Post #722395 by Hurricane Hayward on Sun, Jul 13, 2014 11:21 AM

While not necessarily stronger in proof, I've always thought Pernod was stronger in that distinctive licorice flavor that you taste in cocktails than is absinthe (at least the bottle of Absente that I have). I suppose it's possible that there will be some variation in different absinthes, and the Pernod brand of absinthe may have that same strong licorice flavor as its pastis. But in my experience, Pernod is much less forgiving and more likely to overwhelm a drink, so I always recommend being more cautious with it. Herbsaint seems to be somewhere in the middle, less intense than Pernod but not as smooth as absinthe. Of course, this is all very unscientific and perhaps just personal taste.

Perhaps someone more scholarly should do a scientific head-to-head comparison of the three. Professor?

[ Edited by: Hurricane Hayward 2014-07-13 11:23 ]