For my first experience with absinthe, I chose Lucid, partly due to its availability in my local stores, and partly because the general consensus here at WS and other sites was that it's a good absinthe to use as a baseline for judging more complex absinthes.

I purchased this bottle in December of 2008, and opened it here in mid-March 2009. Taking the advice of others, I let it air for about an hour before tasting. I had two glasses on the first night, then two glasses the following night, and I am basing my review primarily on the second tasting.

Color: The color was a nice golden peridot prior to loucheing. There was minimal haziness. After loucheing, the color changed to a pale peridot verging on yellow, but it was not unattractive.

Louche: The louche began almost immediately, being fully underway at a 1:1 ratio and over by about the 2:1 point. Nonetheless, the thin and wispy strands resulting from a fine fountain drip were enjoyable to watch, however brief they may have been. For a second glass, my less steady pour with a mini-carafe formed slightly thicker clouds.

Aroma: There was a pleasant mix of vibrant anise with a strong scent of fennel that fully opened up once the water drip began, but also diminished significantly at the 2:1 point.

Flavor: The flavor was not complex, and was a little less bitter than I expected it to be, but the simple combination of the 'holy trinity', along with a slight note of something almost like celery, was mild and refreshing. Granulated sugar detracted from my first glass, in that the sweetness was very pronounced at first and was followed by bitterness, but a half teaspoon of organic blue agave nectar in the second glass made for a much fuller and more-balanced taste.

Finish: The Lucid has a smooth, mild finish with only mild numbing at 3:1 or 4:1. The aftertaste lingers only briefly, but is pleasant.

Overall: After trying at various strengths, I found that around 3:1 or 3.5:1 was the best ratio for water to absinthe to bring out the best qualities of the Lucid. Anything above 4:1 results in a weak, watered down taste. While this absinthe has a fine flavor when completely unsweetened, I found that the agave nectar complimented it very well, and much better than granulated sugar. Some have said that the Lucid has been "oversimplified" for mild American tastes and that may be true, but I found it to be pleasant and refreshing, and would recommend it to anyone who wants an absinthe with a lower amount of bitterness.

Admittedly, it has been just under a year since I finished my bottle of Lucid. However, since it was my first absinthe I wanted to share my thoughts. I have since tasted around 10 COs in my first year of absinthe, so my hindsight is thus colored. (Macerated?)

Bottle acquired February, 2007.

Color: I enjoyed Lucid's green. It was correct and not pale like some of the later batches, as noted by others.

Louche: I can't say it was opalescent, but I feel Lucid gave me an *excellent* introduction as to how a nice louche looks. Very enjoyable, and all my glasses were carafe pours.

Aroma: The transformation and opening up of absinthe's aroma upon the addition of water was another thing I that endeared me to the drink as a complete novice. As the bottle of Lucid aged, I enjoyed the aroma even more.

Flavor: Though I can't disrespect Lucid because it was my first, it hadn't totally convinced me that absinthe's flavor was "for me." Almost. Kubler, my second, would clinch it. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the "licorice" talk was inaccurate, due to the crisper, herbal, and far less cloying flavor of anise. I enjoyed the subtle bitterness of the wormwood, and was glad it wasn't front and center for my first experience. (I'm still somewhat of a bitterness wus.) However, the strong black pepper-like flavor really got in the way. I do not have fond memories of it at all; it even overshadows the "murky" aspect to the flavor that others have noted. My distaste for this pepper note may mean I'm not a fan of coriander, but I can't be sure. The murkiness felt like a sort of barrier preventing me from fully experiencing the herbs.

Finish: I was struck by the milkiness of absinthe, and am happy to have had Lucid introduce me to this. I don't recall the immediate finish after a sip, but recall really enjoying the flavors staying with me for an hour or two after I had finished the glass.

Overall: Here is where we catapult back into the present. It is an excellent starter absinthe, not too complex, has all the right components, and is well-made. The bottle only got better as it aged, but that pepper note was still there. Lucid will always have a place in my heart having been my first, but since my absinthe explorations have taken me elsewhere, I can't envision buying another bottle in the near future. It's not my first choice, but I would not refuse it if offered.

UPDATED 06/25/2014:

I was buying some wine this week (and always check the absinthes) and noticed the Lucid bottles they had in stock looked odd. It was selling for a fairly cheap price so grabbed a bottle. It is indeed a new bottle design!

How can you tell?
+ Much taller - Lucid is now the one absinthe that does not fit in my cabinet (it used to).
+ Squarer shoulders - no longer as rounded at the top... had a sharper, squarer edge.
+ No more "dimple" at the bottom of the bottle.
+ Labeling seems the same otherwise.

I had to sample it as well. It is nearly the same as I remember BUT doesn't have that "funk/beet" taste which in the past turned me off so much. I am very pleased with that! [probably has nothing whatsoever to do with the bottle shape, of course]

I have shifted most of my original scores up a bit in consideration of this. There must have been something off about the previous bottling as this is a clean, crisp spirit which doesn't exhibit any of the peculiarities noted in my original review. It is quite tasty!

A well-made absinthe that is available just about everywhere. Not a bad situation we have here.


ORIGINAL REVIEW:

Appearance: The color is a light green/yellowish as most other absinthes I've seen. Nothing remarkable but nothing offensive either :)

Louche: I like how this one louches. It sort of builds from bottom to top and retains a thin layer of unlouched absinthe until about nearly prepared. The louche itself is nice and thick - which tends to be my preference.

Aroma: Definitely smells like absinthe - but for the underlying beet scents. I find them to be distracting of the other aromas and that's really too bad. This is definitely the weak point in this absinthe! I enjoy some other absinthes that just blossom with aroma and wash over you... not this one though.

Flavor: Nice, usual, and as expected. Little bit of numbing and warmth - which is nice.

Mouthfeel: Has an okay creaminess to it as I would expect from the louche - though I'm too inexperienced to know whether these two qualities go hand-in-hand.

Finish: Nothing particularly striking.

Overall: I'm going to let this age a bit and see whether that underlying scent goes away. I have a bottle of Kubler which is a few months old and where at first it had an odd sort of "funk" to the scent... after hanging around in my absinthe cupboard it no longer does. Let's do a little experiment with Lucid :)

Definitely not the poor product some make it out to be - but I have (in my limited experience) had much better for the same price.

Being a fan of the "Jade" line of Absinthe, I find it unfortunate that Lucid didn't expand upon it, but I suppose it might be understandable that the first US absinthe would try to play things a little on the safe side.



I found the color on the light side, and the flavor not as complex as I would like. But the louche was good, and it did have a fairly nice nose to it.



I don't see anything specifically flawed about Lucid, aside from the fact that it isn't as good as I know it could be. If you are wanting a gentle introduction to absinthe, then you could do far worse than Lucid.

Lucid absinthe was one of the first absinthes I saw on the shelf when the ban was lifted in the U.S. but for some reason I waited a long time to try it. We ended up buying a bottle when it was the best option at a local liquor store. The reviews were not great, so I wasn't expecting much but I thought it was a great absinthe! The color was a little dull, but the louche was beautiful and you could see each drop dance into the glass. The bottle is dark, I assume to block sun light but I think it could have done a better job as the appearance was underwhelming. The aroma is sweet, and strong. The flavor just about matches the aroma having a strong anise and fennel flavor, without the rewarding wormwood kick which is what stopped it from getting a 4 on flavor. Definitely a great absinthe, that is so close to being amazing!