I was quite eager to try the Vieux Carre, in part because I am a big fan of the Bluecoat gin from the same distiller. Unfortunately, this absinthe falls short of the standard set by the best American brands.

The color before water is a dark olive. It looks very natural, but is otherwise unremarkable. Fresh from the bottle, the aroma is mostly alcohol, with some herbal scents discernible as well. With the addition of water, a gradual louche forms, resulting in a translucent yellow jade. While nothing extraordinary, the results are generally pleasing.

The aroma after water is rather peppery, and while fresh and mild seems somewhat out of balance. This is even more true of the flavor, which is unbalanced to the point of being unacceptable. The predominant note is white pepper, and if it could be dialed down a bit, this absinthe would probably improve a great deal, because the anise and wormwood are present.

The finish is also mainly peppery, with the other herbal flavors being lost in the clamor.

Overall, I think this absinthe shows promise, but it remains a work in progress.

Vieux Carré is the first absinthe I ever bought, when I found that it was being carried in liquor stores very near my home. The bottle providing the glass for review is about 3/4 gone now. When I first bought it, the aroma from the bottle was a very strong blast of anise, and the same was true neat from a glass, with perceptible alcohol going along with it. Strangely, pouring this glass, smelled neat it is all alcohol, and very strong.

APPEARANCE: A rich, golden- brown in color, very clear with no haze or sediment, when light is allowed to pass directly through. Moving the glass so that light strikes more obliquely reveals slices of peridot sandwiched between the golden brown body of the absinthe. It's not green, but it's darn pretty.

LOUCHE: Nice clouds, but they become unclear very quickly. The line dividing milky brown from golden brown is very much obscured, and things become opaque very fast. Outer edges of the louche do show some green and blue. Okay.

AROMA: The alcohol aroma has completely disappeared. Some anise/licorice notes, but muted; fennel is there, as are flowers, and a slight sensation of mint. When I first tried this absinthe, I described it as an anise bomb, but now the aroma post-louche is much more balanced, with a very nice interplay of different scents. Reminiscent of a spring day at the park. The only negative is that the aroma does not "bloom" outward as much as I would like. Still, really good.

FLAVOR/MOUTHFEEL: Mouthfeel is pleasant, it's smooth and clean, not quite what I would describe as creamy, but still with some body to it. The anise is well-accounted for in the taste, but again, as with the aroma, it no longer hits like a brick to the face, but instead is playing nicely with the other elements. There's some slight, but pleasant, bitterness, fennel and the mint returns, more strongly than in the aroma, with a tiny bit of heat. There's a very small numbing effect, but nothing unpleasant.

FINISH: A little bit of heat and bitterness, very little astringency to speak of, and it's essentially over. Nothing unpleasant here, but also nothing too long-lasting, save a sort of faint sensation of lingering cleanness.

OVERALL: Having a nice louche is fun and interesting, and can be an indicator of what sort of ingredients were used, but in general it doesn't factor all that highly in my (still-building) estimation of an absinthe's quality. If the ingredients or manufacture are low grade, it should show up where it really counts. In the case of Vieux Carré, it's aces in the areas that matter most to me in an absinthe; a fine choice for mail order or, if you're lucky enough to live locally, pick it up in-store.

Color: Rather darker than most of the other absinthes I have stocked. Verynice, though - one of the better aspects.

Louche: The louche is nice and thick - which is my preference. This probably has to do with the overwhelming amount of star anise present. Also worth noting that this is a much greener absinthe, post-louche, than I have seen.

Aroma: The star anise is definitely overpowering in aroma, sadly. Not as much as taste but is definitely too forward for my senses.

Flavor: Again... (you know where I'm going, right?) way, way too much star anise. It cheapens the product and sadly - I would most likely find this quite more enjoyble if the star anise was excluded from the entire process. Just keep it out of my absinthe.

Mouthfeel: Not overly creamy - or overly numbing... nothing much to say here.

Finish: Again... star anise.

Overall: Don't get me wrong - I do like this absinthe. I just probably would not purchase a second bottle with such a variety of other absinthes available. The star anise is far too strong. This could definitely be due to my taste so please judge for yourself. I will say that the decanter bottle is a bonus - quite handsome!

And so comes the time when Americans learnt how to colour absinthe, once louched it is too green at the edges but nonetheless fine.

Louche is delicate and persistent

The aroma is built of Kirk's hyssop, some anise, very complex. The absinthe itself is herbal and balanced.

tasting:
Pleasant and with nicely accentuated genepi, pontica, wormwood, what not, and unique, yet not striving towards any style, long-lasting in the aftertaste, different as much as Leopold

Walton Waters and Pacifique are the front, just after them comes VC and Leopold, so not bad, not bad

Appearance:
One of the best looking bottles, in my opinion, though the absinthe is a little darker than most.

Louche:
It really does not have any louche effect. When diluting the dark green turns slightly more clouded, but nothing near the normal louche. Not a major loss to the product, but takes away from the traditional absinthe feel.

Aroma:
ANISE! Very strong anise aroma, if you don't like the strong smell, you wont like this.

Flavor:
ANISE! Very, very strong anise taste. Not my preference, which kills this product for me. I have tried several different ratios but none were to my liking. One must really love the anise taste to like this product.

Finish:
Again, anise. Vieux is drowned in anise. Not my taste.

Overall:
This is a poor example of absinthe. The flavor and smell are drowned in anise and there is not that certain absinthe feel when drinking it. In my opinion this is a beverage drowned in anise and called absinthe. Its one redeeming quality is; it is a very handsome bottle to put on the shelf, though if anyone wants to try it it may ruin absinthe for them!