[NOTE: The source for my three sample glasses was from a trade of absinthe aged at least one year, so it’s possible that time and/or exposure may have affected some of the results of my review when compared to other reviews.]

COLOR: This one had an appropriately green color for a verte. The peridot was a bit pale, but it didn’t edge into the yellow spectrum like some others.

AROMA: The nose was a pleasantly clean, with the scent of minty wormwood being most prominent. It would have been better if the aroma had been a little more expansive, as you had to be close to the glass to detect it.

LOUCHE: A potentially active, though delicate, louche. I achieved more energetic results with a thin stream of cold water than I did with a fountain drip - thin trails developed briefly into small roiling clouds with the stream, while some minor cascades barely registered on the drip.

FLAVOR: This Eichelberger has an excellent balance, with a pleasantly peppery bite when prepared with an appropriate amount of water. It may be interpreted as having too mild of a flavor to some, but I found it refreshing and more enjoyable than other “crisp” absinthes (such as Lucid, for example) as long as there wasn’t too much water.

FINISH: The mouthfeel is right in the sweet spot of the midrange (being neither too thick, nor too thin), and the faint taste of pepper (with a lemony trace) and mint lingers pleasantly for a long while.

OVERALL: I am impressed with the Eichelberger, and I think it would make a great everyday absinthe if only it were on the shelves here in the United States. It is easy to overwater this absinthe, which overpowers the best of what it has to offer, and for me I found 4:1 to be a good ratio of water to spirit. A ratio of 4.5: 1 is the very upper limit, and going beyond that is not recommended. If anything, I would recommend erring on the low end, and trying this one at 3.5:1. Given the reported propensity for bartenders in the U.S. to err on the side of too little water (or sliding you a glass that holds no more than 4 or 5 oz total), I believe it would do well in the bar scene, too.

Tasted from a sample received in a trade.



Color: light peridot green, very nice, natural. Would have liked just a little more depth in the color, but I'm picking nits here.



Nose (neat): good anise, spice, nicely aromatic. Very herbal as opposed to flowery. Occasional bit of alcohol burn, but not surprising for 68% spirit. Balanced and soft, rather than powerful.



Louche: great swirling trails with ice cold water drip. Good layering, nice finished color, minty green, clear with slight hint of blue at the liquid/air interface.



Nose (after louche): very similar to the pre-louche aroma, maybe leaning a bit more to the anise. Not huge or room filling, but very nice.



Flavor: great balance. Sweet anise, spicy, hint of mint flavor (from the wormwood?); not a strong peppermint, but just enough to give me a feeling of mint, like green mint ice cream. At this point I'm thinking this is what Lucid should have been -- excellent balance, very clean, not too intense for the "uneducated American palate". Good body, I wouldn't go so far as to say "creamy" but I may have overwatered this one a bit at about 4:1. Starting to get some mild clinging to the tongue.



Finish: nicely balanced finish. Some tip-of-the-tongue prickly feeling. Finish starts with anise, moves to a nice complex alpine herbal, and then to the bitterness and tongue-numbing sensation. Very nice. By end of the glass, I'm getting more of the tongue coating and numbing.



Overall, 4's all the way across the board. I really liked this verte, and while I'm still pretty inexperienced, this is probably the best absinthe I've had to date. I've had what I thought were more interesting aromas and finishes, but when taken as a whole, this is the best all-around absinthe in my brief time as an absinthe drinker. This one is getting me seriously thinking about making that first LdF order ...

Although this absinthe is listed under "retired brands," I purchased mine in November 2016 -- it's being sold in the tall, slim bottles.

The color pre-louche is light green with yellow.
I don't get the standard "black licorice" on the nose -- it's all dried licorice root tea, herbs, and grasses, like an herbalist's shop (but especially the licorice root). These components are present on the taste as well. There's a natural sweetness to the herbs though, so I'd highly recommend trying this absinthe without sugar first. It's both extremely fragrant and full-flavored. The most purely "herbal" absinthe I've ever tasted. Top-notch quality.

Appearance: very clear yellow green, with no sediment.

Louche: lovely oily trails during formation, with some orange. At 1:3 the louche is already so thin to stop from adding water.

Aroma: mostly wormwood and fennel, some alcohol, very little anise, rather dry, some liquorice.

Taste: consistent with the aroma, a lovely bitterness from wormwood. Rather creamy in the mouth. Complex. Somehow dry.

Finish: a long persistence of bitter wormwood and spicy fennel. Very fresh.

Overall: an interesting absinthe, with less anise than usual and with a lovely bitterness lingering for long in the mouth. Having read other reviews, I was surprised but the very thin louche. My bottle was purchased in early 2016. To preserve some louche, little water must be added, but the result is the rather high in alcohol.