At long last, the glorious day has arrived. The day when an American can legally purchase a bottle of genuine absinthe within the United States. I think many of us anticipated this day to be much further ahead of us, but weep aloud my friends, for the time is now.
Not to say it is a perfect bed of roses, as Lucid is currently the ONLY absinthe that is available legally. Several other brands including Kubler and Matter-Luginbühl AG’s latest, Mansinthe, are pending approval, so Lucid will have some competition before long. So, as someone who has tried both Mansinthe and Kubler do I believe will Lucid be able to stand-up to its future competitors? Read on.
In an obvious attempt to be an eye-catcher on the liquor store shelf, the top of the bottle has a pair of luminous eyes. This may just be my imagination, but the bottle itself looks better in your hands than online photos make it appear. It is not nearly as dark tinted as you would imagine, and the „lucid eyes“ aren’t as glaringly obvious and intrusive as one would think. The back label gives an excellent history of absinthe right up to modern day, albeit in microscopic print. There is a little blurb on the website explaining how the concept of the bottle design came about and it’s historical representation with a „modern twist“. Their explanation is fine, but to anyone who hasn’t been interested enough to visit their website and read that small paragraph will have no idea and almost immediately make the connection that this is aimed at a younger, potentially non-absinthe drinking crowd. Aside from being a little gimmicky I don’t have much of a problem with it, but obviously some absintheurs will.
Breaux did make it clear that the colour would differ from bottle to bottle, and the green in my bottle looked particularly weak; much more transparent than I would have liked. Immediately upon uncorking, there is a faint, but distinctly sweet, chocolate aroma, with anise and fennel. It has an earthy quality, but is held back by undertones of funk. Individual herbs are a bit muddled, and I could not detect the wormwood. The alcohol was subdued well enough.
Results:
COLOR BEFORE WATER 9/10
Natural glad green. Not bad, I like it.
LOUCHE ACTION 9/10
The louche was quite good, building up slowly, tightly condensed, with a fine ring along the top. Unfortunately it seemed almost too condensed as there were almost no swirls in the glass, merely like a point slowly expanding.
COLOR AFTER WATER 8/10
Mid-green of great clarity without any solid artifacts or haze.
AROMA 18/30
The alcohol base (a mix of some sweet addition) along with a bit fennel and wormwood are dominant. A (nice) hint of green anise. All in one a acceptable balance.
MOUTH-FEEL 7/10
Tasted neat there was more anise than I would have thought from an absinthe crafted for „US tastes“, but it still stayed within the boundaries of moderation, fennel is weaker than the aroma lead me to believe. Upon louching, a new bouquet of peppery spiciness unfolds, but the alcohol doesn’t want to leave, making it seem alright, but not really a pleasant smell. The louche concludes resulting in a grayish-green hue.
TASTE 14/20
Spiciness and anise are prominent, while the sweetness of fennel finishes on the back of your toungue well, not too dry. The wormwood is there, but seems dull and lacking, lost in the background, which surprised me; before tasting I would’ve thought the anise and wormwood’s roles to be reverse what they are now, again, to adhere to American tastes. Feels good in the mouth with a silky consistency, but it does teeter between velvety and oily, and is not as creamy or thick as an absintheur would desire. Because it must be consumed at a strong ratio, there is a bit of a bite, but it is more than tolerable for anyone accustomed to high-proof spirits. Drinking with sugar makes the flavour rather murky and overly-sweet, and transforms a silky texture to a slimy one.
OVERALL IMPRESSION 7/10
Alas, Lucid is thujone-free (or very nearly so). Prepared in the traditional, Rimbaud-era manner—slowly diluted (sometimes over a sugar cube, but absinthists skip this) with ice-cold water until it becomes cloudy (called “louching”) and reaches about a 1:3 concentration—it’s less anise-heavy and more herbal than other “genuine” European absinthes I’ve tried.
TOTAL SCORE 72
I used for my review’s some inspiration from other Absinth com’s. (Review system by feeverte board, I am member too there)
After a mail from another member I have to give them credit for this system. You are my heroes. Thx!
