AbsintheMan.com

So far, here are the American Absinthes I have tried. I will list the ones I have had in order from Strongest to weakest first:

1) Lucid
2) Pernot
3) Absente
4) Le Tourneau (sp)

What American Absinthes will do:
Mimic real Czech Absinthe to a much lesser degree- say 10:2.

Get you wasted and feeling niiiiiiiiice like Borat, especially if you are into Mary J (I do not encourage civil disobedience but will say that the two go great together from my understanding)

NOT the same kind of drunkeness that you get with beer, wine, liquor or other spirits.

What American Absinthes will not do:

Have you seeing halos, green fairys, or winding up in seedy Russian places of ill refute in Prague, being chatted up and fucked by a lot of subservient hookers.

______________________________
Lucid is by far the best brand of the four that I have experienced, and is available in the USA.

Lucid has a very distinct and bitter licorice/anise flavor to it. 1 Glass makes you feel warm, two will make you brave, while 3 or more (depending on tolerance) will just get you bombed into a haze of awareness and drunkeness. As with all Absinthe available in the US, the alcohol will take over at some point and will overpower the wormwood. As long as you don't mix with any other alcohol, the hangover is mild. That changes if you drink a half of a bottle though because Lucid is 128 proof after all. Either way- two glasses of Lucid, poured traditionally, will make you feel warm and introspective.

The Pernot and Absente are another strong Absinthe. Neither has the same nip as Lucid and due to them being faux Absinthes, you get less of the warm feeling and more of the intoxicated feelings (minus alcohol breath or idiotic behavior in smaller doses.)

Le Tourneaux-

The Jury is still out. I have had two glasses and feel warm. This has the lowest alcohol content of the bunch, charting in right at 100 proof. This Absinthe has the same ingredients that Lucid does, including Grande Wormwood. This is by far the mildest tasting of the bunch. It also has an odd and minty nip to it. at 45 bucks a bottle, it is certainly the best deal and isn't a waste. There is an odd "soapy" aftertaste, but that is possibly because I used Cane Syrup as opposed to real sugar to louche it. The Tourneaux seems like a good absinthe for starters, or for people that don't like stiff absinthe. This particular brand is to Lucid what Tarantula is to Tequila. Good to sip, does it's job, is very mild in flavor and doesn't cost a lot.

Overall, I'd say to stick with lucid or Pernot.

If you are tired of sugar cubes, louche it with some Agave Nectar- that brings out some other good flavor and the agave nectar louches better in my opinion.

Hope this helps.

GeeBus, Thanks for your insight about absinthe flavours & brands. While we all have our brand preferences (I'm no fan of Lucid, but its not bad) your idea of using agave nectar is a great idea. I recently used a drop or two of stevia in my absinthe... but the stevia was overpowering. two drops was way too much for me. One drop should work fine.

Here is a film i did for Le Tourment Vert - would love to know your thoughts on it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV9FnDY-ZJ4 - big fan and avid drinker since 2003 - fav. brand la fee (confidentially

An excellent commercial with a special film noir touch. It falls right in line for me with other choice movies like Amelie, Jeux d'enfants, Happenstance, Brothers Bloom, Skeleton Key, etc. Great work... I patiently await more work from you! This captures the absinthe essence with perfect timing for the holidays. Bellisimo!

-AbsintheMan.com