Week 33: Absainte Blanche [52 Whispers from the Muse]

Absainte Blanche

Overall Rating: 4.1
Appearance: 4.5
Louche: 4.5
Aroma: 3.5
Flavor/Mouthfeel: 4.0
Finish: 4.0
Overall: 4.0

Appearance: Bright and clear like diamond.
Louche: Very active and full louche. Rolling cascades of white clouds with hints of a very light blue. Ends with a slightly pearl translucence.
Aroma: Subtle and candy like, but not overtly sweet. Reminds me of the old ribbon candies you find at a grandparent’s house (or great-grandparent at this point) when sweets were more than just sugar and coloring, but that could just be me romanticizing the nostalgia. It didn’t spread out very far but that could be due to the heavy humidity in the apartment on the day of tasting.
Flavor/Mouthfeel: Again, very subtle. It’s complexities are there but they take a bit to flourish. The predominant flavor is Anise but there are lots of little hellos from the rest of the trinity as well as an underlying, light herbal cloud.
Finish: All very pleasant and unassuming experience. I generally prefer Absinthes with a little more pop but there is no denying the crisp freshness of Absainte. I imagine it would make a lovely Absinthe Frappe on a hot day.

Overall: For me the best flavor came at about 1.5:1 Water to Absainte. for me the best flavor came at about 1.5:1 Water to Absainte. I always have to watch myself to not over dilute lower ABV Absinthes, especially when one has a wonderfully dynamic louche that I just enjoy watching.

A while ago I ordered a set of DuVallon Absinthes from Absinthe House in my quest to get a bottle of Sevil. Unfortunately I was contacted after placing the order and they apologetically explained that they were out of the Sevil. Instead I was offered this 2015 Absinthiades Gold Metal winning Absinthe instead. They even threw in a small bottle of the Absainte Verte as well which I haven’t had the heart to open yet. I always feel a deep sense of loss when a rare bottle is emptied and in this case there is only one or 2 drinks even in the little bottle.

While I can say that I was disappointing to not get the Sevil, I’m not disappointed with the substitutions. There was also another DuVallon that was unavailable which was substituted with a 1L bottle of La Fée Line which I’ll get to another week. Quite generous.