Jade V.S. 1898 - Reviewed by Experts and Consumers at The Wormwood Society

 
4.2
 
4.1 (4)
0

Product Details

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Degrees ABV (% alcohol)
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Editor reviews

2 reviews
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Another nice Jade iteration
(Updated: December 08, 2015)
Overall rating
 
4.2
Appearance
 
4.0
Louche
 
4.5
Aroma
 
4.0
Flavor / Mouthfeel
 
4.5
Finish
 
4.5
Overall
 
4.0
Appearance: Jade! Even after many moons in the bottle.

Louche: An attractive opalescence.

Aroma: sweet and herbaceous. It draws you in.

Flavor: wonderful balance of high quality herbs. the wormwood is tasty and assertive without overpowering the sweetness of the anise.

Finish: Again, very well balanced and herbaceous. refreshing, and lingers for days!

Overall: Ted Breaux knows his stuff. Anyone who enjoys top quality absinthe should own a bottle of this.
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User reviews

4 reviews
Overall rating
 
4.1
Appearance
 
3.8(4)
Louche
 
4.1(4)
Aroma
 
4.3(4)
Flavor / Mouthfeel
 
4.3(4)
Finish
 
4.4(4)
Overall
 
4.1(4)
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Just as good as the other Jades
Overall rating
 
4.0
Appearance
 
3.5
Louche
 
4.0
Aroma
 
4.0
Flavor / Mouthfeel
 
4.0
Finish
 
4.5
Overall
 
4.0
In my glass, the green color is very transparent. It's like faintly colored water. The green that I can see is that typical jade-like green you see in all the jades, it's just pretty weak.

The aroma in the bottle is also very faint, but musty. The mustiness reminds me of the Nouvelle-Orléans, but it's not quite as strong here. I know 'musty' is usually a negative word, but I actually quite like what I perceive in the aromas of these Jades, that I associate with it. It reminds me of old leather shoes in a big wooden box, that I would get into at my grandparent's place, as a child. Not exactly the same but similar. In the glass it smells more vegetal (and like strong alcohol), until louched, when the mustiness comes back.

The louche itself quite as impressive while it's happening (compared to other jades), perhaps because the coloring isn't so strong with this one, but the end result is a drink with a nice milkiness, typical of the Jades. I also detect a hint of like a mustard yellow when light passes through the louched drink.

The flavor is about like the aroma, a bit musty, but again not quite to the point of being 'salty' like the Nouvelle-Orléans. Everything is balanced in such a way that it has a very different profile from most other absinthes in my collection, but it's very enjoyable. I typically have to use lower water ratios with this one, however. Mouthfeel is very nice.

Finish- I like the kind of tingling/numbing that can happen with some absinthes. I usually see it attributed to star anise which most people seem to frown upon, but I think the alcohol itself can contribute. I'm not sure if this one has star anise but I get a nice tingling on the edges of my tongue, which just makes my mouth water for more.
Overall it's nice to have this or one of the other Jades in your cabinet as they give you something a bit different, and are very high quality, which is easy to see.
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Very good
Overall rating
 
4.0
Appearance
 
4.0
Louche
 
4.0
Aroma
 
4.0
Flavor / Mouthfeel
 
4.0
Finish
 
3.5
Overall
 
4.0
Pre-louche, the absinthe is a transparent light green, leaning toward golden-brown.
The louche is thick and milky, with transparency near the edges at a 1/4 absinthe-water ratio.

I worked my way through a bottle of this at the same time as the Edouard and Jade 1901, so my perception of VS 1898 might be skewed by comparisons to those other two. It's neither as austere as the Eduoard nor creamy as the 1901.
Rather, the aroma and taste of VS 1898 tend toward the sweet, clean side.

The taste really shines as it warms up. After the initial "hit" of flavor on the tongue, a second wave comes around a few moments later -- a darker, Ricola-like flavor, which transitions to a finish that also reminds me of Ricola lozenges. It's worth holding the absinthe in the mouth for a while so that the sweet prickly herbal flavors can just soak into your tongue.
S
Top 50 Reviewer 4 reviews
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A true classic
Overall rating
 
4.4
Appearance
 
4.0
Louche
 
4.5
Aroma
 
4.5
Flavor / Mouthfeel
 
4.5
Finish
 
4.5
Overall
 
4.5
Color: light peridot green, very classic. No sediment.

Louche: Beautiful louche, starting soon, showing lovely blue and orange reflexes while staying opalescent and not too thick, with a clear top layer. At 1:5 it starts growing thinner.

Aroma: before adding water some alcohol can be perceived (my bottle was uncorked just recently), along with anise and wormwood. When adding water the aroma literally explodes with the best green anise and some liquorice.

Taste: a perfectly round, perfectly balanced holy trinity. Not too sweet, not too bitter, not too heavy on anise. The liquorice note is stronger than average. Fennel is not very strong, but spicy notes are still there. Complex, it invites to be experienced again and again.

Finish: all the complex flavours linger in the mouth and nose pretty long.

Overall: This is obviously a top quality absinthe, a true classic. I even prefer it to Terminus and I wonder why it seems to get less attention than other in the Jade line.
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A Jade by any other name...
(Updated: August 06, 2013)
Overall rating
 
4.2
Appearance
 
3.5
Louche
 
4.0
Aroma
 
4.5
Flavor / Mouthfeel
 
4.5
Finish
 
5.0
Overall
 
4.0
My bottle is labelled V.S. 1898, but the Jade website seems to be calling it C.F. Berger, and it presumably was the old Jade Verte Suisse. Well, whatever, it is good absinthe.

Before water, it does not appear remarkable: the color is a dull peridot, which improves with the louche to present a nice grayish jade color. Before water, the aroma is arresting and bracingly herbal. This mellows with the louche to a fresh, herbal scent that is very pleasing. The flavor is bold and spicy, but thankfully not too peppery, and the absinthe has a seemingly endless herbal finish.

High marks for this brand.
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