|
Absinthe Butterfly - 70 cl
- Alcohol Content : 65%
- Production Method : Distillation
- Country of Origin : Switzerland
- Distillery : Artémisia-Bugnon
Butterfly Absinthe is inspired by an American absinthe from the early 1900s, produced in Boston just before the US ban on absinthe in 1912.Thanks to a partnership between a passionate American absintheur and the skilful Swiss distiller Claude-Alain Bugnon, the Butterfly brand has been brought back to life.
Butterfly Absinthe has a complex aroma, with notes of citrus (especially lemon and mandarin), spices, and mint. Alongside this rather exotic profile is the powerful and unmistakeable scent of the renowned wormwood from the Val-de-Travers, the birthplace of absinthe. This delicious American-Swiss absinthe is easy to love.
What we can say for certain is the recipe has lent a specific aromatic profile, and the making of Butterfly absinthe has benefited from Mr Bugnon’s expertise, unless there has been some incredible luck, it won't be the same as its ancestor. The distiller says it himself: “using the same recipe, if you change the alembic, you won’t get the same taste again”.
None of this detracts from the great quality of the Butterfly absinthe reproduction. 100% delicious.
Butterfly absinthe was produced in Boston in the early 1900s by P. Dempsey & Company. It’s one of the only US absinthes to be rediscovered in recent times, thanks to an intact, but unfortunately empty, bottle (in the collection of David-Nathan Maister - www.oxygenee.com)Brian Fernald, a passionate and known absintheur from Boston, discovered a veritable goldmine of documents, including the original annotated recipes.
Following these finds, he sought a distillery so that the Butterfly absinthe could be reborn. Claude-Alain Bugnon's famous Artemisiadistillery was selected to produce the absinthe, a test distillation giving definite proof that this was the right distillery for the task.
- For one measure of Butterfly absinthe, add 2 to 5 volumes of ice-cold water.
- Capacity :
- Alcohol Content :
- Production Method :
- Anise taste :
- Color :
- Country of Origin :
- City / Region :
- Distillery :
- Stopper :
- Coloration :
- 70 cl
- 65%
- Distillation
- Yes
- Dead leaf
- Switzerland
- Couvet / Val-de-Travers
- Artémisia-Bugnon
- Cork
- Natural
1 - Absinthe Eichelberger 60 Verte B ...$45.50 $90.50/Liter |
2 - Absinthe Dripper Metal$16.00 |
3 - Absinthe NS 55 - 100cl$44.00 $44.00/Liter |
4 - Absinthe Green Demon Original - ...$39.50 $78.50/Liter |
I've provided my background and experience at the end of this review, so you might weigh my comments to others on the site.
REVIEW:
Hands down this is in my top 3 Absinthes (the other two being Absinthe Abisinthe Amer and Jade's PF1901). Untouchable in uniqueness, visual & olfactory presentation, and mouth-feel & palette performance, with a bonus for the historical marketing making this a great story-telling bottle for a dinner party. Without question, by the end of the review you'll see this bottle is a must buy: For Beginners, For Experts, For your Collection, For Special Occasions, and as a Daily Drinker. Bold Words? Well, consider these observations:
Eyes: Beautiful Louche with a hint of a yellow glow in the right light. I don't mean to imply luminescence mind you, but an almost neon yellow highlighter seems to layer over the green as the bottle louches with a beautiful if not too-fast clouding.
Nose: Citric and Sweet with herbaceous late-bloom Fennel greens unquestionably dominating the expected anise. Flowery notes add to the complexity with a distinct honeysuckle note in the 'high range' of the bouquet.
Mouthfeel: Flawless performance. Heavy for the first sip which might seem burdensome in summer, but you can always serve it on ice or with more water (which I would argue is a shame). No-heat from the alcohol yet it does manage to add a lightness to the coating sensation the more you drink. The coat lingers but with such a fantastic palette, its a welcome and invited lingering you are in no rush to have end.
Palette: A bit more anise heavy than is to be expected from the nose, but the taste is this unique fluctuating anise, as if you were having several unknown varietals of anise performing interchangeably in your mouth. The citric notes then come up and the herbal flavors you expect from the nose give way to the honey suckle. You can easily do this Absinthe Sugar-free, though sweetening it may allow the palette to perform better. Among 90 tasters I've shared this with, the group was evenly split on 'to sugar or not to sugar', but this being among the best bottles we served was a unanimous agreement.
MY BACKGROUND:
2006 - Tasted my 1st Absinthe (All European)
2007 - Tasted 6 Absinthes new to me (All European)
2008 - Tasted 6 Absinthes new to me (All European)
2009 - Tasted 2 Absinthes new to me (US Only)
2010 - Tasted 5 Absinthes new to me (4 Euro, 1US)
2011 - Tasted 12 Absinthes new to me (All European)
I'm also a level-1 graduate from the Mastercourt of Sommeliers, worked in the wine industry from 2001-2008, and run an independent cellar-stocking business, where my palette is trusted by high-end clients to purchase wines matching their tastes and expectations of quality. Additionally, since 2010 I've hosted a semi-annual Absinthe Dinner for party sizes of 35-70 guests. Each course is paired with a dish developed uniquely to match the absinthe ordered for the event. Each event usually fills up more quickly with reservations than the previous one, due to the patrons enjoying the pairings and bottle choices to such a significant degree.
Fantastic, delicious, green color with yellow tint , nose is citrusy right out of the bottle and when louched the smell expands into a plethera of herbs mixed with lemon and or orange rhinde.Super creamy mouth feel, zero alcohol heat just awesome flavours dancing in the mouth.Great length and wormwood of distinct quality.A must try for anyone who drinks absinthe.Thumbs up to distillers who produce liquid candy!
I just had a glass of Butterfly Absinthe...
An interesting mix of flavors, mainly wormwood, fennel, citrus and a perfect amount of anise avoiding to blur the combination. An exceptionally good louche, not so dark not so light but milky. A savory bitter ending with no traces of alcohol... I was expecting something else, but I was simply amazed, thanks Absinthes.com!
