The big news in the absinthe world last week was the thrilling announcement that Viridian, makers of Lucid, one of the first absinthes back on the US market, is going to import two very prominent labels beginning this fall. Alan Moss, who we interviewed earlier, has a very nice blog post listing upcoming labels and, at the end of the post, reveals that La Clandestine, the Suisse Bleu absinthe he promotes, is coming to America finally!

And he also mentions at the very end the inclusion of Nouvelle-Orléans, from Ted Breaux's Jade Liqueurs to Viridian's stable of imported absinthes. Both of these have great reputations as absinthes and we can personally attest to the wondrous Nouvelle-Orléans and have had La Clandestine next on our list of absinthes to purchase. Looks like soon we will be able to get it locally and avoid the stiff shipping charges!

Viridian Press Release

A few weeks ago we got a surprise inquiry from the folks who make Obsello, a new Spanish absinthe. They wondered if we would like a bottle to try and we of course leaped at the opportunity. Mind you, there was no requirement of any "quid pro quo", just that they would send us a bottle and we would tell you our honest opinions after trying it.

The bottle arrived the other day and we immediately scheduled a tasting. Unfortunately, as you can see, the bottle lacked a label, which, given the nice look of the web site, was both disappointing and, to be honest, a little intimidating. I mean, someone contacts you by email and then mails you an unmarked bottle, asking you to try it? But we decided to persevere and take one for the team, so on we went.

It was very securely sealed in wax and cork, so it took some effort to get opened. The bottle had a twist off cork, which is convenient. The first whiff was very promising - a subdued yet distinctly absinthe aroma, with some interesting herbal hints.

We each poured out a good sampling and smelled some more, still enjoying the aroma. The color was a very natural looking color, albeit with some hints of a beige or brown. The big decision when trying a new absinthe is whether to use sugar or not. Given the Obsello's relatively low alcohol content (50%, which is very low for an absinthe, as they can get as high as 72% or more), we did one with a single sugar cube and one with no sugar at all.

Then comes the next big decision - how much water. We did our usual 3 or 4 to 1, which, it turns out, is probably a little too much. But the louche was good, although it did seem to retain the earthy colors of the original. Not sure if you can tell from the picture, but there is a definite brown tinge to the drink; not at all off putting, just unexpected.

And the taste was good. As I said, later mixes went much lighter on the water and enabled the more subtle tastes to come through better, but this first taste was positive. It certainly lacked that "bite" that a stronger absinthe has, but it still had enough to impress. The flavors, while not big and bold, were smooth and confident and we enjoyed it quite a bit.

In the end, as we eased up on the water, we decided this was a solid absinthe. It worked both with and without sugar and had a good if not powerful taste. Obsello would work very well as an introductory absinthe, yet is good enough for the more sophisticated palate. Probably about a 7 out of 10 for a rating. Keep up the good work! See the discussion forum on the Wormwood Society site for more discussion, including several posts by B. Alex, the maker of Obsello Absenta. It can be found here.

Update: We received the following note about the color from B. Alex, Obsello's creator:

The color is an interesting thing we are monitoring. I suspect it is rather unstable at 50% alcohol and I think that bottle got a bit of direct sun in the distillery while waiting to be shipped. We are looking at this closely.

The Absinthe Drinker
by Arthur Symons

Gently I wave the visible world away.
Far off, I hear a roar, afar yet near.
Far off and strange, a voice is in my ear,
And is the voice my own? The words I say
Fall strangely, like a dream, across the day:
And the dim sunshine is a dream. How clear,
New as the world to lover's eyes, appear
The men and women passing on their way!
The world is very fair. The hours are all
Linked in a dance of mere forgetfulness.
I am at peace with God and man. O glide,
Sands of the hour-glass that I count not, fall
Serenely: scarce I feel your soft caress,
Rocked on this dreamy and indifferent tide.

Did you overdo it during that last absinthe party? Did the absinthes get stronger as the will weakened? Are you truly regretting it this morning?

Before you get into this pickle, read this interesting The New Yorker article on drinking, hangovers and cures. While some claim that drinking absinthe avoids a hangover, we're not convinced!

Annals Of Drinking: A Few Too Many: The New Yorker

Some words for hangover, like ours, refer prosaically to the cause: the Egyptians say they are “still drunk,” the Japanese “two days drunk,” the Chinese “drunk overnight.” The Swedes get “smacked from behind.” But it is in languages that describe the effects rather than the cause that we begin to see real poetic power. Salvadorans wake up “made of rubber,” the French with a “wooden mouth” or a “hair ache.” The Germans and the Dutch say they have a “tomcat,” presumably wailing. The Poles, reportedly, experience a “howling of kittens.” My favorites are the Danes, who get “carpenters in the forehead.”.

Our humble little blog here has been listed on AllTop's Wine page. If you haven't checked it out, I heartily encourage you to surf on over to AllTop. AllTop is one of those blog collectors, but it is set up very nicely, with a clean, sharp UI. A simple front page, broken down into ten major categories, each with subcategory links. Clicking on one of those tacks you to a bunch of subject-related blogs, listing the last few blog posts. Again, the interface is clean and simple, with an overwhelming number of great links.

And in the Wine AllTop page, you'll find us listed. You'll have to scroll down a bit, but you can see us there. Keep a browser tab opened to this page and you will keep abreast of all things wine related, including our little niche here in the absinthe neck of the woods.

Absinthe Flickr photo of the week:



An Absenthe in the Sky

Thanks to a pointer in the comments to an earlier post, we came across a very nice video showing an interesting absinthe cocktail, which includes grapefruit soda and simple syrup:

Also, see Chris' other "How2Heroes" video called Demystifying Absinthe.