Promethee - Reviewed by Experts and Consumers at The Wormwood Society
Product Details
Style/Color
Degrees ABV (% alcohol)
Year of Make (if known)
Country of Origin
Distillery
Editor reviews
An interesting twist on the herb bill
Overall rating
4.0
Appearance
4.0
Louche
5.0
Aroma
4.0
Flavor / Mouthfeel
3.0
Finish
4.0
Overall
4.0
Color: An inviting emerald green. Not as 'green' as most other Matter products.
Louche: wonderful layering produced by the fountain. Well formed, deep and opalescent.
Aroma: clean and fresh with lots of anise sweetness
Flavor: An interesting profile with an upfront sweetness that borders on cloying for me. I much more prefer a drier flavor. the taste evolves into a minty pepperiness that is enjoyable.
Finish: Extremely sweet, but enjoyable.
Overall: Not bad at all. A great insight into an absinthe made with non-traditional ingredients. I think most people could get away with not sugaring this one at all.
Louche: wonderful layering produced by the fountain. Well formed, deep and opalescent.
Aroma: clean and fresh with lots of anise sweetness
Flavor: An interesting profile with an upfront sweetness that borders on cloying for me. I much more prefer a drier flavor. the taste evolves into a minty pepperiness that is enjoyable.
Finish: Extremely sweet, but enjoyable.
Overall: Not bad at all. A great insight into an absinthe made with non-traditional ingredients. I think most people could get away with not sugaring this one at all.
Sure Fire Winner!
(Updated: June 19, 2012)
Overall rating
4.2
Appearance
4.0
Louche
4.0
Aroma
5.0
Flavor / Mouthfeel
4.0
Finish
4.0
Overall
4.0
Color
Unlouched, light medium lime green with slight push toward olive. Very clear, very natural looking. Louched, milky yellowish-green with that slight olive tinge, amber highlights, and a bluish green-white at the meniscus. Nice opalescence and sheen, very classic color.
Louche
Very nice clear trails at first. As louche approaches .5/1 things really get going. Layering sets up, and trails really get to be thick, round and rolling. Nice yellow and gold reflections at this point. As 1/1 nears, the drink gets pretty completely clouded and is fully opaque by 1.2/1. Louche then thickens up and holds to 4/1. Louche is fast, but while it's going, it's plenty entertaining.
Aroma
Unlouched, quite bright citrus, wormwood and anise. Louched, nice really fresh wormwood dominates with good balance of anise and fennel. Almost a sense of creaminess on the nose. A dusty herbaceousness with notes of chamomile, hay, florals and untanned leather. A hint of celery, lemon rind, and mint keeps things focused. No off aromas, very good balance, quite complex. Of the categories that really count with me (Aroma, Flavor, Finish), this is the one that really brings this home.
Flavor
Wormwood, fennel and anise, in that order. Strong spice with a little heat. Mouthfeel is a fine milky medium weight. Wormwood sensation is a real easy "pull" on the palate, with slight tongue numbing. Finishing tones of mint and citrus, a brightness that is very pleasant. A fresh sense of all things herbal. This category could be a 5 if heat and spice were a little more under control.
Finish
Wormwood, anise, spice, mint, citrus leave me with a "smacky" sensation on the palate, begging me to sip again. Just a little heat. This finish has completely changed since this was first opened. It had been quite short, not really remarkable. Now, it has good length, complexity, and balance. Nice bright top notes with good push in all other frequencies. Everything fades to a nice fennel state.
Overall
An interesting and unique verte. I can see the production similarities with Mansinthe and Duplais even though the style here is different. Some very classic characteristics with a couple of new twists thrown in for good measure. Give this one time and air. Even though my notes for all evaluations were reasonably consistent, my impressions and scores in Aroma, Finish, and Overall have moved up since my first tasting. Focused, with a distinct personality. A real success.
7/11/09 Revisit - All observations are consistent enough with my original review here, that all scores and text remain unaltered. I really like this absinthe, and it's nice to taste it again. A great example of a modern, inventive, and herbal driven verte.
Done with a 1 ounce dose, diluted 4/1, and no sugar.
Promethee 11/15/08, 11/25/08, 12/06/08, 7/11/09.
All evaluations had consistent notes.
Unlouched, light medium lime green with slight push toward olive. Very clear, very natural looking. Louched, milky yellowish-green with that slight olive tinge, amber highlights, and a bluish green-white at the meniscus. Nice opalescence and sheen, very classic color.
Louche
Very nice clear trails at first. As louche approaches .5/1 things really get going. Layering sets up, and trails really get to be thick, round and rolling. Nice yellow and gold reflections at this point. As 1/1 nears, the drink gets pretty completely clouded and is fully opaque by 1.2/1. Louche then thickens up and holds to 4/1. Louche is fast, but while it's going, it's plenty entertaining.
Aroma
Unlouched, quite bright citrus, wormwood and anise. Louched, nice really fresh wormwood dominates with good balance of anise and fennel. Almost a sense of creaminess on the nose. A dusty herbaceousness with notes of chamomile, hay, florals and untanned leather. A hint of celery, lemon rind, and mint keeps things focused. No off aromas, very good balance, quite complex. Of the categories that really count with me (Aroma, Flavor, Finish), this is the one that really brings this home.
Flavor
Wormwood, fennel and anise, in that order. Strong spice with a little heat. Mouthfeel is a fine milky medium weight. Wormwood sensation is a real easy "pull" on the palate, with slight tongue numbing. Finishing tones of mint and citrus, a brightness that is very pleasant. A fresh sense of all things herbal. This category could be a 5 if heat and spice were a little more under control.
Finish
Wormwood, anise, spice, mint, citrus leave me with a "smacky" sensation on the palate, begging me to sip again. Just a little heat. This finish has completely changed since this was first opened. It had been quite short, not really remarkable. Now, it has good length, complexity, and balance. Nice bright top notes with good push in all other frequencies. Everything fades to a nice fennel state.
Overall
An interesting and unique verte. I can see the production similarities with Mansinthe and Duplais even though the style here is different. Some very classic characteristics with a couple of new twists thrown in for good measure. Give this one time and air. Even though my notes for all evaluations were reasonably consistent, my impressions and scores in Aroma, Finish, and Overall have moved up since my first tasting. Focused, with a distinct personality. A real success.
7/11/09 Revisit - All observations are consistent enough with my original review here, that all scores and text remain unaltered. I really like this absinthe, and it's nice to taste it again. A great example of a modern, inventive, and herbal driven verte.
Done with a 1 ounce dose, diluted 4/1, and no sugar.
Promethee 11/15/08, 11/25/08, 12/06/08, 7/11/09.
All evaluations had consistent notes.
M
User reviews
2 reviews
Overall rating
4.4
Appearance
4.0(2)
Louche
5.0(2)
Aroma
4.3(2)
Flavor / Mouthfeel
4.5(2)
Finish
4.8(2)
Overall
4.3(2)
Top tier absinthe from Matter-Luginbuhl
Overall rating
4.8
Appearance
5.0
Louche
5.0
Aroma
4.5
Flavor / Mouthfeel
5.0
Finish
4.5
Overall
4.5
Jul 2008 Bottle # 294/333 Notes include tastings with and without sugar.
Appearance: A soothing, green peridot hue, second only to Jade Edouard, in my humble opinion. Some sediment present.
Louche: Stubborn, translucent oily trails eventually give way to a milky color change. A wide band of un-louched absinthe seems to hold out for a while.
Aroma: The un-louched aroma fills the room. It's rich, tangy and musky- quite strong, but there does seem to be a veiled delicate side. After the absinthe is louched (not with sugar during this stage) that delicate side shows itself much more. The classic alpine herb trilogy is present, but in this bottle, I get a sense that this is going to pack a punch, and the role of the musky, hemp scent (must be the angelica seed?) is now switched into the background. For my second glass with sugar, the aroma is much more balanced and reminiscent of other great absinthe. Now I can detect the lemon balm as opposed to just overwhelming tangy-ness for example, and I detect the slight mintiness of the melissa mentioned in the product description
Taste: Wow, I was right about it being strong! It begins with an herbal musk, with sweetness in the middle, eventually finishing with bitter wormwood. I think this would benefit from a bit of sugar next time. Second glass with sugar: I definitely prefer it this way, and I think from this particular experience I will start using sugar every time with my absinthe. The sugar takes some of the heat off and leaves me with a more pleasing spiciness with just enough heat. It’s much more balanced and the taste is more intriguing with the subtle aspects showing through without being overpowered.
Finish: It's nice and rich, coating the mouth, something I haven't had in a while and have missed. There is a pulling/numbing sensation as the wormwood lingers on the tongue.
Overall: I really enjoyed this one, especially after I was let down a bit by the Duplais Verte (USA). It may have helped that it was distilled in July 2008 and reviewed when drank a year and a half later. Plus, I reviewed it after the bottle had been open a few days. Promethee is one of my top tier choices along with the Jades, Belle Amie, La Coquette, Eichelberger 68 Limitee, Montmartre.
Appearance: A soothing, green peridot hue, second only to Jade Edouard, in my humble opinion. Some sediment present.
Louche: Stubborn, translucent oily trails eventually give way to a milky color change. A wide band of un-louched absinthe seems to hold out for a while.
Aroma: The un-louched aroma fills the room. It's rich, tangy and musky- quite strong, but there does seem to be a veiled delicate side. After the absinthe is louched (not with sugar during this stage) that delicate side shows itself much more. The classic alpine herb trilogy is present, but in this bottle, I get a sense that this is going to pack a punch, and the role of the musky, hemp scent (must be the angelica seed?) is now switched into the background. For my second glass with sugar, the aroma is much more balanced and reminiscent of other great absinthe. Now I can detect the lemon balm as opposed to just overwhelming tangy-ness for example, and I detect the slight mintiness of the melissa mentioned in the product description
Taste: Wow, I was right about it being strong! It begins with an herbal musk, with sweetness in the middle, eventually finishing with bitter wormwood. I think this would benefit from a bit of sugar next time. Second glass with sugar: I definitely prefer it this way, and I think from this particular experience I will start using sugar every time with my absinthe. The sugar takes some of the heat off and leaves me with a more pleasing spiciness with just enough heat. It’s much more balanced and the taste is more intriguing with the subtle aspects showing through without being overpowered.
Finish: It's nice and rich, coating the mouth, something I haven't had in a while and have missed. There is a pulling/numbing sensation as the wormwood lingers on the tongue.
Overall: I really enjoyed this one, especially after I was let down a bit by the Duplais Verte (USA). It may have helped that it was distilled in July 2008 and reviewed when drank a year and a half later. Plus, I reviewed it after the bottle had been open a few days. Promethee is one of my top tier choices along with the Jades, Belle Amie, La Coquette, Eichelberger 68 Limitee, Montmartre.
N
The first real deal verte from Switzerland
Overall rating
4.1
Appearance
3.0
Louche
5.0
Aroma
4.0
Flavor / Mouthfeel
4.0
Finish
5.0
Overall
4.0
Before I write the review I have to admit I have had two Promethee, one that was not released commercially and the other that I am reviewing now. I won’t hide that I like Promethee #1 better than Promethee #2, if the latter is such:
Colour: lime yellow with greenish tinge. Not pronounced enough
Louche: Very good, slowly-forming, sans hate, very pleasant.
Aroma: Herbal, balanced and interesting, alcohol is not overpowering. The base looks rather clean.
Flavour: Angelica could be more profound, but the rest is very nicely-paired. The wormwoody note is evident.
Finish: Colouring herbs have their say here but do not get too snitty, so nothing wrong with that. Finish is long and crisp.
Overall: Very well made absinthe. Not that exceptional as Promethee #1 but still very nice.
Colour: lime yellow with greenish tinge. Not pronounced enough
Louche: Very good, slowly-forming, sans hate, very pleasant.
Aroma: Herbal, balanced and interesting, alcohol is not overpowering. The base looks rather clean.
Flavour: Angelica could be more profound, but the rest is very nicely-paired. The wormwoody note is evident.
Finish: Colouring herbs have their say here but do not get too snitty, so nothing wrong with that. Finish is long and crisp.
Overall: Very well made absinthe. Not that exceptional as Promethee #1 but still very nice.
A