This past summer I ordered a bottle of spendy Segarra 68. Talk about bitter, whooaa! But the one thing that really was strange is that it tasted like tequila with anise and a lot of wormwood. So much so that I really wondered if that is what it really was. Has anyone else tried it and what was your impression?

From the WS reviews page:

I really liked the Segarra 45 the single time that I had it. I agree with Gertz' review with regards to it's character. It's definately the best of the Spanish brands, at least those that I've sampled.

The Segarra 68 is ridiculously expensive. Ludicrously so.
The Segarra 45 is probably too expensive for what it's worth also...

Segarra 68 was comissioned by Spirits Corner, they wanted Mr. Segarra to make a verte.

Unfortunately he committed an "Ordinaire's Blunder," and coloured the stuff with Artemesia Absinthium, making a nasty mess out it.

Reportedly Mr. Segarra doesn't even like the 68.

Stick with the Segarra 45.

I haven't checked lately, but last time I did, Segarra 45 was pretty darn spendy. I've never been able to talk myself into throwing down on a bottle of it.

The two Segarras should under no circumstances be confused. The 68 version is a complete failure. The first half of a second or so, it feels a bit like the 45 version on the palate. Then this really nasty bitterness sets in and ruins everything.

I tried it with a bunch of locals in Val-de-Travers - most of them seemed for some strange reason to like it. We had been through a range of nice La Bleues; then the host (for those who have seen the Thirsty Traveller-episode: the guy with the guitar) pulled out the Segarra 68, and everybody went 'oh, this is really interesting' (and not as in 'erm, interesting ... ewww'). I don't hope any of the swiss distillers end up getting too inspired by it.

The 45 is still spendy. From $84.00 at Alandia all the way up to $106.00 at eAbsinthe. It's basically priced like the Jades.

True. And, at 45 degrees, less oomph per bottle, technically speaking. Hence my hesitation.

So you tried it and did you get that tequila taste or anything along those lines? I still have about a third of a bottle and just the smell reminds me of tequila-

I have a bottle of the 45, it's simple but nice. My only complaint (besides price) is the screw top. I'd rather see cork than that cheap metal screw top.

It's petty, but for the price there should be some minimum standards.

The 45 is definately too expensive for what it's worth...

I tasted no 'tequila' flavour in the 45 version.

I didn't think of tequila. But then again, I haven't had tequila for ages. I'm not sure I would even recognize that specific taste.

I can buy Segarra 45 off the shelf in one local shop. Still quite pricey, though, and I haven't had it for a long time. There's so much cheaper and at least as good available nowadays, even when I have to pay for shipping too.

I have a bottle of each. Yesterday I had a glass of the 45 and was... bored. It has been about a year since I last had a glass of it and I know why. It's a simple and flat uninteresting drink. The 68 is a different story. I doubt I'll ever bring myself to even try it for the sake of seeing if there's anything Tequila like to it. I hate the Segarra 68. It's awful. The only thing that brings it above the Czech crapsinths is the fact that it's atleast distilled to start with.

Ok, I'm confused with the whole Spanish absinthe thing.

For me, stepping up to Spanish absinthes was a major leap forward over the one Czech cough syrup experience. I tried the Spanish varieties because of the reviews I read at Absinthe.SE and La Fee Verte. Just to double-check my failing memory, I revisited those same reviews and still find contradictions within a site, ie. A mixed & macerated absinthe is clearly described as *not* mixed or macerated. This occurs more than once in the reviews. To add to my fogginess, La Fee Verte favorably reviewed Spanish absinthes receive no recognition in WS. I gather that WS specializes only in highly favorable products?

So far, all my contact with French and Swiss absinthe blows the Spanish drink away which is why I haven't considered investing the bucks in Segarra. Yet, I have a fondness for the Spanish if for no other reason because it gave me a step up from Czechshit.

The reason for this is simple.

Those reviews at Fee Verte lauding certain Spanish absinthes, date from many years back, some as early as '98-99. Hardly anyone today would praise a Deva, or Mari Mayans, given the release of so many finer absinthe potables, particularly in the last couple of years.

WS, being a much younger forum, has repead the benefits of those hearty pioneer tasters of the Old School Fee Verte, and most of our palates have had the chance to evolve along with some of the exciting newer releases.

Thanks, Absomphe. Simple answers for simple minds.

Websites not updated for 7 or 8 years? Yikes.