This was my third venture into the world of absinthe and I'm still somewhat of a newcomer. I lucked up and got a bottle of this for $35 on sale at my local liquor store. Although its not technically an absinthe I think its getting a bit of a bad rap.

The color you will definitely notice is very altered (it even includes a sticker on the bottle identifying the food colorings added). I was a little taken aback by this initially. Its a beautiful color, but not the color of absinthe

The louche, as some have mentioned, is not very impressive. Just a slow turn to slightly cloudy. Its still retains the bright blue color even afterwards.

The pre-louche aroma is nice. Anise with some mintyness.

The post-louche aroma is mingled with all sorts of herbal goodness. The anise is light, but still detectable.

The taste is an easy, sweet, and an herbally complex flavor. I really enjoy it. It has a lasting mint flavor and is quite refreshing. Its very different from any other absinthe that I've had.

The finish fades quickly. Like I said, its very easy to drink, but no real lasting tastes, except maybe mint. I feel the alcohol is balanced well compared to some that have a harsh alcohol taste after.

Overall I feel its a decent absinthe like product. It may not be "real" absinthe, but its still a nice tasting, refreshing drink. I recommend trying it if you can get a bottle for under $45.

(edit)
I've changed some of my scores having a little more experience with some nice traditional absinthes. This is still a tasty beverage, but it really is a sad excuse for absinthe. Enjoyable in its own right, but terrible as an absinthe.

Bottle purchased April 2008, review based on sample consumed December 2008.

This is an entertaining, if not authentic, drink. My wife brought it home from the liquor store, her having been talked into it by an employee that I assume has since been sacked. I read the reviews before I opened it up, and had a sense of gloom that my wife had been taken for a ride.

Tasting this "absinthe" didn't allay my fears. As many others have noted, it presents a blue-green Scope mouthwash homage. The pre-louche nose is bright peppermint, a very slight touch of anise, and sweetness. Nothing traditional in the nose at all.

A very weak louche can be coaxed out of the LTV with a super-slow drip of very cold water. The louche is very thin, and the color ends up a muted blue-green, as you might expect. The nose post-louche turns mainly mint, with all of the anise disappearing. Sweetness continues to present itself, and you continue to think of Scope mouthwash.

The taste is mint, with a fullness in the center of the tongue that reminds me of the "fifth taste" - umami. It's not definable, other than saying it's a full, round taste that fills out the mint. It's not an absinthe taste by any stretch of the imagination, but it's not unpleasant, either. It's just... weird.

Overall, you can't characterize this as an absinthe. It belongs, perhaps, in the liqueur category, because of the sweetness and the odd flavor. It also has a relatively low ABV (50%), which is obvious, as you never notice the alcohol. Perhaps this would make an interesting cocktail ingredient for something presented in a martini glass - the weak louche and minty taste might compliment a chocolate or lemon vodka?

When I first saw the bottle, I admit I had that "child on Christmas morning" feeling. What a great presentation. Unfortunately, my excitement receeded quickly when I opened the lovely cylindrical case in which it was housed and actually examined the bottle closely. The first tip-off that this was going to be bad was the list of artificial color dyes used: "Yellow 45, Blue 40," and the like.

The aroma from the bottle was shockingly minty, with a hint of spice, some undercut anise tones, and no readily detectable wormwood.

I prepared the glass 3:1 (water:absinthe), with one sugar cube and a drip. The louche came abruptly and engulfed the glass all at once, with no real subtlety of any kind. The color turned a bizarre aquamarine. Holding the glass up to the light I did briefly note some interesting tones near the bottom, but nothing too spectacular.

The legs on the glass were thin and quick to dissipate, leaving an odd array of oily spots. Overall it just looked messy. After a bit of breathing time, the smell from the glass was still not very complex; far too simplistic, in my opinion.

And, as expected, the taste was not dissimilar in nature: dull, no traditional wormwood bitterness, just some half-buried anise flavor under a menage of sugary, candy-like mint and clouded spice. After pouring the drink I realized I should not have used sugar, as there is more than enough noxious, artificial sweetener taste in the bottle itself.

I will say, however, that this failed attempt does have a fairly good finish. It's smooth with the right amount of dryness and a nice fade. But that is hardly enough to redeem the tragic shortcomings of the flavor, which prevented me from even being able to finish a single full glass.

My advice is if you're looking to pick up one of the few labels now available in regular US liquor stores, skip this one and go with the Kubler (a blanche) or the Lucid. The latter is not great by any means, but a far better choice than Le Tourment, which will, in fact, torment the drinker, though not in the way they might be hoping.

A 40ml dose louched with 200ml chilled water, no sugar was used for this review.

Color: copper sulfate solution.

Louche: thin oil trails that eventually manage to coalesce into a slight fog.

Aroma: Now. This is not an unpleasant aroma, but neither is it the aroma of absinthe. Cardamom/coriander-ish, with some lemon/flowery undertones a'la Avon Skin-So-Soft. Really kind of a pleasant aroma, but not necessarily like the aroma of something you want to *drink* with just chilled water and sugar.

Taste: please don't make me taste it again. It tastes like it smells: cologne-ish. Anise is missing completely.

Finish: Buy some sugarless minty gum. Chew it for 17 minutes. Put it on your bedpost overnight. In the morning, put a tiny tiny tiny drop of wormwood extract on it and chew it again: that's about it.

Overall: I read where the makers are marketing this as a drink additive, that is a better idea than claiming it tastes like absinthe when mixed with chilled water and sugar. It is a very complex flavor, and I do think it is a matter of balancing it with other drink ingredients: there are plenty of liquors that don't taste good on their own. Adding just 5ml of this will impart its flavor and some of it's color, and I can see where the swank mixologist could earn some points just for waving the ornate bottle over a libation. BUT, much sympathy for anyone who tries this as a "first absinthe experience". Much like losing one's virginity to a... well: something unpleasant.You can fill in the blank.

The color is not natural-looking to me, and I wouldn't be surprised if this absinthe had artificial coloring in it (1/5). The louche was also very thin, and looked fake, for lack of a better word (2/5). Anyone who has had really good absinthe will know what I mean when I say that an absinthe's color and louche should seem herbal, thick, oily and nuanced - these qualities go a long way in setting the mood. This one was more like a vodka painted green that turned slightly chalkier when water was added.



The spirit is obviously grain, not grape-based, which makes this absinthe taste harsher and makes it more of a cheap knock-off rather than a recreation of what Van Gogh drank (2/5). The idea of adding eucalyptus is an interesting one, but ought to be tried by a distillery that puts more effort into authenticity. The mint was also far too strong, mint has a strong natural flavor that is too overpowering which is why those 19th century distilleries that used it used only very limited quantities - Pernod Fils had something like one bushel of mint per 10 kg of herbs, I believe.



There was no finish to speak of - literally as soon as I had sipped this drink, all the flavor was gone (1/5).



The only thing that makes me rate this absinthe 2/5 overall is the bottle, which has a very interesting design. Tourment Vert is the missing link between 19th-century absinthe and the "absinth" of the bars in Prague. It was obviously rushed for release on the recently opened American market, and the whole point of a ratings guide is to help people avoid wasting upwards of $60 on something that isn't even authentic. For people who are stuck with a U.S. brand, I would strongly recommend trying Lucid or St. George instead.