Absinthe: How to successfully ship to Ireland.

dudara wrote: »

You should also consider Master of Malt - I have used them many times in the past to purchase alcohol online and I have nothing but good things to say about their service.

cheers for that Dudara, its a lovely selection too mainly of French stuff.

Well my bottle of La Fee Parisienne was delivered this morning, will write a wee report after.

Here is some of my ratings for the absinthes I have tasted,

Le Diable Jaune 80% vol (Yellow in colour) miniature 4 cl - Not great one of the weaker macerated oil mixes from Spain, no louche when water is added, more or less just heat when tasted so very alcoholic and nothing else really. 2/10

Familia Mari Mayans Absinthe Green 70% vol 70 cl. This is one of my favourites of the macerated oil mixes from Ibiza, Spain. Fruity anise aroma, louches beautifully and the fruity and herbal aroma fills the room, fennel, anise, oranges and various other fruits and herbs. Mari Mayans also has the undoubted kick because of its strength but a very enjoyable drink and a classy looking 70 cl glass bottle. 9/10. 20.90 Euros from Malaga Airport.

Jacques Senaux Absinthe Green 70% vol 70 cl. One of the more widely available absinthes in Ireland which can be got in stores in Galway, Cork and Dublin. Made in the Tarragona region of Spain by the Teichenne distillery, Jacques has a more sharper alcoholic pang than Mari Mayans and was quite expensive in Galway at 54.95 Euros. Its enjoyable enough but not as creamy or as fruity as MM. It gives a nice louche when water is added and the fragrant smells become more pronounced. 6/10

La Fee Parisienne Absinthe 68% vol 70 cl. This is the first one I've tried from France, despite the bad reviews given by regular absinthe drinkers on the web I enjoyed this bottle. The original bottle came in a radioactive looking green colour but the one I got from O'Briens was of a more natural yellow colour. Not as strong with the anise flavour but had an abundance of fruits and herbs in the aroma. The louche was more of a cloudiness rather than the usual louche quality but an enjoyable drink nonetheless. 7/10

Absenta Tunel Green Absinthe 70% vol 1 litre. A Spanish absenta got for me by a friend from Mallorca Airport for 24 Euros. Very similar to Jacques Senaux Green Absinthe, but fruity like Mari Mayans so somewhere in between, creamy fruity after taste and louches to a nice opaque with water added. I recommend using an iced spring water and this gives a nice zest to the drink. After having a considerable amount of shots last night there was no mind numbing hangover today so not too bad. 8/10

All of these drinks I've listed bar the first can be used also as mixers or to make interesting cocktails I would imagine.

I have another friend arriving either today or tomorrow back from Malaga so hopefully I will be sampling another bottle of Mari Mayans. My next absinthe excursion will be on 11th March where I have reserved a bottle of Jade PF 1901 at the Royal Mile Whiskey shop in Edinburgh when I go over there. Jade is supposed to be one of the very best of the French Portarlier region absinthes so looking forward to that.

Took a day trip up to Dublin yesterday to get some Spanish absinthe slightly cheaper. I'm trivially annoyed with the Celtic Whiskey Store/Wine in the Green website as it listed certain bottles in stock but when I got there, there was only about half of them and expensive too. I've no interest in Hapsburg and the overpriced La Fee Parisienne that they have there. So I just got another bottle of the Jacques Senaux absinthe green for 47.99 Euros. I was disappointed that they didn't have the Teichenne Green absinthe so took a walk to Baggot Street Wines who had some in stock at 40 Euros so still cheaper than Galway prices. Will review them as I taste a bit over the next few days.

Well I've ordered a bottle of Pernod Absinthe Superieure Original Recipe from Amazon which I'll be picking up in Dundee when I head over in the 21st, so will report back on this.

Well I'm more than halfway through the Jade Blanchette and getting near halfway through my Philippe Lasala absinthe.

Jade Blanchette: 50 CL 60% ABV.
Made by the Combier Distillery in France. The clear spirit of the blanch supposedly has a yellow tinge but mine is fairly clear. Smell from uncorking: It has that unique Jade wine base smell familiar to Ted Breaux products, sweet herbs, anise, femmel, hyssop and a nice subtle wallop of wormwood. Louching with added mineral water gives a beautiful milky creamy white. Mouthfeel gives a lovely creamy feel and a nice subtle sting from the alcohol, a satisfying slightly bitter aftertaste that is the wormwood.
Finish is totally satisfying lasting a long time. This is a decent quality absinthe. 9/10.

beertons wrote: »

Interesting thread. Do you go through the burning of sugar cubes on the spoon with holes over every glass?

No, never bought into the Czech style, I've seen terrible reviews of some of the stuff touted to have more thujone (wormwood) than anything else such as King of Spirits Gold and Hills. Absintheurs state that the burnt sugar and burnt absinthe will ruin the intended taste of the alcohol, like you wouldn't do that with the French or Swiss stuff, maybe some of the novelty coloured Spanish ones. Saying that there is a guy called Martin Zufanek who is distilling good quality absinthe in the Czech Republic, the type for adding chilled water to. A good forum and site if the absinthe and its history intrigues you is the Wormwood Society and Absinthe.se, absinthe.se is run by a Swedish absintheur, who has a nice history on his site and good reviews of absinthe from around the world.

Well in my recent excursions I ordered two bottles this time from Alandia.de, the Suisse La Bleue and the Vert de Fougerolles, I also ordered a Pontarlier reservoir absinthe glass and a brouiller which sits on top of the glass, the brouiller made of steel has three small holes in the centre and you fill this with ice, while the water trickles in to create a beautiful louche.





I also ordered a bottle of Scottish absinthe called Murmichan Absinthe from the Whisky Exchange in London, which was delivered the day after the other two, you may wonder where was I getting the money for this, well my birthday was last Monday so some of the money from that as well.

Suisse La Bleue 53% 70 CL.


Vert de Fougerolles 72% 70 CL.


Murmichan Scottish Absinthe 64% 50 CL.


Suisse La Bleue.
I was dying to taste my first Swiss absinthe and the Suisse La Bleue I thought was a first great choice. When I uncorked this bottle the aroma gave of a bit of a wine base as well as wormwood, fennel, hyssop, fruits and herbs meadow fresh if you like and strange kind of Alpine smells which I presume to be herbs growing in the Val de Travers mountains in Switzerland. A short sip neat gives a nice bite and flavour for its 53%. Using the Bruiller for the first time with ice gives this great visual of the louche in making, making appear more creamy looking than it is. The taste and mouthfeel is incredible, beautiful and healthy like a really good tonic. Strangely when absinthe sprung up in the late eighteenth century it was considered a pick me up tonic, its amazing how its reputation changed in the space of a hundred years to being banned for almost a century. Finish was a very long satisfying contentment. Second glass later was still great but not as mind blowing as I did have my first Vert de Fougerolles beforehand which was amazing. (10/10)

Louched glass of Suisse La Bleue.


Vert de Fougerolles.
The biggest shock from buying booze online was this mighty beast at 72% made it to my front door, after the disaster in 2016 trying to get a bottle of Mari Mayans at 70% from Spain and having it seized by customs, Alandia's system seems to work no problem here. Uncorking the Vert releases an abundance of aromas, the grape base, citrus like with lemon balm, cardamon, with a lovely wormwood umph, fennel, anise and hyssop in the mix. Putting it to the louche test was magnificent as can be witnessed on the top video in the post, turning to a milky white amber, one of the most amazing louche's I have ever seen. After been diluted with spring water the aroma takes over the room in a perfumed atmosphere. Mouthfeel is incredibly creamy and rich with wormwood, cardamon and citrus herbs coating the tongue and the really nice warming subtle heat of the alcohol power. Finish is a long lasting contentment, this one is as good as Breaux's Jades. General recommendation though is if you are going to have a few glasses of this, just make it two of them as this is very potent(10/10)

the Louched glass of Vert de Fougerolles.



Murmichan Scottish Absinthe (Vert).
Being brought up as a Scot but now living in Galway I was proud to try this, Scotland's and Lost Loch's first ever green absinthe which I ordered through the Whisky Exchange in London as this was the only place online I could buy this and have it delivered to the Republic. This was delivered to me this morning and I uncorked to try a few drops neat, delicious, smoked taste, mint, bramble leaves, an abundance of herbs, heathery breeze herbs like the flowing Irish reel and distilled with water from the springs around the Cairngorm mountains. Yes these few sips revealed a delicious drink using the old methods of absinthe distilling but with new ideas and herbs mixed with the wormwood, anise, fennel and hyssop. When adding water, I love this brouiller effect of the drip, drip which causes the water to cloud in layers, fantastic to watch until the glass is filled. Mouthfeel is incredibly rich and creamy, invigorating, still getting a nice taste of heather flowers and the smoked taste of a single malt, a lovely zing of citrus and wormwood coating the tongue. Finish is nice and lasting, a very decent first absinthe from Scotland and hopefully not the last. (10/10)

Murmichan absinthe in its louche.


The Brouiller.


The Brouiller.


The Pontarlier Reservoir Absinthe Glass.

I have attempted to blog my first review of absinthe, a departure from my usual music related stuff, but I have this absinthe hobby now so I might as well try reviewing, here's my first one for Murmichan Scottish absinthe, enjoy. https://theabsinthefiend.home.blog/2019/02/28/murmichan-scottish-absinthe/

Well having collected the annual bin bill from the rest of the householders at end of February I've built up some reasonable finance again so this time I've ordered from Sensatonics.de, another German shipping vendor from Berlin. I wanted to order four bottles this time and try the free shipping deal if you spend more than 160 Euro. So the bottles I ordered are another bottle of the Philippe Lasala, only this time its an introductory offer of the litre bottle with two absinthe glasses and two absinthe spoons, a litre bottle of the Francois Guy at 45%, a bottle of Absinthe Charlotte La Capricieuse which is the stronger version of the 53% La Clandestine La Bleue at 72% 70 CL from Switzerland and a bottle of Absinthe Angelique Verte Suisse at 68% 70 CL also by the same La Clandestine makers in Switzerland. So I should get these at the latest by Friday or Monday next week. Looking forward to it.

Absinthe Angelique Verte Suisse


Absinthe Charlotte La Capricieuse


Francois Guy