"Hapsburg" Absinthe Premium Reserve at 89.9% abv, part of the idiotic absinthe line at Wine and Spirits International, Inc., (weak) branding by Pemberton & Whitefoord.
It seems like fluorescent blue-green absinthe (on fire!) is here to stay, gauging by Flickr's absinthe photos.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
More lousy absinthe
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I don't think many see this as a "lousy" absinthe, just not a "serious" or "true" absinthe. It's a cheap, artficial, 90% spirit, but great fun can be had from this! It's strictly a party drink, so as long as you can accept this fact, is its presance really so horrid? It's an easy way to introduce people to absinthe, especially as much of the world does not like the taste of anise!
ReplyDeletePeople may think of these "gimmick" or "high thujone" absinthes as something hurting the absinthe market, but when you consider how these create so many new absintheurs, it really helps not only to expand the market, but to keep the prices very competitive.
When I first began drinking absinthe I ordered only high thujone spirits. Why? Well, why wouldn't I?! Being an absinthe novice i wanted something relatively inexpensive, with high thujone, and that had a cool-looking bottle. Gimmicky absinthe has all of these qualities! That is, every quality that a absinthe newb is looking for, so really we should be thanking these distilleries.
I mean really, let's be honest here for a second; 80%-90% of drinkers don't give a damn about the taste, period. As long as it is tolerable and it gets you drunk, that's all there is to it. Think about it! What if the market was PURELY high-end Jades and La Bleus? Do you realy think someone that has never tried absinthe in their life will suddenly be willing to pay 4x-8x what they usually pay (and that's not including shipping!) for a licorice flavoured (like I said, a huge portion of the world hates licorice!) drink with low-thujone? Of course not! Having no low-end alternative in ANY market severely limits consumer expansion! I was the same way before I tried absinthe. But for the first time in my life, over 10 years as a drinker have I actually drank alcohol for ther taste. Don't get me wrong...I still have high thujone spirits as well, as I love the effect, but there are times now when I actually want a glass because I know the TASTE of the absinthe may compliment a certain food, etc. My point here is that before I or anyone else can become interested in top-shelf absinthes, they first must find something interesting in ABSINTHE in general! Only then, after years of trying differnt spirits can they truely apprecite the diversity in absinthe. And cheap high thujone spirits-like it or not-are without a doubt the gateway drink for future absintheurs around the world...
...uh, unless you're a little rich boy to begin with and money is no object, but for everyone else...
So please consider these points before shooing gimmick/high-thujone absinthes out of the market!
I've never tasted any "high thujone" or "gimmick" absinthe that wasn't perfectly awful in every way. I disagree that 80-90% of drinkers don't give a damn about the taste-- if that were the case, everybody would be drinking Everclear and Kool Aid.
ReplyDeleteThese drinks appeal to binge drinkers and kids, which is fine, but I'm neither (er, at least I'm not a kid anymore... I think...;).