disappointing flaws. Maybe this used to be passable in an absinthe, but there's so many better options out there, especially from Pernot.

Appearance: A light grassy green that is clear and bright. Hardly any of the usual yellow tone at all. Nice and clear with no sediment.

Louche: A nearly opaque and milky green. Hardly any nuance at all.

Aroma: Smells like a distillery. There is a strong mint aroma that dominates the scent. If you search behind the mask of mint and still, there appear to be some citrus and anise notes as well.

Flavor: A big ol' mint bomb that has a thick and vegetal texture. Once again you have to search for other notes. Unbalanced and I regret to say, tailsy.

Finish: A mint and citrus combo that reminds me of mouthwash. Lasts a decently long time but not necessarily in a good way.

Overall: The vegetal and mint combo trample over anything else. This is surprising considering that the same distillery produces some extremely good absinthes. Maybe when it was launched it was a decent offering but now many absinthes and even the distiller have surpassed this one.

The colour is too pale, although there were pics of a batches where it was quite nice green.

Louche is alright. However, the aroma is very flat, if it was the absinthe to surpass Lucid, it did, as they are both relatively one-dimensional. An everyday absinthe, maybe, but rather in the vein of the finest absinthes inferieures of the yore. Misplaced wormwood, wet anise profile, terribly stinking wrongly-processed alcohol, no factual aging or mellowing.

Flavour is better as wormwood note, if still too discrete, is quite pleasant.

Finish is short, tailsy and typically for the style it "thrives"-absinthe inferieure.

Overall, there are much better absinthes in the US to be savoured; there are absolutely much better absinthes in Europe as well.