Comments on: Review: Distillerie Vinet-Ege Le Tourment Vert Absinthe

By: Christopher Null

Christopher Null — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 15:09:41 +0000

In unrelated news, it appears that Le Tourment Vert is no longer on the market.

By: Zach

Zach — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 08:08:54 +0000

this blog was definitely the most entertaining comment string I’ve read in a long time. 4th one that I’ve read on the subject… and though I’ve only tried absinthe twice, I feel like I could set a few people straight already.

Here are the highlights:

1. Absinthe has been made and marketed lots of different ways throughout history.

2. Le Tourment Vert is not consistent with some of those ways, and consistent with others.

& 3. Marketing companies go to great lengths to service their clients.

Now for my review. I’m a TX local bar manager, I’ve worked in the service industry for almost 8 years, have earned recognition both locally and nationally for cocktail recipes/crafting, and am a level 1 Sommelier.

Overall it’s a great product, well marketed, well crafted for it’s purpose and audience, well presented and well priced.

I definitely recognized what I would Identify as a louge” when preparing the drink in a traditional manner.

I certainly recognized the distinct characteristics of anise, wormwood, and fennel, as well as many other notes some might call favorable and others not so much.

I’m all about approachable… Particularly with things like Absinthe. “purrists” cry fowl, calling LTV a perverse imitation. It is not, it is not the same thing, it is a modern and different conception of something else, that is all.

It’s like making a movie out of a book, and then remaking the movie. The book was first a story, and the story first a thought, everything changes in stages of time.

What makes these new manifestations, “AWESOME” is their ability to reach new audiences. To create an experience for someone that may not have chosen or had the option to experience it otherwise. That is beauty..

You may look down on those that praise the film.. or the remake of the film, because you feel like you were a part of something closer to the truth, to it’s inception. That somehow your experience is more valid because of it. I cannot say that you are wrong, only that as human beings, we must learn to accept each others experiences as valid. While the debate itself offers insight, the kind of abhorrent dissension that is often displayed by one party or another serves no purpose at all.

Furthermore it weakens your point..

Seek clarity, repugnance is a sign of strong passion, you clearly have something worth saying… but do so in such a way that your words make it beyond the ears of those in the quire with you and into the community.

By: Le Swishment

Le Swishment — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 12:01:09 +0000

Alot of duplicate/spammed “high praise” posts for Le Tourment can be found all over the net for our pre-ponderance. It’s like Swisher Sweet having their people respond to forum posts about “good cigars” and saying what an amazing cigar the Swisher Sweet is.

Le Tourment is like the Swisher Sweet of absinthes. That’s not bad or good or anything it’s just going to have a certain target market. If you go on a cigar forum and talk up the Swisher Sweet, the guys smoking real cigars(ingredients: pure filler, binder, wrapper tobaccos) will call a b.s. on you because they feel that a real cigar does not contain sugar or chemicals or notebook paper. Le Tourment is an absinthe flavored drink with artificial colors. With todays color matching and food dyes the color could have been an identical color match to the finest French or Swiss absinthe made. Who cares? The issue comes back to what am I drinking that makes it look like this and taste like this? Is it artificial? I had some rum the other day. They took a bunch of rum flavored hard candy and dissolved it in a little everclear and alot of water. So sweet, no burn, just a little alcohol content and the bottle said “Rum” on the front of it.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 08:22:02 +0000

OK I have read through the commetns again and again, and now ponder this. Read, (Eliipez Sou verme Francais) and learn what you are all commenting about. There is no correct color, Wormwood leave a sickly yellow stain so has always been the practice to CHANGE the color, Blue, Green, Yellow, doesnt matter its all esthetics.. I have patiently read the oservations of the ” Nouvo Absinth specialists , SO
Drinkwjhat you like and if you dont like it leave it, but dont pretend you know what your talking about. Le Torment is as good as any of them and its down to personal preference. So Bon Vivant’e , cheers, and as Edgar Allen Poe said, It is not how you drink it it is how you enterpret it.

By: Lisa Kennedy

Lisa Kennedy — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 14:21:03 +0000

I adore this liqour it tastes fantastically of licorice, if you hate blace licorice don’t buy it. I you like Yaeger you’ll like this and the prep is cool. I don’t care what othe people think it is the only brand that I care to buy.

By: Jack-O

Jack-O — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 04:35:50 +0000

Ugh, you can just SEE the absinthe snobs holding their backs of their hands to their foreheads positively DECRYING the DEATH of REAL and TRUE absinthe. Fitting, I suppose, since it used to be drunk like wine that it would attract snobs like wine. I’m enjoying a glass as we speak. It’s fun, it’s good for a little buzz, though the buzz is definitely different than with Kubler et al saying this isn’t “real” absinthe is like saying only tiny distilleries produce “real” liquor. It’s the modern age, folks. Deal.

By: Autocephaly

Autocephaly — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 12:07:07 +0000

“has not been proven to be present in preban absinthe in quantities”

Says who?

Also, Anya, do you have issues? I detected the use of subliminal language in your post: “I was given a wee bottle” & “down the toilet” & “old lady perfume” Perhaps you did not realise that you do this?

Be healthy,

AC.

By: Anya

Anya — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:07:30 +0000

Please, please don’t drink this horrible absinthe. It looks and smells like a blend of Green Flavor Nyquil and old lady perfume. I was given a wee bottle to try (they do have a pretty bottle) and was mildly outraged to find the green and frosted glass was concealing the nastiest sort of artificial coloring. I don’t normally pitch booze without trying it but one whiff of perfume alcohol and the nauseatingly familiar scent of Nyquil and down the toilet it went…

Speaking from a neurosci background the much demonized thujone – while not reccomended for your health – has not been proven to be present in preban absinthe in quantities that would make you crazy (the most likely culprit is, again, the Victorian era food colorants… and the fact that absinthe usually has a pretty high alcohol content)

I would reccomend Vieux Carre. – it may be more olive than paris green…but it actually tastes good and is a pleasure to drink and watch.

By: Jadedmastermind

Jadedmastermind — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 22:45:54 +0000

As a point of reference, Le Tourment Vert is like Budweiser. It’s smooth and drinkable, but it is a far cry from Lucid, which is like a Sam Adams Boston Lager. Pre-ban Pernod Fils is the equivalent of a Westvleteren.

By: Jadedmastermind

Jadedmastermind — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 22:31:19 +0000

I have had the privilege of tasting the genuine article pre-ban Pernod Fils Absinthe. Pernod Fils was the original absinthe in the belle epoque era of Paris and was the standard by which all other absinthes were judged, prior to the banning of absinthe in the US and much of Western Europe. The absinthe I sampled was from circa 1910. The flavor profile and bouquet was absolutely astounding, astonishing beyond description. There was the bitterness of the wormwood and the licorice of the anise, but there was also an herbal sweetness and a balance to it that was indescribable and incredibly beautiful. I will never forget it. Lucid comes closest to recreating the flavor of Pernod Fils, but I do not exaggerate when I assert that Lucid is a mere shadow of the masterpiece. Pernod Fils today has an “absinthe” product that is a far cry from the original. Lucid is colored with the chlorophyll of fresh herbs, as was the original Pernod Fils, whereas the modern Pernod Fils is artificially colored. Stay away from the modern Pernod Fils. I’ve tasted it, and found it wanting.
Now, onto Le Tourment Vert. This absinthe is also artificially colored. This is a strike against the drink. The flavor is muted compared to Lucid and to pre-ban Pernod Fils, but it does not lack subtlety. This is a plus. In short, this is the mellowest absinthe I’ve tasted. The distillers state that their goal was to create an absinthe that would mix well in cocktails; a challenge considering the dominating nature of the anise flavor. They have succeeded to this end. I must say the eucalyptus is a unique touch. Bottom line: This is a must-have for the purpose of mixed drinks such as the “starry night” or “death in the afternoon,” but for the original drink with a sugar cube and ice cold water, stick to a more authentic product such as Lucid. However, if you have persistence and a fat wad of cash handy, try and get some pre-ban absinthe if you can. There is no substitute for the genuine article.