I haven't publicly reviewed an absinthe for ages, but I thought maybe I should this time.

First of all, Northshore clearly does take a traditional approach to making Sirène and I commend them on that. Where most new absinthe distillers are concerned with what new twist (or contortion, as the case may be) they can put on their absinthe, Northshore chose to show that they weren't too intimidated by time-honored standards to attempt a classic. Good choice.

The rich, golden olive color is a bit dark, and I'd maybe cut down on the amount of coloration herbs, although the herbal blend is nice. Sirène could benefit from a dark bottle as well, since the light will deteriorate the color before its time.

The louche is outstanding, and one of the most beautiful louches I've seen on a modern commercial absinthe. It has a complex opal character and interesting depth and colors. It would be great on a sunny afternoon.

The aroma is a bit timid for me, but pleasant. Aside from anise, there are hints of lemony melissa and mint and something balsamy.

The flavor is fairly well-balanced with the wormwood nicely behind the anise and all supported by assertive citrus notes.

The finish is intriguing and leaves me chewing and smacking to determine what those other herbs are, so, interesting.

All in all, this is a very pleasant drink and while there's room for improvement, it falls well within the correct profile for a proper absinthe.

I finished my glass.

I don't have a tremendous amount of experience reviewing absinthe, but here's what I think.



Color:

The color out of the bottle is surprisingly dark, reminds me very much of St. George in this regard. A deep olive green, no particulates. Attractive and natural, but not overly bright. I'll describe post-louche color below in the louche section.



Louche:

For my first glass, I utilized a turkey baster so I could measure the quantity of water added in relatively precise amounts. With a slow drip, each drop yields huge amounts of trails. The louche began with the addition of the first half ounce of cold water. From there it just got stronger and stronger. Fully louched with a slow drip, this is probably the strongest louche I have seen, also very similar to St. George in this regard. With a slow drip it might be too thick for some. This has a color result of a thick, milky green, once again reminding me of St. George. It is not unpleasant, but let's just say you're not going to be seeing much light through the glass.



Aroma:

Aroma from the bottle yields anise, some wormwood, and a spiciness. From the glass the wormwood is not as prominent, the spiciness and anise remain. The aroma is more fresh and herbal as opposed to earthy, but this is an absolutely brand new bottle.



Flavor:

There's an interesting quality to this absinthe that I can't quite put my finger on. The primary flavor is definitely anise. I poured with no sugar, and I can definitely say it is NOT needed with this absinthe, there is plenty of natural sweetness to the flavor. I believe it is a strong green anise flavor that is most prominent, strong and fresh, almost as if you were chewing on a fresh leaf, but not in a bad way.



Finish:

Finish is proper, slight tingling of the tongue, but still an amazing amount of residual sweetness. If I had just picked up a glass of this I would have sworn it had sugar added during the pour. I wound up pouring at about 4:1, but I'm wondering if the richness of this flavor and finish deserves a 5:1.



Overall:

Like Poor's review before me, I'm interested to see what more experienced absinthe palates have to say about this one. It tastes different to me than the other absinthes I've tried, primarily in the areas of this fresh leafy taste and creamy sweetness. By my judgment it seems to be well made, it is not a timid absinthe by any means, but I don't know if some of these distinctive aspects will fit with the expectations of what a traditional absinthe should taste like. Overall I enjoyed the two glasses I drank during this review, I see Sirene as a hearty absinthe that I would probably have 1 or 2 glasses of, but probably not more than that at a sitting due its rich character. I enthusiastically applaud North Shore Distillery for their efforts in creating a new American absinthe.

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.