Absinthe Rouge Organic - Awen Nature - FR-BIO-01 - 70cl

I give this one 4 stars. I like it. Red is pretty.

This was a very pleasant surprise ... I Love Absinthes and am always interested in off the path varieties which mostly are not impressive as they tend to be little more than synthetic dyes and flavored Vodka ... But this one caught our eye as it was organic and naturally red in appearance, polar opposite of green on the color wheel so we gave it a go as you can't get much more off the path than that ... It smells nothing like Absinthe, and we always prefer to do straight shots with some sort of soda chaser as Absinthes are much higher in alcohol so the effervescence of any soda always helps to clear the burn and makes the notes very rich in Smell and adds a little extra Breath ... Ginger being our favorite as the ginger adds to the warm pallet with Anise and licorice ... upon the first shot we were both very put off by the mint overtone, but only for a second as the mint isn't a peppermint or sharp cold mint, which could add to the burn, but a very sweet spearmint, surprisingly it added to the natural sweetness of such a hard shot, and of all the Absinthes I've ever drank, the aroma of this one lingered much longer than any other becoming more and more distinct with each breath, and the warmth felt in the chest was stronger and noticeable like ocean waves ... I can't say for certain why it was so much more distinct, but I'm guessing there is cinnamon or something earthier hidden behind the Spearmint. I use to serve Hot Apple Cider with a splash of absinth for customers during a winter festival for years ... This made me think immediately of that drink I enjoyed serving my patrons, though we never use any mints in it, it was always in winter so this is where the spearmint complements all the warmth of such a strong bodied drink like Absinthe. Defiantly an adventurous drink and worth trying!

I'm very happy to see this very interesting absinthe available here. In the past I got some samples, also Verte and Safran, and I was looking forward to get some more.

Appearance: A beautiful orange red, very clear, less deep than it looks in the website pictures.

Louche: In the beginning it's beautiful to watch because of the many swirling colours, green, yellow, orange. After adding water it gets, quite unexpectedly, mostly green. Oily layer on top, translucent, not thick. I would not dilute it past 1:3. This is also the website recommendation.

Aroma: Not very strong, some dryness, a little alcohol. Little anise, some wormwood. A wood in summer, peopled with different wild plants. It's interesting that aroma changes a lot as minutes go by. Not the average absinthe at all.

Taste: Some wormwood bitterness, freshly cut grass and flowers, very little anise. It is quite creamy, thick, in the mouth. Complex, but very very mild. No strong taste in front. Not even flowers. My main objection here is that it is very mild.

Lingering: some bitter wormwood, grass.

Overall: I tested Awen Rouge over two months, during which I had a whole bottle of Neuzeller Malvales and half of Adnams Rouge. Getting back to Awen, I expected to like Adnams much better, remembering I had previously found Awen far too mild. I would now rather describe Awen as delicate and balanced, complex in its own way, putting no stress on flowery aromas. I'm getting some more bottles in the future, as it deserves a deeper acquaintance.