Edward III New York Absinthe - Reviewed by Experts and Consumers at The Wormwood Society

 
3.4 (2)
 
2.8 (3)
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User reviews

3 reviews
Overall rating
 
2.8
Appearance
 
4.0(3)
Louche
 
3.0(3)
Aroma
 
2.3(3)
Flavor / Mouthfeel
 
2.7(3)
Finish
 
2.7(3)
Overall
 
2.3(3)
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3 results - showing 1 - 3
Ordering
Thank the stars I only bought one bottle
Overall rating
 
2.5
Appearance
 
4.0
Louche
 
3.0
Aroma
 
2.0
Flavor / Mouthfeel
 
2.0
Finish
 
2.0
Overall
 
2.0
I finally opened my bottle, so it had the benefit of a half year of aging. I was looking forward to being surprised, and surprised I was. As this has a lower abv, I went with less water.

Color: It's clear. What can I say. Good job?

Louche: Started almost instantly with the first drop. Pretty telling. Oddly, even with less water it eventually began to thin out. Not the best I've seen, but certainly not the worst.

Aroma: Huge strike here. Smelled ridiculously weird in the bottle. I thought perhaps the wax around he bottle top was throwing me off, so I poured it out neat and gave it a LONG smell test. Unpleasant is the best way to describe it. Quite possibly tails. Also, it had an odd aroma that reminded me of the oregano tea I prepare when I'm making chili. It's certainly not oregano, but that's what it reminded me of. Just very unpleasant for an absinthe. Could have very easily received a 1 rating from me based on the scoring criteria, but I didn't think it was that bad.

Flavor: Whereas the aroma was ridiculously weird, the flavor was just plain ridiculous. I literally laughed, almost spitting my drink out on my drinking companion. If I didn't know better, I would have thought it was a joke. It tasted bitter in the back of the throat and had the distinct flavor of black jelly beans. Absolutely nothing remarkable (in a good way) when I gave it a very long taste. And just to make sure, I struggled down TWO glasses back to back. I honestly wanted it to be better, and gave it much more of a chance than I've given other absinthes which have offended my senses. I can't say anything other than "unpleasant" again here, and this also could have been a 1 based on the scoring criteria.

Finish: Hung around way too long, a little oily and pretty numbing. The only reason I'm not giving this a 1 is because I have tasted worse.

Overall: Quite possibly my least favorite blanche to date. I reviewed St. Antoine last year and rated it down the middle, but after tasting the Edward III, I may go upwardly revise my review of St. Antoine because it's that much better than E3. It's quite good that there was so little E3 made, methinks. I'll probably give it another go in a year to see if more age helps it.
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Edward is not Edouard
Overall rating
 
2.5
Appearance
 
3.0
Louche
 
3.0
Aroma
 
3.0
Flavor / Mouthfeel
 
2.0
Finish
 
2.0
Overall
 
2.0
Absinthe is clear and presents a nice turbulent louche with oil trails and more, what is pleasant to observe. Once louched it shows a gentle opacity with little blueish notes at the edges.

Aroma is built on a very strong pronounced rosemary, chamomile a like note, not particularly of absinthe realm, but intriguing enough to take the first sip.

Upon tasting it is emulsion, or emulsifier akin, a strange bite outta nowhere, despite 1:2 dilution. Mouthfeel is thin and very minty, but not from wormwood. Taste is spicy, there is a strong cloying from anethole in the back, there are very few herbs, as if used very sparingly. 1:1.5 absinthe is still harsh from alcohol, a little more water it fades, but looks like the quest for wormwood is gonna end as with Obsello.

A blanche that needs major enrichments and hard work. Not that bad, but not good, either, going in the direction of raki or ouzo.

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NY State's second absinthe steps on the scene...
Overall rating
 
3.4
Appearance
 
5.0
Louche
 
3.0
Aroma
 
2.0
Flavor / Mouthfeel
 
4.0
Finish
 
4.0
Overall
 
3.0
Color: It's perfectly clear to start. Mission accomplished.

The louche started out nicely with some pronounced oil trails. It was nearly complete at a 1:1.75 to 1:2 ratio. Not stellar, but this could also have to do with the lower alcohol level. Might benefit from a bit of tweaking.

Aroma: From the bottle, I detect a lot of alcoholic heat. This doesn't bode well considering the 58% alcohol level. I was actually taken aback. Very astringent on the nose. Minty, in a way. Wormwood is there, but second to whatever that mint aroma is. Post louche, there's a honey-like aroma opening up the further it goes. The astringency has dissipated. Very similar to Kalnacher on the nose, but a hell of a lot more clean. I'm deducting a point for the big, overt aroma of alcohol when neat. This is out of balance from my experience.

The flavor: I like it a lot. It's a bit different than what I'm used to in a blanche, but I would still call this "traditional". The wormwood is a little gritty, but it's doable. If there's fennel involved, I don't taste a whole lot of it...if at all. Keep in mind I'm not very good at nailing this stuff down. I want to say I taste calamus, but it's been a long while since I've had an absinthe with this ingredient. Either way, it's tasty, kids.

The finish: Nice and clean. This is where that minty constituent shows up again...on the exhale. Very refreshing.

Overall: I would definitely buy this absinthe. The mouthfeel is fuller than I would have expected. Not exactly what I would call "creamy", but it's on the doorstep. There's a bit of tongue numbing, but nothing too far out of whack. It's pleasant and one of this absinthe's better attributes, in my book. There were comparisons to Clandestine by another absintheur. While I can't agree with that statement, it's still very good absinthe. With a few improvements, this could become a great absinthe.
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