Absinthe - The Green Fairy

No, this is not another one from Zufanek (I wish it was though) like you might deduce from the bottle, this one is from the Combier Distillery in France. Not sure if I have seen anyone else useing these bottles exept Zufanek, exept for this one. You might know by now that I´m not too fond of this bottle, it looks like a grain silo, but Zufanek has given me some good associations. It´s made from dark glass, as a bottle containing a verte should, and it´s sealed with black wax (always a good choise in my opinion!). The label is not very styleish, it gives the impression of a medicinebottle, not a luxurious drink.You find the same wax and label on the smaller version of the bottle as well, but here the bottle is made in clear glass. A bad choise in my book.

 

 

 

"The Stubborn", "The Persistant" or "The Hard-headed" in English, although I can´t find any referense as to why they chose the name. In fact, I can find very little information about this absinthe apart from that it is naturaly colored and doesn´t contain any artificial flavourings. It does seem to have a unusually low ABV, vertes usualy have 70+ to help preserve the color better, but this settles on 62%. I imagine it will be a bit smoother because of that.

 

 

 

Aged: No
Distillery: Combier
ABV: 62%
Category: Verte
Real/Fake: Real
Origin: France

 

Color and Louche: The color is just as you see it on the picture above, the golden green color of herbs drying in the sun. There is not really anything wrong with it, but in this bottle it gives enhances the impression of a medicin. The louche is mediocre and it doesn´t take more than 2 parts water before it has reached its climax. I a big glas you can´t se through it, but if you just prepare enough for a taste (like I did) then you might see the bottom of the glass.



Aroma: When I take a sniff from the bottle I get a lot of alcohol and a green bitterness, like medicine, and I had wished for more sweet anise. This I get when I´ve poured it in the glass though, quite sweet and not a lot of alcohol. Usually it´s the other way around, it´s better from the bottle and gets worse once I´ve poured it. As I add the watter it mellows out but is still quite ample and the anise is still here, but as I add more water the wormwood asserts itself more and more. Not bad, not bad at all.



Taste: Not a lot of taste here, maybe I should have used less water? The taste is very well balanced though: just the right amount of bitternes, there is some anise to sweeten it and quite a lot of wormwood, and as I thought the texture is very smooth. But as soon as I have swallowed, about 95% of the taste disappears.



Final thoughts: In one (two) word(s) I would describe this absinthe as well balanced. It is certainly not a bad absinthe, just a little bit boring. It doesn´t stand out from all the other absinthes I´ve tasted (which is a lot) and it tends to drown in the masses. Also, the packageing is not great. I would have no problem recomending this however, just maybe use a bit less water if you are at all used to a little stronger alcoholic drinks, then you´ll get a bit more bang for your buck! Subjectivly I´d give it a rating of 2.5, but that might be a little unfair so lets say a 3 out of four, shall we? I´m glad I tasted it but I´m also glad I just bought a small bottle.