Post #525034 by TorchGuy on Tue, Apr 20, 2010 5:45 AM

I, too, say dump the Le Tourment Verte. Lucid and Kubler are fair-quality absinthes - not up at the top with the specialty French Pernod Fils copies, but good; Lucid is the requisite peridot green, while Kubler is Swiss "la bleue" (clear). Le Tourment Verte is bright Scope blue-green, and really tastes... well, not only nothing like absinthe, but just awful in general. It also does not louche (cloud with dilution) at all! I've tried it, and it's just terrible stuff, not even really tasty as a non-absinthe liqueur in my opinion. The flavors seem as artificial as the color; absinthe, if it's not la bleue, should be a pale peridot green. The only way you could possibly go worse is to use Czech absinth, which generally tastes like turpentine, especially the original (and worst) brand Hill's which is the same color as "the green torment", an apt name for the stuff in my opinion

Now, me, I love the anise flavored liqueurs. I drink absinthe the traditional way, diluted with sugar and water. But I've had the Trader Vic's Dr. Funk, a really wonderful tart drink and I've had the tenders at the Palo Alto Vic's make it with Herbsaint on one visit and Lucid on another. I can't say I detected a big difference, but either way it's a flavor that really must be in there. The Dr. Funk is delicious, and I adore those tart drinks with complexity, but it definitely isn't for every drinker. If you like the anise flavor, I'd say splurge on a bottle of Lucid or Kubler and give it a try in whatever normally uses Pernod or Herbsaint. A Sazerac is definitely a good idea - I suggest making two of those at once and using the same absinthe for both, since normally you coat the glass and discard the excess.

Herbsaint, like Kubler or Lucid Absinthe, is more complex and sharper. Pernod, Ricard and other forms of pastis, like both Absente* and Grand Absente*, are sweeter, so beware of this when mixing. Lucid and Kubler are available across the US now.

*Absente came out about a year before the repeal of the absinthe ban, and skirted the law by using the cousin, Petite Wormwood. The recent Grand Absente is identical, save that it uses the proper Grand Wormwood. Both are almost identical in flavor, as far as I know.

Drat... I need a Dr. Funk and a Navy Grog this week. Too bad I don't know any Seattle tiki fans who'd be willing to mix me a few good tart, complex tiki cocktails. I'm not sure either Bleu Bistro or Hazlewood could mix me any, but I guess I can bring them recipes and try...