La Grenouille - Reviewed by Experts and Consumers at The Wormwood Society

 
4.4
 
4.4 (9)
0

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Degrees ABV (% alcohol)
Year of Make (if known)
Country of Origin
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Wormwood Society Editor Comments
When Stefano Rossoni, the Italian distiller behind L'Italienne absinthe, started working on the La Grenouille recipe, his idea was to create an absinthe with a southern and Mediterranean connotation. La Grenouille has a classic backbone of wormwood, green anise, fennel, lemonbalm and hyssop, but is completed with other unique southern herbs to achieve a warm, velvety character.

La Grenouille was born in a family-run distillery Zufanek, producers of the first genuine Czech absinthe St. Antoine. That is another proof that there are some good absinthes in the Czech Republic!

Editor reviews

2 reviews
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What a delight!
(Updated: July 15, 2011)
Overall rating
 
4.4
Appearance
 
4.0
Louche
 
4.0
Aroma
 
5.0
Flavor / Mouthfeel
 
5.0
Finish
 
4.0
Overall
 
4.0
The absinthe is of an olivine colour, clear and without haze. Quite nice. It smells sweet and purfumey. Some licorice root aroma. Spicy with vanilla notes.

The louche is a tad thin, but good. Great colour, opalescent green with the faintest hint of yellow. Much more green than expected from seeing it neat. After water the aroma is candy-like but very herbal. Green tea, fennel. Very sweet.

It's much more absinthe-like in its flavour. Well balanced wormwood and anise. Sweet but not as much so as the aroma suggests. Licorice root flavour blends nicely. Some cinnamon perhaps? Good balance of colouring herb flavour with notes of fresh grass and citrus. Actually nearly ideal flavour, but bright instead of smooth. Very crisp.

The finish is anisey, with a slight bitterness emerging. Long and fruity.

This is fantastic. It's weird but it still tastes like absinthe, which is what too many "adventurous" absinthes fail to do.
A
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User reviews

9 reviews
 
44%
 
56%
3 stars
 
0%
2 stars
 
0%
1 star
 
0%
Overall rating
 
4.4
Appearance
 
4.0(9)
Louche
 
4.3(9)
Aroma
 
4.5(9)
Flavor / Mouthfeel
 
4.7(9)
Finish
 
4.7(9)
Overall
 
4.3(9)
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More than the sum of the parts
Overall rating
 
4.6
Appearance
 
4.0
Louche
 
4.5
Aroma
 
4.5
Flavor / Mouthfeel
 
5.0
Finish
 
5.0
Overall
 
4.5
Appearance: A very light yellowish green, clear.

Louche: Beautiful. Initially is orange and purple at the bottom with a clear green layer on top. At the a medium thick louche, greenish white with some bluish tracts.

Aroma: Drier than usual, flowery and spicy. Freshly-cut grass. Less anise than usual.

Flavor/Mouthfeel: Complex and spicy. Difficult to describe, but with a very specific personality. Less sweet, less anise, more spicy than usual. Nothing is too flowery or candy-like. The result is more than the sum of the parts here.

Finish: All the complex tastes and aromas linger amazingly long.

Overall: This is by far one of my favorite absinthes, the one I currently drink most often, a permanent resident in my bar. Its personality is rather unique, it may not be everyone's darling. No other absinthe lingers this long in my mouth and nose.
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Perfumey Spicy and Surprising
Overall rating
 
4.3
Appearance
 
4.0
Louche
 
4.0
Aroma
 
4.5
Flavor / Mouthfeel
 
4.5
Finish
 
4.5
Overall
 
4.5
I added this bottle onto an order from a vendor because it was the highest rated bottle in the price bracket too get me free shipping. This bottle turned out to be the real surprise gem in the set. The aroma and flavor are a delightful mix of spice and perfume that work together to make an Absinthe that is different and experimental but still recognizably Absinthe.
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Nice Little Oddball
Overall rating
 
3.8
Appearance
 
4.0
Louche
 
4.0
Aroma
 
3.5
Flavor / Mouthfeel
 
3.5
Finish
 
3.5
Overall
 
4.0
While I am not a huge fan of "spicy" absinthes - this one is very well done and knows where to restrain itself. Appearance is clear and vibrant - louching quite well into a balanced and proper thickness. Aromas and flavors are traditional - with an additional complexity that I cannot even begin to lay out in a review like this. Others have done so much better than I could. The finish is quite nice with the additional flavors lingering some time after... very nice.
J
Top 10 Reviewer 44 reviews
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Unconventional success
Overall rating
 
4.5
Appearance
 
4.0
Louche
 
5.0
Aroma
 
5.0
Flavor / Mouthfeel
 
4.5
Finish
 
4.0
Overall
 
4.0
Appearance: A topaz-esque green and a little bit faded, but still in the right color family and tone.

Louche: Very lovely green and orange. Just the right thickness, and louched perfectly without much coaxing at all.

Aroma: There's a LOT going on here. Just from mulling over the odors I've noted hints of lemongrass, confection, thyme, something like menthol, coriander, pine resin, and something that reminds me of Christmas spices that makes my nose tingle.

Flavor/Mouthfeel: A lot going on here as well...wormwood, a peppery anise, fresh mown grass, rosemary, clean soil, cardamom, allspice, and a bit of a green tea astringency, all of this definitely leads to a lot of salivation and makes you want to keep drinking.

Finish: At the ratio I mixed the glass at, there's no alcohol heat but my tongue feels a bit like I've been eating peppers, probably from the anise bite, but there's also a sweet and minty length that's numbing the mouth.

Overall: This absinthe is bold and not particularly lady-like (and if I didn't know any better, there's some star anise in here too), and very un-traditional, but it's truly wonderful.
A
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Different and awesome!
Overall rating
 
4.3
Appearance
 
4.0
Louche
 
3.0
Aroma
 
5.0
Flavor / Mouthfeel
 
5.0
Finish
 
5.0
Overall
 
4.0
Appearance: A smooth and clear olive green. Slightly darker than most peridot colored absinthes.

Louche: The louche is actually a bit thick and only slightly transparent (4:1). The frog retains a fair amount of color from the original appearance.

Aroma: Citrusy juicy funk time! You know you love it. The initial smell is heavily aromatic and very pleasant. There are some slightly floral notes as well. Overall the aroma is complex and very mysterious.

Flavor: Just like the smell, the flavor is wonderfully complex. There is a dominant peppery and citrus combo along with the unique herbal profile that reminds me of rosemary. Very complex and full on the palate. The anise is tricky though and I may stir some controversy by suggesting the use of both sweet and star anise here? Not a bad thing but tricky.

Finish: Ramp up the floral and citrus notes with that rush of oxygen. The finish sweetens up on me and expands on the palate, almost candy-like.

Overall: This is absolutely stellar with the only problem being the overly thick louche. I enjoy the herbal notes and other unique flavors quite a bit.
E
Top 10 Reviewer 62 reviews
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