I wanted to drop a quick note to anyone that enjoys my madcap style of writing. I will continue to update this site when I actually get my hands on new absinthe, but I am updating a blog with a story a day of fiction over here. So, if you don’t mind the lack of drink recipes and reviews gratuitously thrown into my fiction, I think you will like it.
Eyelinerrobot AKA- PoorBrenton
To start things off, I’m not gay.
Really.
Some people may come to that conclusion, be it my amazing haircuts, impeccable style of dress, on point diction, the fact that I make out with dudes from time to time.
I only make out for money, seriously, that means it isn’t gay.
And I’m thinking about ladies when I do it, too.
But this is besides the point. I just want to let all you trolls and ejerks out there know that you can stop sending me the link to this video.
It is hilarious. I know. Excellent use of purple WordArt. It has a starring cast of John F. Kennedy (not gay), Richard M. Nixon (prolly not gay), Jesus (Eeeh…), and some kid that looks like Zack Efron (Ok, totes gay). Also, is that Crispin Glover at 3:20? He is so not gay, and also a great dancer. See? You don’t have to be gay to be a good dancer. You have to be Crispin Hellion Glover.
:end of line
Currently in the US there is no legal definition of ‘Absinthe’. This means that pretty much any distillery can release a bottle of liquorish smelling liquor and call it ‘Absinthe’. What do you think defines Absinthe? I’m trying to find out what the community as a whole thinks of this. If you have read two of my posts, you surely know my stance, so I won’t wax poetic about the ‘Trinity’. Just tell me what make Absinthe for you! Is it the ‘Trinity’? Is is grain alcohol with macerated wormwood? Is it anise flavored vodka?
This could be a meaningful turning point in the fringe market of Absinthe drinkers. Make it count!
Seems like the floodgates have opened. Trilliam is a vert absinthe put out by Integrity Spirits in Portland, OR.
Being placed squarely in Chicago, I have not had the chance to taste this one yet, but I have heard it described as hot, and minty, amongst other things. Not minty like schnapps, but the standard absinthe anise taste with mint undertones. It is going for 59.99, available in the Portland area for now.
A challenger has appeared!
Not much to report here. This is put out by the blokes that have been pushing the Phoney Baloney ‘Absente’ brand in the states for years now. Same story but they make it with grande wormwood instead of southern wormwood. This makes it real absinthe, but a terrible absinthe. It tastes like nothing but candy liquorish and alcohol, there is no complexity at all. It is artificially colored and, as far as I am concerned, the product of nothing but marketing. This is the Bud Lite of absinthes, except it is much, much more expensive. Save your money.
At least we still have Sirene, Kubler and Lucid to choose from.
This one caught me off guard. It is made by the Leopold Brothers Distillery in Anne Arbor, Mi.
From what I have heard it is a classically styled absinthe with a weak anise profile, but the strongest wormwood taste of any of the currently available in the US absinthes.
I am not sure where one can find this, I will update when I find out.
Louche on!
Up next is La Fee Parisian. What I know about it is all hearsay, as I have not and probably will not try it myself. It has been available in the EU for a number of years and has gained an infamous reputation among connoisseurs. It is artificially colored and, as far as I know, an oil mixture, not a properly distilled absinthe. That being said, it is still technically absinthe, just a very poor example of one. Most reviews I have seen place it below any other offerings (with the possible exception of Le Tourment Vert) currently available in the US. Combine this with the 69.99 msrp, I say walk on by.
I got a bottle on release day from Sams Wine.
I wish I had tasted more absinthes before this one, so I could know just how close to perfection it may be. I hesitate to give it a five because this would be presumptuous having only tasted Lucid and Kubler. The smell neat is an amazing perfume, very nicely balanced. Although I cannot place all of the aromas, none of them overpower each other (i.e. it does not smell like anise with some other things hiding under it.)I louched it sans sucre at a 1:4 ratio. Beautiful trails and a milky verdant opal cloud smoldered out of the very natural and attractive olive green liquor. The scent intensifies and fills the room, I can almost taste it before it touches my lips. Flavors of the holy trinity unite in my mouth, my tongue tells me there are other flavors, delicious flavors, singing with this choir, but it cannot tell me their names. Surely one with a more trained and less Burnt pallet will be able to identify these tastes, all I can say is “Mmmmmm.”
The mouthfeel is the creamiest I have ever experienced and leaves me with a mouth that is comfortably numb.
Some day when I have expanded my pallet I will revisit this review and undoubtedly add a five or two.
I would take this over Lucid or Kubler any day, even if it were priced high above its modest $60.
Heres a little mini-update I will try and do whenever I find a location in Chicago that serves absinthe.
This time it is Morseland in Rogers Park.
It is a nice cafe that features live music on most nights. They charge $7 for a glass of Kubler, according to the website. This place is mere blocks from mine, and today being Absinthe Monday I think I should go have a look about. There will be some kind of music called “Jazz” playing tonight though… is that like Trip Hop or something?
Happy, Happy News. North Shore Distillery, based in Chicago, is making Absinthe now! Their new product “Sirene” is set to be released in the Chicago Land area within the week. This makes it the fifth absinthe available in the US after Lucid, Kubler, St. George and La Tourment Vert. You can count on this Chi-boy to be one of their first customers. I will let you know how it turns out. Joy!
Here is a link to their site.
