I could only rate this absinthe in relation to my prior experiences with Lucid and Kubler. In that regard I will be comparing Sirene to Lucid, the only other verte I've tried, and on this basis sirene is surely a unique absinthe. It took me three glasses to find the right opinions to express, as this is my first absinthe review, and only when I had a glass of Kubler and Lucid in between my 2nd and 3rd glasses of Sirene did I find myself able to work up a review.



Aroma Before Louche



The aroma before louche is subtle yet sweet, and very intriguing. It hints at citrus, and perhaps mint. I find it a more "stable" armoma than Lucid. More "naturally herbal".



Color before Louche



I first thought of olive oil as I settled into my glass. I noticed it seemed thicker than Lucid. From seeing pictures of other absinthes, I was please to see it seemed like it had more depth and character. But it isn’t necessarily pure green as much as a yellow-brown tinted green.



The Louche



As the first drop plopped, a wonderfully enticing aroma of grassy-citrus filled the room. The louche itself was very pretty, starting slow and then almost cascading in on itself to a very consistent yellowish-jade. The best characteristic of this absinthe is the aroma coming off the louche. It is very enticing. As good as it did smell though, I detected no anise or fennel. It was a purely new absinthe aroma for me. I also enjoyed how it stayed "green" after the louche was complete. As Lucid louches almost completely white, I was overjoyed to find myself holding a glass of, what to me, seemed to look like a traditional absinthe post-louche.



Flavor



I did not use sugar for my first taste—a plan I will stick to with all my 1st-tastings—and after that 1st tasting I don’t know if this actually tastes like absinthe. It is very plain IMO. Not bad tasting, just nothing really jumps out at me. There is a lot of that grassy-taste I anticipated due to the aroma, but I find that it doesn’t work as wonderfully on my tongue as it did in my nostrils. Not much anise, or fennel, or wormwood for that matter. I have to say that I find this absinthe rather weak in flavor, at least without sugar.



With sugar however, it becomes a totally different absinthe. Those grassy, citrus notes become very entertaining. You can almost taste more of the fennel, as well as a more lingering wormwood tongue-grasp. I think this absinthe totally changed with sugar. Before the white cube I would have totally washed this absinthe away, but with sugar, and a few relaxed sips, I really enjoy it. In light of this I simply cannot tell if this is a weakness of the absinthe, or simply a quirk of my pallet.



Overall



As my 3rd absinthe, I don't think I'm quite qualified to make a definitive judgment about Sirene. I can only hope to convey my modest first impressions. I do like Sirene, However I find that it has totally changed my opinion of absinthe. Is this more traditional, more "cutting edge"? I just don't know. I do like it, although I cannot drink it without sugar. I think that the characteristics of grass-citrus do overpower any traces of fennel, anise, or wormwood, and for that I have to look at it with concern. With that said, I do enjoy Sirene. I'm just not sure, after absorbing a lot of absinthe knowledge, that this would pass the test of a traditional absinthe.

Preparation



A thin stream from a fountain of iced spring water.



Color Before Water



A very pretty deep olive. The color is natural and quite attractive but far to dark for my taste -not the eye popping Peridot or Emerald that are so prized. But nonetheless very pretty and perfectly translucent without even a hint of sediment



Aroma Before Water



Delicious. Albeit unusual in that the Anise, Fennel and "licorice notes" were further back than I'm used to but this was a welcome surprise. The aroma is delightful and mild with wonderfully herbal and floral bouquet. No heat of alcohol whatsoever. Very clean and appetizing. But again, very faint



Louche



The Louche began quite quickly, at first swirling puffs and smokey rolls that filled my glass quickly - not dramatic in the sense of a thunder storm in your glass but very decent. I stopped the water at half way and noticed the color was almost a very light Amber. There was a nice opalescent quality at this point and if I held the glass and swirled it little glimmers of greens could be seen. At full finish the color appeared much closer to what I've been accustomed to, thick and milky with a nice olive green hue. Mouth feel is thinner than the Louche leads you to expect but for me this is a plus.



Aroma After Water



Still just as inviting but very delicate and soft. It reminded me of Martaeu in the way it left me wanting more volume to these unique and fresh new notes. There's something grass like and soothing and what I detected to be a bit floral. In short, crisp, clean and most inviting. Zero odd or off putting scents of any kind or degree.



Flavor



Wow, I expected the flavor to follow the aroma and boy was I wrong. At first there's a real bite of bitter Wormwood that's really delightful and unexpected. I felt it pinch my tongue and give way to more subtle and a bit sweeter notes from the Fennel and Anise. Even with sugar this is much more of a savory drink but that said the harmonious balance between sweet and savory is intriguing and delicious.



The Finish



Nice numbing of the tongue and a lingering grassy taste with delicate hints of something minty and fresh. The finish lingers which is really very nice. There was a bit of cloying residue after it fades.





Final Impression



Exceptional, beautifully complex and satisfying. It packs a punch of Alcohol at the first few sips but this may have more to do with water ratio than anything else. Definitely one of the nicest Absinthes I've tried. I might have liked more of kick from Anise but if I learned anything from this Absinthe it's that Anise and Fennel don't have to bowl you over. They can be part a tapestry of flavors and still bring their unmistakable presence to the table without drowning out everything else.Stop reading and order yourself a bottle.

I wish I had tasted more absinthes before this one, so I could know just how close to perfection it may be. I hesitate to give it a five because this would be presumptuous having only tasted Lucid and Kubler. The smell neat is an amazing perfume, very nicely balanced. Although I cannot place all of the aromas, none of them overpower each other (i.e. it does not smell like anise with some other things hiding under it.)I louched it sans sucre at a 1:4 ratio. Beautiful trails and a milky verdant opal cloud smoldered out of the very natural and attractive olive green liquor. The scent intensifies and fills the room, I can almost taste it before it touches my lips. Flavors of the holy trinity unite in my mouth, my tongue tells me there are other flavors, delicious flavors, singing with this choir, but it cannot tell me their names. Surely one with a more trained and less Burnt pallet will be able to identify these tastes, all I can say is "Mmmmmm."



The mouthfeel is the creamiest I have ever experienced and leaves me with a mouth that is comfortably numb.



Some day when I have expanded my pallet I will revisit this review and undoubtedly add a five or two.



I would take this over Lucid or Kubler any day, even if it were priced high above its modest $60.

I applaud North Shore for a well made American Absinthe!



The olive green color color is nice, but maybe a little too dark.



The louche slowly builds from the bottom to a thick, opalescence. Though, nearly opaque,light shines through and gives off brilliant colors.



There is a nice anise and mint in the aroma. Something else is there that I am not sure of.



I really enjoy the flavor. Anise, citrus, mint, followed by a nice wormwood.



The finish is nice and stays with you for quite a while. There is something there that is a bit odd to me. It must be in the coloring (grassy?).



I think this is a very nice absinthe. I am tasting this from a sample and would buy a bottle. After tasting the verte, I can't wait to try their blanche.

Well Done!

My gracious thanks for the Sample so generously provided, as it was actually a pleasure to put my tastebuds to work on this one.



the Color is a bit dark.



the Louche is actually pretty nice, given the initial color, but could be a bit nicer if it started a bit lighter.



the Aroma is for me one of the strong suits of this particular offering. A decided citrusy element that is not at all unpleasant and invites additional sniffery. Smells lemony/tangeriney to me; my Wyfe and a friend said Orange Peel so I'll just say Citrus, in a strangely harmonic and not overpowering way.



the Flavor is in keeping with the Aroma (although the citrus element is mostly a nose thing), but maybe a lil' bit more Wormwood would help it along. Got a bit of the Juicy Fruit/Big Red thing, but not enough to put me off. Still quite nice.



the Finish wasn't unplesant, it could have lasted longer though.



Overall, I'd say go out and buy a bottle. It's the first domestic absinthe I've had that actually gets me there without any qualifiers thrown in. A nice traditional product but still individual, and I'm a guy who likes that.