Absinthe Afternoon

[akumushi]

Absinthe is a wormwood drink and should primarily taste like wormwood, which being an odd flavor that most people aren't familiar with, goes unnoticed to the untrained palate (it's the tongue-numbing bitter-spicy part). It's the fennel and green anise that give the absinthe the "licorice" flavor that most people notice, although they should be in balance with the wormwood and not cloying or distracting in a properly balanced absinthe. Lucid is alright, but I wouldn't write off absinthe until you've tried something like Ridge Verte, Pacifique or Walton Waters. They are an expensive experiment at ~$75 a bottle, so it's best to make friends with somebody that's into the hobby or find a local bar that has a decent absinthe menu. It's a whole other slope like cigars; you'd go broke pretty quick if you had to experiment with what kind of cigar you liked by randomly buying boxes, but once you find a brand that suits your palate a bottle actually lasts quite a while and price per drink, is hardly more expensive than wine.