Source: Plateau Spirits
Today I´m trying out the latest nordic absinthe on the market: La Luna. It’s made in Sweden by the Tevsjö distillery (I actually pass it when going to my summerhouse) but is made for the Danish company Plateau Spirits. They chose the Tevsjö distillery (which by the way is no where near Denmark) because they make the best base spirit and only use local ingredients (compared to others that import less fine base spirit from Russia).
The reason why they chose to make an absinthe is that Tonny from Plateau Spirits really like absinthe and he also think that there is to many crapsinthes out there with artificial coloring etc. This is the first absinthe they make, they might make more but since they are a very small company and absinthe is expensive to make, they need this one to sell well if they are going to make another.
Let’s talk about the recipe for a moment. Something that make this absinthe really stand out from all other absinthes are some special ingredients: papaya, coconut and coffee beans. This might sound like an odd combination, especially in an absinthe, but Tonny says that when he make a new recipe it’s important that he makes something that nobody else is doing, and I think we could agree that no one in France would use papaya ;P We have seen coffee beans before, and that was not my favorite, but I think it’s fun when people dare to experiment a bit! In the coloring process it seems like he only uses lemon balm and he lets it soak for a long time, so I expect a lot of lemon in this one ;) Tony tried about 35 recipes before he was satisfied, so I think it’s safe to say that this absinthe should taste the way he want it to.
The bottle is like a shorter and bulkier version of the one Svensk Absint uses for their Opals. It certainly works well if you want a bigger label, I considered it myself for my absinthes, but unfortunately I think it’s… well… ugly. However, they made something pretty good out of it, the label is pretty big and has a black background that melts together with the dark glass pretty nicely. The black stopper in artificial cork tops it of very well. But let’s go back to the label, I REALLY like this one! As I said, black background ant the motive is drawn in gold. The motive has a very heathen vibe to it: snakes, eyes, crescent moons, flowers, stars and such. Usually I think I can describe the labels pretty well, but here the popular saying ”a picture says more than a thousand words” feels pretty apt. It is designed by a French tattoo artist, actually, all of their labels are made by tattoo artists, and mighty nice they are! Finally, the absinthe got it’s name from what is apparently sort of a nickname for absinthe. I´ve heard a lot of different names for absinthe during the years, but not La Luna (”The Moon”). Nice when you can learn something new! :P
One more thing before we get to the tasting, and this is a big reason to why I bought this: Earlier this year (2021) Plateau Spirits entered a big competition in San Diego, the SIP Awards. I've never heard about it but apparently it’s pretty big, maybe some of you have heard about it? They entered the absinthe category with La Luna and won Platinum, that’s better than double gold! The price is described as follows:
”Spirits that placed for a Platinum medal represent a distinguished class that earned exceptional marks from consumer judges. Platinum medal recipients are highly recommended to the public.”
I can’t say that an absinthe flavored with papaya, coconut and coffee would be my first choice, but after reading that I surely had to taste it. I mean, it really can’t be all that bad if the judges thinks this highly of it, right?
Aged: No
Distillery: Tevsjö Distillery (for Plateau Spirits)
ABV: 61%
Category: Verte
Real/Fake: Real
Origin: Sweden/Denmark
Color and Louche: The color is VERY thin, I’m not entirely sure what to compare it with. It has the nuance of fresh gras (or fresh lemon balm as it happens). I donat really get any louche, there are oil-streaks from the first drop of water, but when I’m done (and all the way through) the liquid is just as clear as it was straight from the bottle.
Aroma: When I pop open the bottle I can just feel the base alcohol, no herbs what so ever. Maybe a small hint of coffee? Unfortunately the glass doesn’t bring out any new notes, still mostly base alcohol. I start adding water, carefully sniffing the glass after each part but all I can find is the base alcohol and something slightly burned. If I use my imagination there might be something herb-ish at the end, but I’m not sure.
Taste: VERY little taste. There is the base alcohol again, and the sugar I’ve added, but then there is almost nothing else. I can’t detect any herbs, no papaya, coconut or even coffee. It’s just… blank. A bitter aftertaste makes itself known after I swallow, and it lingers for quite a while.
Final thoughts: This feels so weird to me, how can an absinthe with such good remarks taste so bad to me (and så little)? I honestly don’t get it. I wrote to Tonny and asked if I might have gotten a bottle from a bad batch or something, but he said that there is only one batch and I probably just don’t like the flavor profile. I have a hard time accepting that. I know that taste is subjective, but this is absurd. Based upon what I’ve tasted today I really can’t recommend this to anybody, but I’d be really happy to hear from anyone else that have tasted this, because I simply can’t believe that this is the same spirit the judges in the SIP Awards had. I´m very sorry Tonny, but I can’t give this anything else than 0,5, I really hope I’m wrong in this.
