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.

This is my blind tasting review from September, 2008. No sugar, carafe pour, tasted the same night as the blind sample of La Clandestine. Before that evening I had tasted Lucid, Kubler and Leopold Verte, #s 8 & 10.

Color: Light green with a tint of brown. Pleasant, natural-looking. After louche, a yellowish tinge to the opacity.

Louche: Billows, comes on fast, ends more quickly than expected. Green/brown line @ meniscus disappeared at 2:1, and since I've over-watered a few recently, I stopped there.

Aroma: Some pine, floral, even a slight medicinal note (though this was stronger before the louche). The herbs I'm familiar with were commingling quite nicely.

Flavor: Sweetness at first, then bitterness, with the bitterness taking over later. Close to well-balanced between the two.

Finish: Some numbing. Bitterness hangs on in the back of the throat, with the sweetness sticking around more to the fore. Light creaminess.

Overall: I'm looking forward to having my second glass of this verte with sugar, to compare and contrast the experiences. Even with the few absinthes under my belt, I would say this is a solid absinthe with the wormwood flavor dialed up a notch or two away from "well-balanced."

Like with my Lucid review, I scored all the categories from my impressions at the time, and scored the overall with hindsight. I really enjoyed this drink then, and still do, though then my overall may have been a 4. The overall now would be a 3.5, because I feel I have a better handle on what I enjoy in an absinthe. Today I would gladly drink this over Lucid and even Duplais Verte (review TK), with it just edging out Kubler on my "list."

Color - Deep olive. Maybe a tad too dark, but rich.



Louche - Some swirling action, but generally faster than I'd like. Very thick at the end though.



Aroma - Absolutely delightful, easily this absinthe's strong suit. Rich and varied, but Chartreuse and gin-like ultimately.



Flavor - Perhaps the Achilles heal of Sirene, if only slightly so. Overall good, but vegetal and not enough anise for me.



Finish - Very nice. Pleasant bitterness and herbal notes linger long after the last sip.



Overall, I like the Sirene. Not as much as some top shelf products, but enough that I'd drink it regularly alongside my other stand-by, Lucid, if it were readily available. To some, it may stray ever so slightly in the herby-grassy direction of the St. George, but restraint won the day here and the result is a product that my native Chicagoland can be proud of.

I bought a 4 oz sample of the first release of the Sirène through the generosity of Poor. This is the third glass I've had from my sample, diluted at 4:1 without sugar. The synopsis is that Sirène is a very well crafted absinthe very much in the traditional manner with the lead role played by various citrus notes backed up with traditional herbs. It's a very drinkable absinthe.



The color before water seems a little darker than expected and a bit towards the yellow end of the spectrum. It's totally natural, nothing artificial about it at all. There's some brown notes (not the amber of feuille mort) that make the color a little less pleasant than it could be. The color after water seems lighter than it would otherwise be given where it starts. So it ends up with a nice pale white-green color.



The louche is fine. It could be a bit thicker and have more interesting appearance. But I'm being picky.



The aroma is dominated by the citrus notes. I don't find much in the way of coloring herb aroma, or it's just subsumed under the dominant aroma. There's nothing unpleasant, not sign of funk or anything like that. Very clean. I can't give it a 4 as it seems so dominant in one direction.



The flavor, is like the aroma dominated by the citrus. But there's much more going on here. There's the orange and lemon flavors with hints of grapefruit, anise and fennel sweetness, with balm and mint. Some wormwood is there as well. Being clean and light, it's a very refreshing and very easily drinkable absinthe. The flavor is the best part of this absinthe, and that's the way it should be.



The finish is nice and clean, leaves a bit a numbing on the tongue, but because the citrus dominates to my taste it's less interesting than it could be.



I don't see this as an "almost perfect" absinthe, so I can't give it a 4. But it's beyond the mere "acceptable, shows promise" of a 3. Personally I'd rate it 3.5. It's quite good and worth considering. I like it.

Color was a bit dark yellow/brown olive oil. Clear and clean, no sediment

The louche started very nicely with thick defined trails, building to a nice smoky cloud from the bottom. From there it went quickly to a nice finish at 3:1

Aroma pre-louche was not strong. I had to hunt for elements, and mostly noticed a subtle background of anise, a light grassiness and some alcohol. Louched, it improved a bit and I noticed a more herbals. Fresh and clean, but not as room filling or 3-D as I'd have liked.

Flavor is interesting and tasty. Wormwood is right up front with a subtle and tasty anise. A light spiciness, kiss of pine perhaps, and a suggestion rosemary or sage. Quite nice and drinkable.

Finish was solid. Many elements to it, perhaps the strong point of this absinthe. The spiciness lingered for a long time. Other elements faded more quickly.

Overall I'd say this right in there with the nice solid mid-priced decent absinthes. The flavor is unique and good enough, that I'd consider buying a bottle.