Review: Lucid Absinthe
People of the Internet, you have been heard!
I had intended this to be a weekend full of absinthe reviews, based on crushing, popular demand for more absinthe coverage, but the overwhelming heat in San Francisco (both yesterday and today were all-time-high record breakers here) kept me off of spirits and into lighter stuff. Finally, the temperature is breaking, and at long last I’m breaking out the first of three major absinthe reviews you’ll be seeing over the next few days.
First up is Lucid, which was the first major absinthe to hit U.S. store shelves after the FDA rules on wormwood in liquor began to loosen up last year.
With its striking cats-eye bottle design, you can’t miss Lucid on the shelf. Pour a glass and you can’t miss the smell, either. The intoxicating aroma of anise and spice fills the room, overpowering anything else.
Based on how it smelled, I had high hopes for the taste, too. I poured a traditionally-prepared glass (with sugar and water — at a whopping 124 proof, drinking Lucid straight is absolute insanity) and immediately was in for a surprise. The taste comprises much less anise than the aroma would indicate. Rather, herbs pick up where the anise leaves off. It’s difficult to pick out exactly what other herbs are used in the creation of Lucid, but they add some complexity here in a category that is otherwise often dominated by overpowering licorice flavor. Still, I recommend going easy on the water when drinking Lucid, despite the alcohol content (which is the highest of all mainstream U.S. absinthes); otherwise you’ll miss out on some of its more intriguing character.
Lucid surprised me by being a moderately pale yellow in the glass, but fans of the clouding “louche” effect will appreciate how milky it gets when mixed with water and sugar.
Lucid has a reputation, due to its muted anise flavor, for being a “beginner” absinthe, and I can understand that sentiment. It’s enjoyable and even refreshing, and you don’t have to feel like you’re sucking down liquid licorice while you’re drinking it. Still, I don’t advise knocking back three or four of these in a night just so you can feel like Toulouse-Lautrec… You’ll end up under the table.
B- / $67 / drinklucid.com
June 23rd, 2008 at 6:33 pm
[...] off, it’s greener than Lucid and far more powerful in flavor. While the nose is equally anise and room-filling, on the tongue it [...]
July 1st, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Honestly, I couldn’t do it. I had a taste over ice and gave my friends the stink eye (for those of you who’ve seen Juno, you know the face). I tried making my summer absinthe spritzer with it, but to no avail. I’m sorry folks, but there is no way you’ll catch me sipping on Lucid, lounging around my apartment waiting for the green fairy to come visit, no way, no how! I’d like to think I’ve developed a taste for absinthe, but this one just doesn’t cut it. So far I haven’t found a absinthe on the market that makes a better cocktail than Le Tourment Vert. I guess I’ll continue enjoying my Tourment Spritzers until I find one that wows my taste buds even more.
July 26th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
This is a “gateway” absinthe — once you’ve tried a good French or Swiss one, this stuff is pointless. The problem is that none of the quality absinthes are available for US retail.
September 12th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
I’m sorry. I like most absinthe I’ve tried but, Lucid (excuse my French) is fucking nasty. Nothing and I’ll repeat NOTHING should ever be made out of beets. And if you read the bottle it is distilled from beets. The bottle might look cool and even though I might have an iron stomach, it made my friend gag and puke after two drinks.
November 8th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
it Has no wormwood so whats the point?
November 8th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Newyork Newyork: Yes it does. All the absinthes I have reviewed here have wormwood.
November 12th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
i think i scored on a great distilled wormwood concentrate off ebay : apparently, ( duh ) i thought you could just steep the wormwood herb in alcohol & wait days, etc, months…for a level of thujone to pick up, but it’s pointless.
The distillation retains higher levels of thujone, and from what i’ve heard - and thank god i didn’t buy it ( the pretty bottle & it’s accessories probably make up ) on why it appears to be a lax drink.
Apparently, prepared U.S versions are made with “southern wormwood” - and it’s levels are like below 35ppl. I think i’m going to have to settle pouring GREAT quality stuff from a naked bottle.
November 12th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
i was speaking of lucid oops / but yea….distilled from Beets ?? R u serious ? that’s just WRONG.