Lemercier 72 Amer Absinthe Review:

Photo courtesy of www.1a-absinthe.com

-72% alcohol

-.7 litre

-Country of origin: France

-Bronze medal winner at the International Fruit Brandies Contest 2004 of Metz

Some absinthes are not significantly affected by adding sugar, but in this case, Lemercier serves as a showcase example that one should always try it both ways before passing judgement. This has long been a favourite among middle grade, moderately priced absinthes, and for good reason…

I'm not a huge fan of the short, wide bottle design, yet the label is simple, while staying classy. Moving on to popping the sturdy cork, a relatively strong aroma of heavy alcohol, slightly herbal, with sweet fennel, anise and wormwood in the background pours out. The sweeter notes actually reminded me a bit of a Coppenuer absinthe bar.  The alcohol scent is strongest, unfortunately…enough to singe your nostrils a bit.

The louche comes a bit too quickly for my taste; it was pretty much completely louched at 1.5 parts water. The transition was good, but the fine ring along the top was almost nonexistent. Also, as you approach the end of the drink, it becomes clear that perhaps the louche was not as full as originally thought, as you may notice a bit of translucency. But overall, fairly solid.

I began tasting at 3 parts water and found a fair bit of heat, but adding another half part of water seemed to make it tolerable without diluting the flavour. While still smelling strongly of anise, the wormwood is clearly more dominant. A strong, bitter, first sip finishing with more noticeable anise. It drinks smoothly, but tastes a bit thin, and seems slightly too bitter for its own good. At this point, the wormwood and anise do not seem well-balanced. Even with the strong wormwood, it numbs the mouth and throat to the point of being distracting. I had to remind myself I hadn't swallowed a mentholated throat drop.

So then, I proceeded to add sugar, which ended up making all the difference in the world. This is coming from an absintheur that typically prefers little to no sugar in his drink. The bitterness now pushed to the back burner, the sweet anise makes it debut, and it is indeed good. The sugar adds to the texture, resulting in a much creamier affair, and the slight alcohol burn is all but non-existent now. There was some time between sips and by the time I had neared the last bit I noticed that as it got closer to room temperature it seemed to bring out more richness. Not sqeaky-clean richness, but enough that the shower can be put off until tomorrow. While absinthe is traditionally prepared with cold water, this is just one more spirit that reiterates my preference of drinking when warm.

The effect is bold, making its presence obvious from the get go. Mildly stimulating, but overall strongly euphoric, its enduring longevity should also be noted; it will grab hold of you and refuse to let go, clinging to your trousers and lingering about for hours on end. Very nice indeed.

I had almost judged this one prematurely, but it seems sugar gracefully intervened to save the day. Some absintheurs may refuse to drink it because there is wormwood oil added, but I still find it a great French spirit, one of which I will surely enjoy another bottle of in the coming days…

 

Presentation: 7.5

Louche: 7

Taste: 7.5

Value: 8

Overall: 7.5

Posted 9/28/2007