A quick question...

[raziel028]

I'm new to the community and somewhat new to absinthe, but I have a question regarding all the absinthes available in the US. Are they all liquers? I know traditionally, its a liquor, not liquer. I've had Grande Absente, Lucid, and Le Tourment (if you even consider it absinthe) and they are all liquers. I'm just looking for an authentic taste. I

Comments

[iarwain]

From my own experience, I was pleasantly surprised with the taste of Grande Absente. The flavor is quite similar to the European absinthes I've had. It's also quite good.

Lucid is too sweet and ...something else. The taste is off.

While absinthe is certainly a liquor, it is not technically a liqueur, as it does not have sugar as a proper ingredient. See the note here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_liqueurs#Anise-flavored_liqueurs

[raziel028]

Grande Absente has a little bit of a harsh alcohol taste for me. Its good, but I do like lucid better. My quest is to actually find one in america that is made without sugar, ie a liquor. I wanted to taste a proper one, not a liquer.

[1_big_grizz]

Kubler is available in the US (at least here in Virginia), and is pretty good. Although, to me, it has a very untraditional taste.
I think Pernod liquor has a very traditional taste, although it isn't absinth. Go figure.

[raziel028]

I have yet to try kubler, because it isn't available in my part of louisiana yet. Its a blanche, correct?

[1_big_grizz]

Its a blanche, correct?

Correct. It's good stuff, but you mentioned you were looking for "authentic" taste. For me, the ultimate absinthe is Trenet, but it's only available through European distributors and costs a fortune to ship to the US.

[absynthesis]

Actually, Kubler has a more traditional taste than Pernod pastis.

[doodlemaier]

Authentic absinthe, regardless of brand or country of origin, each taste differently and have other differing qualities, just like scotch or wine. Quality is determined 1st and foremost by what you enjoy. Sample as many as you can.

[raziel028]

I agree, I just want to find one available in the US that has no sugar pre-added. As all the ones I've had are liquers, I want to find one that is a liquor.

Amen to that.

[marco_martenot]

I've had five different types and only one of those didn't taste good to me. However, sadly enough, not even the best of the best is real in the olde tymey sense. Even in Europe there are laws on the quantity of wormwood allowed to be used, so Pernod is as much an absinthe as not...almost (since it has none). But you are SOOO right! Like in Spain, one of the herbs used is coriander. That is traditionally, and hence you'll have a much different flavor than one will get from absinthe made in France or elsewhere. I've even heard of lemon balm used in some preparations.

Re: Amen to that.

[doodlemaier]

I don't know that I've ever seen an absinthe recipe that excluded lemon balm if for nothing else than, at least, as part of the finishing maceration. Even though there are precious few samples left of pre-ban absinthe the recipes and distillation treatises still remain. Even in those that I've had the pleasure to read fennel and anise are usually the most prevalent ingredients. Would it be considered "genuine", "real", or "authentic" to create your own using those instructions?

The first absinthe I ever tried was Oxygénée. Strangely enough I drank that first glass holding my nose, but it's a personal standard to which I hold all absinthe I try now.

[perruche_verte]

I don't know about the other two, but Lucid does not have sugar in the bottle. What sweetness there is, comes from the anise.

[raziel028]

Thanks for the info. The other two state that they are liquers on the bottle, but lucid did not and I never could find any statement either way. I tasted it straight and it was slightly sweet so I just made an assumption. That makes sense though.

The anise,

[marco_martenot]

the star anise, and the fennel.

[absynthesis]

The law states that any liqueur has to have a certain amount of sugar in it. If it says liqueur on the label, it has sugar. If it doesn't say liqueur on the label, it still might have some sugar though.

These USA made absinthes don't contain sugar: Marteau Belle Epoque, St. George, Leopold, Sirene, and Trillium. These are all authentic, but some are less traditional than others. Marteau is the most traditional, St. George the least. Trillium is too bitter because they use grand wormwood to color it. Leopold and Sirene are pretty good.

Clandestine, the white Swiss absinthe is better than Kubler and worth the extra money. Lucid is traditional and authentic, it's just not all that good.

[raziel028]

Thanks for answering. That's actually the information I was hunting for. I plan on ordering a bottle of marteau as soon as its available at drinkupny.