First, I did not see any indication of artificial colors and/or dyes on the label. I looked!

I believed that it was not "absinthe" as indicated on the label. However, and according to other reviewers AND your web-site, it is an absinthe substitute. I explained to the liquor store cs that it was not absinthe, as it did not contain the correct wormword. This product was sold as an absinthe.

I was going to award a "2" for taste, but after tasting le Termente...I gave this product a 3.

For the $48 I paid for it, I would choose another spirit (a good vodka, tequila, for a lot less)..or pay a few dollars more for real absenthe. However, I would recommend it to others.

In closing, Absent has a good enough flavor but I knew right away, and I am no expert, that even Lucid is better than Absent.

It was this product that piqued my curiosity for absinthe in the first place. And, having had a few of the US-available brands, I still find it pleasant. Unlike real absinthe, Absente has an almost candy-like taste when prepared with a sugar cube. The color looks artificial, but is pleasing to the eye. The louche looks more like a soluability/precipitation exercise from Chemistry class than the traditional cloudiness of Absinthe.



I agree with some of the others who say that you save this for those guests who can't appreciate the real thing. It definitely tastes different from real absinthe, but as a spirit, it is a very good drink. Most people I have given it to have found it enjoyable.

Color is artificial, as the label (honestly) attests. However, it's attractive and looks a lot like the real thing - a very nice, clear, peridot green.

As a friend said: "It's really pretty and it *looks* like a drink I'd really like, except I don't like licorice." Ah, there's the rub. Good thing that I *do* like

licorice.



Louche is not remarkable, but is acceptably dense. Louches early and action is not exciting. Color when louched is very pretty, almost authentic, but slightly on the day-glo side of green. It's chemistry, plain and simple, but chemistry by people who clearly care about the craft.



Aroma is pleasant but weak and one-dimensionally anise.



Pleasant but again, one-dimensional. Some welcome bitterness from the Southern Wormwood balances the flavor a bit.



Finish is short, shows some bitterness, but nothing that really lingers and makes you want to hit it again.



Overall, this a nice anisette liqueur that has no catastrophic flaws. I mean that sincerely; it is a well-made anisette absinthe substitute. It is a nice introduction to the anisette spectrum, and is up a notch in complexity from raki, arak, and other plain anisette beverages. In complexity, it is nowhere near real absinthe, but if you can't find the real thing, this will be (at least) a drinkable reminder.

Looks almost like the real thing, pre and post louche. If you've had real absinthe before, then right before you take the first sip of Absente will be the last time you think it has any resemblance to actual absinthe. It tastes awful, mostly chemicals and dyes, and leaves a fake-ish anise aftertaste that just isn't pleasant.



Better than Pernod by the smallest of whiskers, though.

I DJed an "absinthe" night at a local bar here in NC for a year or so. Absente was/is the only thing close to absinthe available through the NC ABC (and it too is a special order that needed special approval. So in addition to pay I did receive a couple of these each night i spun. Works OK in a Sazerac, not quite sinkable, but it is not absinthe.