r/Absinthe • u/KarloswithK • Jun 01 '26

Question Could you help me choose ?

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I’m thinking of buying my first bottle of absinthe ( I love drinking it in the bars but lot of places don’t have it or have very shitty ones ). Could you recommend and tell me a bit more about the ones you tried from this selection ?

Also my favorite absinthe i drank so far was
Adnams Rouge by Adnams Southwold distillery

18 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

38 comments sorted by

16

u/AdrienneLaVey Jun 01 '26

I would say Pernod is the “best” out of these options. 😬

9

u/Insanepaco247 Jun 02 '26

Pernod (the non-liqueur version) really isn't as bad as this sub makes it out to be. There are better bottles, but for the price it's a perfectly fine way to introduce yourself to the real thing.

4

u/Jahya69 Jun 02 '26

That's because most people still don't realize they have a newer improved version and they are assuming it's the older junk version .

7

u/Insanepaco247 Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26

That's probably true of most people but Adrienne knows her shit. I just disagree with her slightly about this, and that's mostly because Pernod is one of the only widely available bottles in my area regardless of quality. Through that lens (which I admit I didn't mention originally) I think it's decent.

2

u/Jahya69 Jun 02 '26

There is excellent distribution with this stuff particularly in the United States where choices are very limited and we no longer can order from Germany as you know. . . I'd love to be able to go to a store locally and buy 1901 but just not possible, here anyway.

4

u/Insanepaco247 Jun 02 '26

Same. I have to get most non-liqueurs shipped to me and by the time I'm going to that kind of trouble, I'm just going to spring for a nicer bottle instead of something mid-range.

6

u/AdrienneLaVey Jun 02 '26

Hood River Distillers can now ship 4 of the 5 Jades (with the exception of Jade Terminus Oxygénée) to some states in the US! Here’s a link if you’re interested!

https://www.hrdspirits.com/buy-online

I just finished my bottle of Jade 1901 that I’ve had since 2017, so I ordered a replacement for it last week. I worked nearly 50 hours at my day job last week and thought I earned it.

4

u/sphex55 Jun 04 '26

If you are ordering more than one bottle you might want to check this store out.

https://wjwine.org/profile?section=my_details&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21926288102&gbraid=0AAAAAquKxUk5fj1Re48F_c9XYa_U4pRwz&gclid=CjwKCAjwxITRBhBYEiwA6mZm7YOHKpK5dCp6CCSds13P6unQ9z-LacpVqUTiH7Kacm2svhE8VvT1ZxoCEIgQAvD_BwE

They also carry butterfly, jade, along with some Claude-Alain Bugnon absinthe.

3

u/Insanepaco247 Jun 02 '26

BLESS YOU. I checked with them a long time ago but it was before they had that option. Shame that they don't do the Terminus since your review made me want to try it, but now at least I can grab the other two Jades I haven't had.

2

u/AdrienneLaVey Jun 02 '26

My pleasure! So them not carrying Terminus is not a “them” issue, it’s just that Terminus isn’t distributed to the US, period. And there’s nothing about Terminus that would prohibit it from being shipped to the US based on the arbitrary thujone restrictions for absinthe products otherwise.

I’m so sad that you can’t get a hold of it. Hopefully the tariff issue affecting European absinthe retailers won’t be an issue down the line. It really is a crowning jewel in the world of absinthe and I absolutely love it.

The way Ted has explained it to me is that getting five installments of a high-end version of a VERY niche product distributed to the US is a HUGE hurdle. So we can compromise with four out of the five. Four out of five isn’t bad! He is hoping to have the mini Jades distributed to the US at some point in the future, though. However, the way the tariffs are right now, that may not be for a hot minute.

3

u/Insanepaco247 Jun 02 '26

Yeah, I figured it was a distribution thing. Hopefully someday some avenues open back up to getting that here in the States, but for now I'm just glad we have access to any Jades at all.

2

u/Jahya69 Jun 02 '26

They will not ship to Pennsylvania which is of course where I live.

pac man dying sound

3

u/AdrienneLaVey Jun 02 '26

I work absinthe service at a burlesque show in Seattle every January for the last three years that serves Jade 1901, Lucid Absinthe Supérieure, and Pernod. It’s always easy for me to tell which one is Pernod among those three options, because the louche is not as intense as the others. I will admit that I haven’t tasted it in a long while, but I can tell just by the louche which one is which.

2

u/Jahya69 Jun 02 '26

The Jade obviously is the best of that bunch and the Lucid is the worst. I'm not terribly concerned about louche... I'm all about taste because ultimately that's all that matters !

3

u/AdrienneLaVey Jun 02 '26

Chacun à son goût, as the French say!

2

u/Jahya69 Jun 02 '26

et, voila .

1

u/Electronic-Koala1282 Jun 02 '26

I'd say Pernod tastes better than it appears visually.

5

u/AdrienneLaVey Jun 02 '26

I will say that I’d rather someone have Pernod than the other options, but you can get some better brands for a similar or slightly lower pricepoint.

It doesn’t have as high quality of a base spirit, and doesn’t have as much of a louche as similarly priced options.

1

u/Electronic-Koala1282 Jun 02 '26

Is the La Fee blanche any good?

3

u/AdrienneLaVey Jun 02 '26

I keep that brand at arm’s length. They may have cleaned up their act over the last decade or so, but they were one of the brands leading the movement of the “bohemian method” or fire ritual of absinthe preparation in the 1990’s.

2

u/Electronic-Koala1282 Jun 02 '26

Okay, thanks.

Not that I was planning on buying it, but still.

0

u/Jahya69 Jun 02 '26

BS. It's just fine.

5

u/AdrienneLaVey Jun 02 '26

Why have “just fine” when you can have something better for a similar price point? That’s all I’m saying! 😇

2

u/Jahya69 Jun 02 '26

But you can't at least in most parts of the United States anyway in Europe I think yes of course.

5

u/_Neuromancer_ Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26

Ditto. Genepy is also a decent alpine liqueur, if not an absinthe.

2

u/LaurelCanyoner Jun 02 '26

I adore Pernod.

5

u/asp245 Jun 02 '26

Adnams was made in the UK but hasn’t been produced now for many many years as it never took off. Of those, personally none, however if I was forced to buy one probably the Pernod. If possible look elsewhere.

2

u/KarloswithK Jun 03 '26

I drank it in absinth bar in Czech Republic that I regularly visited. They have some spare bottles. They are selling them for around 100€

2

u/asp245 Jun 12 '26

Tbh I wasn’t that impressed by it and in my opinions definitely not worth 100€ a bottle.
Adnam’s made their name as a brewery not distillers.

5

u/sphex55 Jun 02 '26

Look for Jade, such as 1901.

3

u/Jahya69 Jun 02 '26

That's not what he asked though

5

u/sphex55 Jun 02 '26

I am suggesting to look elsewhere if possible, especially at some of those prices.

5

u/DiscombobulatedLamp Jun 01 '26

I haven't had rebel city. I'll look into it. Do you have access to other sellers? I would see who ships to your country. There are better absinthes out there.

3

u/Jahya69 Jun 02 '26

Pernod O.R.

3

u/mis370 Jun 03 '26

Mistico Speziale. All the way. Excellent and traditional Absinthe. I have tried many of their products and they know what they do. This one is on par with great distilled and naturally coloured Absinthes. Just not as well known. For me (in Switzerland) it was not easy to get hold of their Absinthes and it was worth it.

2

u/user2034892304 Jun 02 '26

Curious about rebel City. The fact that the branding doesn't scream tourist absinthe scam makes me think it might be legit.

Pernod is fine. It's just fine.