Marteau Verte Classique
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4.4 |
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4.4 (8) |
Product Details
| Style | Verte |
| Degrees ABV (% alcohol) | 68.00 |
| Year of Make (if known) | 2007 |
| Country of Origin | Switzerland |
| Distiller/Manufacturer | Matter-Luginbühl |
| Web site | http://www.absinthe.de |
| Comments from the Maker/Distributor | Marteau Verte Classique is a premium absinthe whose recipe was created by Gwydion Stone, aka Hiram, the founder and administrator of the Wormwood Society.
Verte Classique is made from 100% esprit de vin base and eleven whole, natural botanicals. The herbs and spices used include the traditional trinity of wormwood, anise and fennel, as well as some more uncommon botanicals from the earliest absinthe recipes available, predating commercial absinthe. The color is derived from the traditional process and botanicals.
Verte Classique, as it's name suggests, has a classic verte flavor profile, but with a more savory aromatic side. It is excellent served in the traditional manner, but was created specifically around the flavors and aromas that it lends to classic cocktails which call for absinthe, such as the Sazerac, the Obituary and the White Lily. (recipes at absinthemarteau.com) |
Editor review
A wonderfully enjoyable absinthe
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Hiram has done something wonderful here. I had the pleasure of tasting the prototype before the initial release at the Tales of the Cocktail event in July of 2007. I immediately put it on my calendar to pick up a bottle when it was formally released.
The color is very nice, although I liked the coloring of the original recipe better than the finished product. It's still a great, vibrant green.
The louche is right on the money. It forms at the right pace, not too fast and not too slow. Mine was finished louching around 2.5:1. With a slow drip from the fountain, I got some great layering and trails while it was building. When complete, it's a nice, thick opalescent green.
Lots of things going on in the aroma. Some minty wormwood, vegetal fennel and sweetness from the anise. I also catch something that reminds me of something like sweet celery. It's a unique and intriguing aroma. I could sit here and sniff it all day.
A well balanced flavor, but noticeably on the sweeter side. I think sugaring this one would be overkill. The bitterness of the wormwood is there, but it's not as dominating as in some others. I can see why this one works so well as a 'cocktail absinthe'.
Overall, this was a great job. It's most definitely an enjoyable absinthe to be drank in the traditional manner, but I have to say, it makes one helluva Sazerac too!
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| Overall rating: |
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4.4 |
| Color: |
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4.0 |
| Louche: |
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5.0 |
| Aroma: |
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4.0 |
| Flavor: |
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5.0 |
| Finish: |
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4.0 |
| Overall: |
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4.0 |
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User reviews
Average user rating from: 8 user(s)
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| Overall rating: |
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4.4 |
| Color: |
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4.5 |
| Louche: |
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4.9 |
| Aroma: |
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4.1 |
| Flavor: |
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4.6 |
| Finish: |
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4.4 |
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4.1 |
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Whispering Sweet Somethings...
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Color
Unlouched, light medium gold/green. Closer to peridot than most other Matter products I have seen. Sparkling clear. Louched, milky light medium green with yellow, gold, and rose glints, and milky whitish blue at the edges. Overall a little light, but pretty.
Louche
Where’s that 4.5 when you need it? Not the thickest trails I’ve seen, but distinct nonetheless. Cloudiness builds on the bottom, while layering sets up. Louche goes opaque at about 2/1, and green line runs till about 3/1. Final thickness, at 4/1, is just right. Very entertaining.
Aroma
Fresh, clean, and savory. Wormwood, anise, and celery. I’m thinking I’m getting a good bit of hyssop and genepi here (but just a guess). Very even balance, nothing off whatsoever. As it warms, the wormwood shows a little mintiness and florality. Overall very subtle, classy, attractive.
Flavor
Wow! Much more umph than the nose led me to expect. Good insistence from the wormwood, balanced by the remainder of the trinity… a slight sweet impression. Nice spice and an insistent “pull”. Definitely savory notes, as well. The celery notes make this unique, but not freakish. Nothing heavy handed. Very nice, balanced, complex, subtle, and harmonious.
Finish
A very linear follow-up to all the nose and palate impressions. A gentle “clamping down” of the wormwood and spice. Slight drying and tongue numbing. Not the wild multi-facets and undulating complexities of the very best, but very nice. As with the nose and palate, overall a very sophisticated dignity to this.
Overall
When I first started tasting this, I just didn’t get the celery notes. It seemed like too much. Now every time I taste this, I like it better and better. 4/1 really helped to tame it. At that dilution, it is more subtle… still complex and harmonious, but not wimpy. Definitely toward the top, if not the top Matter offering I have tried. The charms of this absinthe take some time to get to know. It doesn’t shout in your face, rather, it whispers in your ear, and something so notable, I’ll hear it out every time.
1/27/10 Revisit - What a pleasure to taste this again! A class act through and through. Of my original impressions, the only one that is changed slightly, is that I find the celery component to be better integrated and a little less "up front" than in my original notes. As such, the only alteration to my original text is in regards to that facet, in the "Flavor" section. All scores remain the same. This bottle has been open about a year, and about 2/3 full. Time and air has treated it well. I can't tell you how much I'll miss this when it's gone (luckily, I have another). Fortunately, for all of us, Mr. Stone marches on!
Done with a 1 ounce dose, diluted 3/1, 4/1, 5/1 and no sugar.
Marteau Verte Classique 1/06/09, 2/15/09, 2/28/09, 3/02/09, 1/27/10
All evaluations had consistent notes.
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| Overall rating: |
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4.4 |
| Color: |
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4.0 |
| Louche: |
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5.0 |
| Aroma: |
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4.0 |
| Flavor: |
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5.0 |
| Finish: |
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4.0 |
| Overall: |
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4.0 |
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Marteau Verte Classique - Sophisticated Elegance
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Presentation:
Elegant dark green bottle, Silver foil, up scale label all very attractive. Nice to see there's a specific warning not to burn on the back, in addition to don't burn sugar sign. Well done.
Preparation
A thin stream from a fountain of iced spring water.
Color Before Water
Perfectly Peridot. The color was an unexpected surprised as I imagined it leaning more towards emerald. But this lovely pale green is spectacular. It has the clarity and translucence of a jewel. Quite dazzling to see, especially in natural sunlight.
Aroma Before Water
Another surprise the Anise isn't overpowering it seems more of a compliment to a wonderfully herbal and fragrant bouquet. I strolled a bit, glass in hand and found the vapors quite beautiful. Floral notes and crisp sweetness made me wish it was heavier and more pronounced. Like a breeze off the sea you wish for more but the very qualities that are so faint and gorgeous may be best enjoyed just as it is.
Louche
Nice trails that start immediately and the Louche follows quite quickly. A dense puffy wave that lifts up and rolls out. Expanding and imploding it makes for a fun turbulent performance.The color was a surprise here to. Not the milky off white I've seen so much of. The Peridot color hangs in there and even at 4 to1 water ratio there's this fabulous, light green opalescence. The final stage of the razor thin line of pure Absinthe above the Louche is something special. Mouth feel is thinner than I expected but for me this would be a trait I seek out. It's not sticky nor does it cling to the tongue or inside the mouth.
Aroma After Water
Still gorgeous and inviting but very, very delicate I did find myself wanting more of it. That said, it's unique and fresh with notes that are herbal and floral, clean and inviting. Absolutely zero medicinal, odd or off putting aroma.
Flavor
Like the Aroma the flavor is smooth, subtle and distinct. There's a nice savory balance to it's natural sweetness which is delightful. After sampling a few glasses with sugar and without, my preference is without. There's a nice bite of Wormwood that's tasty and sharp. Overall the flavor is beautifully complex and wonderfully simple at the same time. It's many things, but never one dimensional. One flavor never really wins out over the others. The harmony is exceptional.
The Finish
A gentle numbing of the tongue and a lingering grassy aftertaste.
Final Impression
Marteau Verte Classique is exquisite. And again it's more delicate than any other Absinthe I've tried. Perhaps this is the reason it's been suggested for use in cocktails because the licorice flavors from Anise and fennel aren't center stage. Although I found myself wishing they were a bit more up front. But this is knit picking - it's a delicious and fascinating drink. My main complaint would be that this Absinthe is to be retired. Hence my two bottles will be used sparingly and I hope to purchase more before the remaining stock is gone forever. A better review or stronger recommendation to treat yourself to a bottle I can't make.
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| Overall rating: |
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4.8 |
| Color: |
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5.0 |
| Louche: |
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4.0 |
| Aroma: |
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5.0 |
| Flavor: |
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5.0 |
| Finish: |
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5.0 |
| Overall: |
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5.0 |
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Magical Marteau
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
From the moment you pour this slightly pale mix of olive and peridot green into the glass, you can smell what I believe is the same grape base that Duplais Blanche uses. And this makes perfect sense, as the drink comes from the same distillery.
As you watch the drops of water land and splash, a lovely swirl of oil trails leads you through the transition of the absinthe into a milky green white with hints of refractive opal. This is a louche worth watching and waiting for.
Once the drink is ready, take some time to breathe in its aromas, as you will find a balance that fills the gaps missing in other bottlings from the same distillery such as Duplais Verte and Mansinthe. This tells you everything about the taste to come, which is a fine balance between the holy trinity of herbs, smoothed out by a slight vegetal note, which lingers on the tongue.
Maybe the colour could be deeper and the mouth feel a tad creamier, but then you might lose the qualities that also make this my new go-to absinthe for Sazeracs. Get a bottle of Marteau and fill a small atomiser with it for the perfect Sazerac, but once you've done that, take your time enjoying what I consider the finest absinthe to come out of the Matter-Luginbühl distillery to date.
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| Overall rating: |
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4.4 |
| Color: |
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4.0 |
| Louche: |
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5.0 |
| Aroma: |
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4.0 |
| Flavor: |
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5.0 |
| Finish: |
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4.0 |
| Overall: |
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4.0 |
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The hammer and gavel do not disappoint.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Presentation (no points): Tall dark bottle with a classic looking label with symbolic touches provides a stately presence on my absinthe counter and should keep the light out to preserve the pleasant color. This review is based on a new, freshly opened bottle.
Color (5 points): Beautiful bright and natural green, clear and free of any sediment. This is what you want to see in a verte.
Louche (5 points): A really remarkable louche, comes in after a reasonably short period of time and slowly blooms to a rich and full opalescence that is very appetizing.
Aroma (4 points): Anise up front, with a subtle layer of wormwood neat, pleasant. After louche a note of citrus becomes a descant over the melody of the classic trinity of herbs.
Flavor (4 points): A very tasty absinthe, definitely on the sweet side, with plenty of green anise flavor and some grassy citrus highlights.
Finish (4 points): I really like the finish on this absinthe, the citrus lingers and just the slightest hint of numbness on the tongue prompt you to take another sip.
Overall (4 points): I wish this was readily available in the U.S., a quality absinthe that is very pleasing to drink. It has the classic flavors one would expect, with some nice overtones and a finish that lets you pick it out from a crowd. Wish I had ordered a liter.
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| Overall rating: |
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4.3 |
| Color: |
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5.0 |
| Louche: |
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5.0 |
| Aroma: |
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4.0 |
| Flavor: |
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4.0 |
| Finish: |
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4.0 |
| Overall: |
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4.0 |
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Marteau is a very good verte
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5 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Very nice clear green color. Great louche developing slowly and some time to complete. Good opalescence. Aroma shows balance with some citrus notes. Taste is balanced and very enjoyable.
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| Overall rating: |
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4.4 |
| Color: |
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4.0 |
| Louche: |
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5.0 |
| Aroma: |
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4.0 |
| Flavor: |
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5.0 |
| Finish: |
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4.0 |
| Overall: |
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4.0 |
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Absinthe Marteau
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
This absinthe is unique. The profile is completely different from any I've tasted before. There is hardly any bitterness, just a touch to balance things out. I won't get into specifics because two other better trained palates have already weighed in on this. I'll give the cliff notes version... It's delicious.
The color was quite nice and natural looking. The louche thick with lovely oil trails, morphed into an opalescent version of it's original color. I was nursing my second glass to the point where it even began to get slightly tepid, and the louche still didn't thin out a bit.
The best thing about this absinthe to me is the finish. It has a candy-like finish, leaves a taste in your mouth so delightful that you don't want to eat/drink anything else to ruin it. Stayed with me for hours after my last glass. One of the best I've ever experienced in this regard.
Good stuff, well done Hiram.
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| Overall rating: |
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4.5 |
| Color: |
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4.0 |
| Louche: |
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5.0 |
| Aroma: |
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4.0 |
| Flavor: |
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5.0 |
| Finish: |
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5.0 |
| Overall: |
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4.0 |
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Marteau Verte Classique Absinthe Suisse
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
I was very impressed with this absinthe. I had expected it to be on the lighter side, so I dosed it at 3:1...wow, what a beautifully balanced melange of herbs and spices greeted me! I tasted lots of good green anise, and quality fennel, but also coriander (which I love), and melissa, which really adds a refreshing citric quality. There seemed to be couple of ancillary herbs I recognized as veronica, and, perhaps, genepi, and the finish was laced with a nice, bracing minty wormwood touch, although a tad more would have been ideal.
Certainly not an absinthe leaning towards the bitter (in fact, I think the addition of sugar here would definitely obfuscate some of the lovelier subtle nuances), but there is enough balance to avoid crossing over into the realm of cloying.
The color is a lovely peridot green...not the deepest I've ever seen, but very vibrant, and natural, and the louche was certainly lovely, slow to form, and swirling, nice and thick at 3:1, with much retention of the original green color.
The aroma was particularly savory, and spicy, both before, and after the louche. Perhaps not room filling, but certainly easily detectable from several feet away, and incredibly pleasant. The taste matched the aroma perfectly, and the finish was quite long, and eminently satisfying.
Kudos, indeed, Hiram!
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| Overall rating: |
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4.3 |
| Color: |
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5.0 |
| Louche: |
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5.0 |
| Aroma: |
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4.0 |
| Flavor: |
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4.0 |
| Finish: |
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4.0 |
| Overall: |
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4.0 |
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Shape of things to come?
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Marteau Verte Classique has a beautiful color and opalescent louche. My initial impression is the aroma and taste are a little lighter than I expected which I am attributing to the beverage being crafted for cocktails. Served traditionally with sugar and cold water, it is a very delicate and delicious glass of absinthe. If Marteau is the shape of things to come, the future is looking very bright indeed.
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| Overall rating: |
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4.4 |
| Color: |
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5.0 |
| Louche: |
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5.0 |
| Aroma: |
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4.0 |
| Flavor: |
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4.0 |
| Finish: |
|
5.0 |
| Overall: |
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4.0 |
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