Absinthe Review
Welcome to probably my most pretentious interest. Absinthe really does feel like one of those quarter-life crisis things to get into, but I don't (tend to) regret it. As someone who has an interest in the occult, esoteric, historical alchemy and the gothic, this is a historical drink that intimately fits these associations.
Père Kermann's Absinthe
| Appearance | Artificial neon blue/green |
|---|---|
| Aroma | Mint |
| Taste | Alcoholic mouthwash. Pure mint without any other flavour profile to speak of. |
| Louche | N/A |
| Ingredients | Alcohol, Water, Aroma, Wormwood Infusion, sugar, colourings (E133, E102) |
| Rating | 1/10 ★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ |
Feels kinda wrong for this to be the first entry of the list, but it might serve as a perfect example of what an absinthe isn't. Because there isn't any legal definition of absinthe (except for in Switzerland), producers are free to label it as such. This coupled with the rich and esoteric history behind the spirit, makes it a pretty easy thing to market as a weird mysterious drink - this being one such example.
Pére Kermann's Absinthe is labeled as having "wormwood infusions", which seems intentionally vague for a reason. As per my understanding, you could essentially use any strain of the artemisia family in there and call it absinthe, but traditional absinthe requires grand wormwood (artemisia absinthium).
At least it's got a neat 'lil illustration of like a medieval alchemist on it, so that's cool. Tastes like pure mouthwash, does not louche, has a weird artificial colour. Not even faux absinthe, just a weird mint spirit
Absente 55
| Appearance | Clear-ish greenish olive |
|---|---|
| Aroma | Aniseed, fresh herbs |
| Taste | Sweet and bitter liquorice |
| Louche | Louches well. About the same opalescent effect you'd get from a traditional absinthe. |
| Rating | 6/10 ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ |