Review Detail
2.6 5 0.5
Traditional Absinthe
An Unremarkable Single-Note Beverage
(Updated: December 31, 2008)
Overall rating
2.5
Bottle first opened August 2007, current review based on December 2008 sample. [edit: bottle actually purchased 2007, not 2008 as originally noted.]
At first pour of the Pernod AEDPDA, the color is so impressively green that confirms the artificial augmentation. It's beautifully clear, however, and presents well. The nose is single-note anise, with a hot alcohol blast that burns the nostrils.
Loucheing at a medium drip (unsugared) produces a beautiful cascade of oil trails, with clouds that build from the bottom of the reservoir and keep a strong dividing line until almost 3:1. The green tinge remains in the fully-louched drink. The aroma is present, if not "room-filling". At least at this point the alcohol heat is tempered.
The first sip presents the anise again, with a touch of wormwood. It's not very tongue-numbing, nor particularly long-finished. It's simply a quick taste and then... little or nothing. Others have noted a touch of lemon on the finish, but I didn't notice it in my sample. Perhaps bottle age or a tweak of the recipe can explain this.
This is, overall, an unimpressive beverage, not one I'd share with a friend or a newbie. Compared with other absinthes currently available on American shelves, it comes up short. Too hot, too one-dimensional, too expensive for what you get.
At first pour of the Pernod AEDPDA, the color is so impressively green that confirms the artificial augmentation. It's beautifully clear, however, and presents well. The nose is single-note anise, with a hot alcohol blast that burns the nostrils.
Loucheing at a medium drip (unsugared) produces a beautiful cascade of oil trails, with clouds that build from the bottom of the reservoir and keep a strong dividing line until almost 3:1. The green tinge remains in the fully-louched drink. The aroma is present, if not "room-filling". At least at this point the alcohol heat is tempered.
The first sip presents the anise again, with a touch of wormwood. It's not very tongue-numbing, nor particularly long-finished. It's simply a quick taste and then... little or nothing. Others have noted a touch of lemon on the finish, but I didn't notice it in my sample. Perhaps bottle age or a tweak of the recipe can explain this.
This is, overall, an unimpressive beverage, not one I'd share with a friend or a newbie. Compared with other absinthes currently available on American shelves, it comes up short. Too hot, too one-dimensional, too expensive for what you get.
K
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