Valkyria - Reviewed by Experts and Consumers at The Wormwood Society
Product Details
Available in USA?
Style/Color
Degrees ABV (% alcohol)
Year of Make (if known)
Country of Origin
Distillery
Editor reviews
Absinthe's renaissance is spreading
Overall rating
3.8
Appearance
4.0
Louche
3.5
Aroma
3.5
Flavor / Mouthfeel
4.0
Finish
4.0
Overall
4.0
Appearance: Very bright and natural peridot.
Louche: Not quite opalescent, but attractive. Maybe a touch too thick. Star anise possibly?
Aroma: Inviting. Minty sweet with nice balance between the holy trinity of wormwood, fennel and anise.
Flavor: Thick mouthfeel with a good deal of numbing. Pretty sure that's the star anise talking. Tasty, but a bit heavy. Not quite as complex as I'd like.
Finish: Herbaceous and strong. Lingers for quite some time.
Overall: A sold effort for Sweden. This is a nice drink. If they toned down on the star anise just a bit, it might give it a little more complexity and let the other herbs shine through. Still good though.
Louche: Not quite opalescent, but attractive. Maybe a touch too thick. Star anise possibly?
Aroma: Inviting. Minty sweet with nice balance between the holy trinity of wormwood, fennel and anise.
Flavor: Thick mouthfeel with a good deal of numbing. Pretty sure that's the star anise talking. Tasty, but a bit heavy. Not quite as complex as I'd like.
Finish: Herbaceous and strong. Lingers for quite some time.
Overall: A sold effort for Sweden. This is a nice drink. If they toned down on the star anise just a bit, it might give it a little more complexity and let the other herbs shine through. Still good though.
Live To Fight Another Day
(Updated: August 13, 2012)
Overall rating
3.2
Appearance
4.0
Louche
3.0
Aroma
3.0
Flavor / Mouthfeel
3.0
Finish
3.0
Overall
3.0
Appearance
Unlouched, a nice light-medium peridot with no discernible haze or sediment. Very natural looking. Louched, good green retention with little nuance or gradient in color.
Louche
Good green retention, however very monochromatic. The louche, on the border of opaque, displays gradients to just the slightest orange at the bottom and blue at the meniscus, hardly anything I would call opalescence. The surface appearance, while not chalky, exhibits no brilliance or sheen one expects to see in top offerings.
Aroma
Unlouched, a pleasant anise and herbal tone with a confectionery tinge. Louched, overall very dark, badiane (star anise) predominates. As a result, the nose is very monolithic in total character. Besides the star anise, I can detect some nice wormwoods (absinthium and pontica), but not much else (and I'm sure other things are there). On the whole, I wouldn't mistake this for anything other than absinthe, but it's really not distinguished in any way.
Flavor And Mouthfeel
A fairly big and heavy sense of weight on entry. The initial impression, much like the nose is very monolithic. Take the time to taste “hard” and it's detectable that other herbs besides the quality wormwoods and anise are present, but it's a lot of work. They're just getting walked all over by the star anise. The big and heavy theme continues throughout the glass with a building prickliness on the palate and not a trace of “spirity” sensation whatsoever, and this at a ratio of 5:1 (its best presentation, IMO).
Finish
A linear fade of most of the palate impressions leaving the entire mouth coated with a mid-grained powderiness, flavors, and drying redolent of Valentine's Day conversation hearts, backed by some wormwood bitterness. All in all a little better finish than many other absinthes with strong star anise profiles, probably a testament to the quality of the other underlying ingredients. Fair length.
Overall Impression
The way I see it, this Swedish verte is pretty average. However I'm rather charmed by it and I want to like it. Why, you might ask? Well, it's because of what I believe I can see in the intent of this effort. Because of the quality and balances of the herbs (other than the star anise) I am able to detect here, it is obvious to me that the people who produced this are making what they believe to be an honest and accurate representation of the beverage. That's a completely different thing than the somewhat similar (but inferior) offerings from some others (who know better, BTW) where it is obvious they are only in it to profiteer. I'll root for a less than par, but honorable, effort any day over a cynical one. Whether or not this has the potential to ever be great, who knows? That's up to its creators. But I think with some minor tweaking (mainly in the elimination of much of the star anise) it stands a chance of being solidly in the range of better mid-market products.
Valkyries... escorts of the damned or “escorts” of the “damned lucky”? I dunno... But if I were one, I'd make sure that Göran Bauerle and Henrik Larsson continue on their quest, and that Valkyria lives to fight another day.
Done with a 1 ounce dose, diluted 4.5:1, 5:1 and no sugar.
Absinthe Valkyria, 08/05/12, 8/12/12.
Both evaluations had consistent notes.
My most appreciative thanks to the generous WS member who provided the samples.
Unlouched, a nice light-medium peridot with no discernible haze or sediment. Very natural looking. Louched, good green retention with little nuance or gradient in color.
Louche
Good green retention, however very monochromatic. The louche, on the border of opaque, displays gradients to just the slightest orange at the bottom and blue at the meniscus, hardly anything I would call opalescence. The surface appearance, while not chalky, exhibits no brilliance or sheen one expects to see in top offerings.
Aroma
Unlouched, a pleasant anise and herbal tone with a confectionery tinge. Louched, overall very dark, badiane (star anise) predominates. As a result, the nose is very monolithic in total character. Besides the star anise, I can detect some nice wormwoods (absinthium and pontica), but not much else (and I'm sure other things are there). On the whole, I wouldn't mistake this for anything other than absinthe, but it's really not distinguished in any way.
Flavor And Mouthfeel
A fairly big and heavy sense of weight on entry. The initial impression, much like the nose is very monolithic. Take the time to taste “hard” and it's detectable that other herbs besides the quality wormwoods and anise are present, but it's a lot of work. They're just getting walked all over by the star anise. The big and heavy theme continues throughout the glass with a building prickliness on the palate and not a trace of “spirity” sensation whatsoever, and this at a ratio of 5:1 (its best presentation, IMO).
Finish
A linear fade of most of the palate impressions leaving the entire mouth coated with a mid-grained powderiness, flavors, and drying redolent of Valentine's Day conversation hearts, backed by some wormwood bitterness. All in all a little better finish than many other absinthes with strong star anise profiles, probably a testament to the quality of the other underlying ingredients. Fair length.
Overall Impression
The way I see it, this Swedish verte is pretty average. However I'm rather charmed by it and I want to like it. Why, you might ask? Well, it's because of what I believe I can see in the intent of this effort. Because of the quality and balances of the herbs (other than the star anise) I am able to detect here, it is obvious to me that the people who produced this are making what they believe to be an honest and accurate representation of the beverage. That's a completely different thing than the somewhat similar (but inferior) offerings from some others (who know better, BTW) where it is obvious they are only in it to profiteer. I'll root for a less than par, but honorable, effort any day over a cynical one. Whether or not this has the potential to ever be great, who knows? That's up to its creators. But I think with some minor tweaking (mainly in the elimination of much of the star anise) it stands a chance of being solidly in the range of better mid-market products.
Valkyries... escorts of the damned or “escorts” of the “damned lucky”? I dunno... But if I were one, I'd make sure that Göran Bauerle and Henrik Larsson continue on their quest, and that Valkyria lives to fight another day.
Done with a 1 ounce dose, diluted 4.5:1, 5:1 and no sugar.
Absinthe Valkyria, 08/05/12, 8/12/12.
Both evaluations had consistent notes.
My most appreciative thanks to the generous WS member who provided the samples.
M
User reviews
2 reviews
Overall rating
3.7
Appearance
3.0(2)
Louche
3.3(2)
Aroma
4.3(2)
Flavor / Mouthfeel
3.5(2)
Finish
4.3(2)
Overall
4.0(2)
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Quite pleased with this one.
Overall rating
3.9
Appearance
3.0
Louche
3.5
Aroma
4.5
Flavor / Mouthfeel
4.0
Finish
4.5
Overall
4.0
Appearance: The color is a natural green, but it's rather light.
Louche: This absinthe louched easily, and is perhaps a bit too thick. It maintains a nice color when fully louched, and has a lovely reddish glow.
Aroma: I really like the smell, wormwood and big anise scents with some mint.
Flavor: Really nice wormwood, paired with an overall cool and fresh flavor. It has a bright and silky flavor that's quite enjoyable.
Finish: Lots of length here, spicy and slightly citrusy.
Overall: A number of tastes and sensations with this absinthe reminded me of the characteristics of a few different high-quality absinthes I've tried, and it feels clear they did their homework in attempting to create a quality product. I think with some slight changes and adjustments this could become one of the great European absinthe offerings.
Louche: This absinthe louched easily, and is perhaps a bit too thick. It maintains a nice color when fully louched, and has a lovely reddish glow.
Aroma: I really like the smell, wormwood and big anise scents with some mint.
Flavor: Really nice wormwood, paired with an overall cool and fresh flavor. It has a bright and silky flavor that's quite enjoyable.
Finish: Lots of length here, spicy and slightly citrusy.
Overall: A number of tastes and sensations with this absinthe reminded me of the characteristics of a few different high-quality absinthes I've tried, and it feels clear they did their homework in attempting to create a quality product. I think with some slight changes and adjustments this could become one of the great European absinthe offerings.
A
From Sweden with Love
Overall rating
3.5
Appearance
3.0
Louche
3.0
Aroma
4.0
Flavor / Mouthfeel
3.0
Finish
4.0
Overall
4.0
Appearance: Valkyria has a clear and natural peridot green color whose only flaw is that it is more than a bit on the thin side.
Louche: This absinthe definitely louches. It both starts and ends strong, albeit a bit thick even at the proper ratio.
Aroma: The initial aromas are anise and fennel heavy which is a nice change. Wormwood, and lemon balm are in the background along with other herbs hiding a nice complexity. It certainly smells like a nice absinthe.
Flavor: This is an anise heavy absinthe with a sweet and floral background. The anise seems to be star anise which would explain the thick louche. Some slight peppery notes appear as well but they aren't too pronounced. There is also a bit of the “Matter” chalky texture to this as well.
Finish: The wormwood and other floral tones begin to show more in the finish as well as a ramping up of that “Matter” texture mentioned above.
Overall: This is a good absinthe. It's not overly complex but not lacking in depth either. I find it interesting that even though it fits within the realm of traditional style absinthes, that it has a character all it's own as well. A very nice start for Sweden. The flavor could be a little more balanced and the anise should switch to sweet anise if they are using star anise.
Louche: This absinthe definitely louches. It both starts and ends strong, albeit a bit thick even at the proper ratio.
Aroma: The initial aromas are anise and fennel heavy which is a nice change. Wormwood, and lemon balm are in the background along with other herbs hiding a nice complexity. It certainly smells like a nice absinthe.
Flavor: This is an anise heavy absinthe with a sweet and floral background. The anise seems to be star anise which would explain the thick louche. Some slight peppery notes appear as well but they aren't too pronounced. There is also a bit of the “Matter” chalky texture to this as well.
Finish: The wormwood and other floral tones begin to show more in the finish as well as a ramping up of that “Matter” texture mentioned above.
Overall: This is a good absinthe. It's not overly complex but not lacking in depth either. I find it interesting that even though it fits within the realm of traditional style absinthes, that it has a character all it's own as well. A very nice start for Sweden. The flavor could be a little more balanced and the anise should switch to sweet anise if they are using star anise.
E