Note: This is a French absinthe liqueur distilled in Aix-en-Provence, a small city near St. Remy and an area where you can find many different Absinthe and Pastis distilleries. This is a macerated absinthe with the addition of a fair amount of sugar. Designed or conceived as more of a shooter (like Jagermeister) that is sweetened to dispense with the whole spoon ritual and more easily served in a higher volume enviroment. Made without Anise, it does not louche (opalesce) like and absinthe but almost takes on a subtle glow when you add water. Nearby Marseilles and Antibes are two of the places to find a large variety (in the hundreds) so spend some time exploring – preferably on foot if you are doing much sampling. See our adventure section for some of our trips in the area.

First Impression: Nicely balanced and complex with the alcohol. A nicely balanced aroma of wormwood, gentian, verbena, coriander among other things. There are 20 different botanicals used in this blend and you can pick up on most of them.

Appearance: Clear, bright, chlorophyll green cast to it. On swirling, leaves a thin coat on the glass with scalloping and very thin legs developing. Louche is decent but not awe inspiring (turns opalescent but no swirls, pools,etc.).

Taste: Rather complex and multifaceted – especially compared to some we have been trying lately. Interesting bitter (wormwood and gentian), played off with the mint, verbena and sugar coating your tongue while the coriander, dill and rosemary dance around in different areas of the tongue blending and playing off each other.Very pastis-like ending (think Pernod) with a pleasant sweeter finish. Well made and relatively complex.

Drinks: We used it in a number of drinks which called for absinthe such as the Death in the Afternoon, Sazerac, etc., and it produced good results. Remember however that this is a liqueur and much sweeter compared Absinthe when playing with recipes. It did worked well and added a lot of complexity over a absinthe substitutes.

Bottle: Very distinctive tall rectangular bottle that has been sprayed to look frosted with a very Belle Époque graphics with holographic highlights on the lettering Synthetic cork closure and silver colored neck wrap.

Final Thoughts: One of the better absinthe liqueurs on the mass-market now and an interesting potion to play with. Distillation is good, reasonably complex but balanced. Easy-to-find overseas.

Website: http://www.liquoristerie-provence.fr/indexgb.htm

Website Home Page : http://www.liquoristerie-provence.fr/indexgb.htm