Blanche de Fougerolles - Reviewed by Experts and Consumers at The Wormwood Society
Product Details
Style/Color
Degrees ABV (% alcohol)
Country of Origin
Distillery
Editor reviews
The funky twin.
(Updated: January 23, 2010)
Overall rating
3.1
Appearance
2.0
Louche
4.0
Aroma
4.0
Flavor / Mouthfeel
3.0
Finish
2.0
Overall
3.0
This is from a four year old bottle; I thought I had already reviewed this.
The blanche has a light yellow tinge. There's also debris that looks like black pepper. Debris in a blanche? That's screwy. The aroma is nice. Floral wormwood, chamomile, and grape. Before water this absinthe smells great.
It louches to textbook appearance, opalescent white with tinges of platinum blue. The grape fruitiness is intensified, with some talcum powder and a little sweat. Doesn't smell as good as it did before.
Tasting it, there's a brutal upfront smack of sweaty funk, but for me this dissipates quickly and I don't taste it after the first two sips. I wish that weren't there because after it's gone the flavour is actually pretty nice. Refreshing, good sweet-bitter balance. Mostly anise and grape base, it reminds me of arak. The wormwood is there but contributes little more than a camphorous character.
Finish: like its sister Verte de Fougerolles, the finish is lackluster. The flavour dies quickly and leaves little more than a numb tongue. I might be able to taste a very pale phantom of a bubblegummy sweetness.
Edit: Considering the unusually low score I gave this absinthe compared to other people's reviews, I feel that I should point out that my bottle may not be like others. Sometimes with absinthe one encounters deviations not representative of the brand. The debris issue could be a unique problem, meaning it should receive a 3 or 4 instead of the 2 I gave it. The composite score may have been dragged down pretty hard by this. If I get another opportunity to try it in the future I will make sure to revisit this review, either to confirm or adjust my thoughts on it.
The blanche has a light yellow tinge. There's also debris that looks like black pepper. Debris in a blanche? That's screwy. The aroma is nice. Floral wormwood, chamomile, and grape. Before water this absinthe smells great.
It louches to textbook appearance, opalescent white with tinges of platinum blue. The grape fruitiness is intensified, with some talcum powder and a little sweat. Doesn't smell as good as it did before.
Tasting it, there's a brutal upfront smack of sweaty funk, but for me this dissipates quickly and I don't taste it after the first two sips. I wish that weren't there because after it's gone the flavour is actually pretty nice. Refreshing, good sweet-bitter balance. Mostly anise and grape base, it reminds me of arak. The wormwood is there but contributes little more than a camphorous character.
Finish: like its sister Verte de Fougerolles, the finish is lackluster. The flavour dies quickly and leaves little more than a numb tongue. I might be able to taste a very pale phantom of a bubblegummy sweetness.
Edit: Considering the unusually low score I gave this absinthe compared to other people's reviews, I feel that I should point out that my bottle may not be like others. Sometimes with absinthe one encounters deviations not representative of the brand. The debris issue could be a unique problem, meaning it should receive a 3 or 4 instead of the 2 I gave it. The composite score may have been dragged down pretty hard by this. If I get another opportunity to try it in the future I will make sure to revisit this review, either to confirm or adjust my thoughts on it.
A
A decent blanche
(Updated: September 25, 2008)
Overall rating
3.9
Appearance
4.0
Louche
5.0
Aroma
3.0
Flavor / Mouthfeel
4.0
Finish
3.0
Overall
4.0
Color: A nice, bright, clear absinthe
Louche: Nice and thick with a great opalescence when done. It's not too quick to form, which lends another level of enjoyment when preparing.
Aroma: Before louche, it's got a pretty nice, fresh smell, but louching brought out something I'm not a huge fan of. Kind of musty. There's a lot of nice things in here as well, but I think it's the base alcohol that lends that undertone of unpleasantness.
Flavor: Sweeter than I was expecting, but it also has plenty of nice wormwood mintiness. A good depth of flavor, but nothing 'standoutish' about it. It's very enjoyable, but unremarkable.
Finish: Nice wormwood bitterness, but a little hot.
Overall: Overall, this can be a staple blanche in any bar. It's pretty enjoyable, but suffers from some of the same funkiness as other absinthes that use grape base. Most people won't notice the 'funk', so don't let that worry you about buying it.
Louche: Nice and thick with a great opalescence when done. It's not too quick to form, which lends another level of enjoyment when preparing.
Aroma: Before louche, it's got a pretty nice, fresh smell, but louching brought out something I'm not a huge fan of. Kind of musty. There's a lot of nice things in here as well, but I think it's the base alcohol that lends that undertone of unpleasantness.
Flavor: Sweeter than I was expecting, but it also has plenty of nice wormwood mintiness. A good depth of flavor, but nothing 'standoutish' about it. It's very enjoyable, but unremarkable.
Finish: Nice wormwood bitterness, but a little hot.
Overall: Overall, this can be a staple blanche in any bar. It's pretty enjoyable, but suffers from some of the same funkiness as other absinthes that use grape base. Most people won't notice the 'funk', so don't let that worry you about buying it.
User reviews
3 reviews
Overall rating
4.2
Appearance
4.3(3)
Louche
4.7(3)
Aroma
4.3(3)
Flavor / Mouthfeel
4.0(3)
Finish
4.0(3)
Overall
4.0(3)
French style blanche
Overall rating
3.8
Appearance
5.0
Louche
5.0
Aroma
4.0
Flavor / Mouthfeel
3.0
Finish
3.0
Overall
3.0
The review was conducted 2/9/2010 from a well-stored bottle.
The results of that tasting are really impressive since when fresh from the bottle without aeration the blanche was so-so.
Colour is clear and produces a bubble
Louche is not in the vein of les bleues, but is a typical, tonned-down French blanche louche
Aroma is composed of orchestra of wormwood, a little genepi, chamomile and some earthy notes from angelica.
Being so invited it is a great disappointment with the flavour: Overbalanced. Coriander in the very end with veronica. Middle palate is built of chamomile and wormwood, genepi comes over at 1:4, but it is the the maximum dilution, 1:3 is perfect. The alcohol seems to be of top notch quality unless it is 74%
A blanche indeed but needs some cuts in the anise department, the mouth-feel is sticky and heavy. I believe that problem has been omitted finally in Double, which it is to some extent quite similar.
The results of that tasting are really impressive since when fresh from the bottle without aeration the blanche was so-so.
Colour is clear and produces a bubble
Louche is not in the vein of les bleues, but is a typical, tonned-down French blanche louche
Aroma is composed of orchestra of wormwood, a little genepi, chamomile and some earthy notes from angelica.
Being so invited it is a great disappointment with the flavour: Overbalanced. Coriander in the very end with veronica. Middle palate is built of chamomile and wormwood, genepi comes over at 1:4, but it is the the maximum dilution, 1:3 is perfect. The alcohol seems to be of top notch quality unless it is 74%
A blanche indeed but needs some cuts in the anise department, the mouth-feel is sticky and heavy. I believe that problem has been omitted finally in Double, which it is to some extent quite similar.
A
Grape Base In My Face!
(Updated: May 29, 2009)
Overall rating
4.0
Appearance
4.0
Louche
4.0
Aroma
4.0
Flavor / Mouthfeel
4.0
Finish
4.0
Overall
4.0
-Color-
Before Water: Perfectly clear and refractory.
After Water: On the thick side, but pleasantly so, with appropriate opalescence.
-Louche-
With a 1/sec fountain drip, takes a little while for cloud formation to begin (good, because most blanches I’ve had louche quickly), evolving into a bluish fog with cool bouncing swirls.
-Aroma-
Before water: Quit a vivid grape alcohol reminiscent of Arrack, but with slightly more sweet and less vinegar.
After water: The intense grape alcohol aroma has turned into an intense grape candy or soda tone. There are alpine herbs here to, but they are pretty unified under the heavy grape blanket.
-Flavor-
The candy grape indicated by the aroma is here in its full potency with the sweetness leading into the start of the anise, and in turn a ball of powerful herbs. The trinity is here and there are auxiliary herbs that add to the whole, but due to the big base, I find them hard to resolve individually (until the wormwood finish anyway). Don’t get me wrong though, the herbs are spicy and intense (even verging on sharp and kitschy before my bottle had a long while to rest).
-Finish-
A zingy finish is helped along by the wormwood with a good sustain from the powerful taste.
-Overall-
8 months ago, I didn’t like this nearly as much as I do now. The grape base and united herbal punch were overpowering almost to the point of being harsh (making the aroma just a bit stinky as well), but then lost what I wanted to open up on the addition of water beyond around 4:1 or so. Now that time has passed, there's still big grapes and concentrated herbs, but mellowed and opened up a bit for a very tasty experience. I’m averaging the scores from when it was first opened to when I was taking notes on the final glasses after 8 months of aging. I think around 5 or 6 months is when it turned from “good but over the top†to “very tastyâ€.
Notes: Multiple tastings from 3:1 to 4:1, fountain drip.
Before Water: Perfectly clear and refractory.
After Water: On the thick side, but pleasantly so, with appropriate opalescence.
-Louche-
With a 1/sec fountain drip, takes a little while for cloud formation to begin (good, because most blanches I’ve had louche quickly), evolving into a bluish fog with cool bouncing swirls.
-Aroma-
Before water: Quit a vivid grape alcohol reminiscent of Arrack, but with slightly more sweet and less vinegar.
After water: The intense grape alcohol aroma has turned into an intense grape candy or soda tone. There are alpine herbs here to, but they are pretty unified under the heavy grape blanket.
-Flavor-
The candy grape indicated by the aroma is here in its full potency with the sweetness leading into the start of the anise, and in turn a ball of powerful herbs. The trinity is here and there are auxiliary herbs that add to the whole, but due to the big base, I find them hard to resolve individually (until the wormwood finish anyway). Don’t get me wrong though, the herbs are spicy and intense (even verging on sharp and kitschy before my bottle had a long while to rest).
-Finish-
A zingy finish is helped along by the wormwood with a good sustain from the powerful taste.
-Overall-
8 months ago, I didn’t like this nearly as much as I do now. The grape base and united herbal punch were overpowering almost to the point of being harsh (making the aroma just a bit stinky as well), but then lost what I wanted to open up on the addition of water beyond around 4:1 or so. Now that time has passed, there's still big grapes and concentrated herbs, but mellowed and opened up a bit for a very tasty experience. I’m averaging the scores from when it was first opened to when I was taking notes on the final glasses after 8 months of aging. I think around 5 or 6 months is when it turned from “good but over the top†to “very tastyâ€.
Notes: Multiple tastings from 3:1 to 4:1, fountain drip.
G
Blanche Angelic Perfection On Earth
(Updated: March 26, 2008)
Overall rating
4.8
Appearance
4.0
Louche
5.0
Aroma
5.0
Flavor / Mouthfeel
5.0
Finish
5.0
Overall
5.0
Ah,the Virgin Blanche from Devoilles!Absinthe Elegance and Class in a simple indescreet looking bottle.In one word:Creamy! The sweet mouthfeel is magnificent,one you want to hold onto far longer than ANY others; this after that pristine(at first slightly bluish cloud}opalescent pure virgin louche swirls so delicately out of its crystal clear and crisp PURE floral Angelic essence.The Anise is just right. The 74% kick brings out the subtle Coriander grape based nuances perfectly while giving it some real balls as the evenings launch Absinthe.A marvelous Lite Alpine herb run thru the country experience that ought to be added into any Newbie sampler offerings.If you like Blanches/La Bleues look no further,this is what they serve to you in when you arrive at the Pearly Gates!Good Stuff
J