Reviewed by Artemis 4/1/2005

COLOR BEFORE WATER: 6/10
Very pale yellowish-green. Clarity is good.

LOUCHE ACTION 9/10
Very oily, very thick.

COLOR AFTER WATER 9/10
Greener than the raw color promised. Thick and opaque.

AROMA 16/30
Nice oil, buttery scent before louche. After louche, surprisingly almost no scent, but the louche was done outdoors, which didn't help it. My experience is the reverse of Hartsmar's. This absinthe should be given the benefit of the doubt that one of us got it wrong. Louched with three parts of water - could be that a different ratio is needed.

MOUTH-FEEL 7/10
Velvety, but with some bite.

TASTE 10/20
Not bad, not exactly good either. Burns down the throat.

OVERALL IMPRESSION 5/10

Artemis scores Lemercier Abisinthe 72 Amer 62 out of 100.

Reviewed by Hartsmar 3/3/2005

COLOR BEFORE WATER: 6/10
Very pale yellowish green. Natural but as said, a little too pale.

LOUCHE ACTION 7/10
Nothing very unusual, but I noticed that the slow drip produced wonderful oily trails in the absinthe. That pulled out a very fine louching effect.

COLOR AFTER WATER 7/10
Color improves and is a bit more green now. Still natural looking, and actually quite appealing.

AROMA 21/30
Before adding water, there's really nothing to it. Nothing bad but nothing out of the ordinary either. Wormwood and fennel can be detected, but they don't blend into anything special. After adding water, the AROMA improves quite a bit. It's more pronounced and presents a bit more complex herbal mixture. It doesn't reach the very top, though.

MOUTH-FEEL 5/10
At first it seems all right, then it turns very harsh on the tongue.

TASTE 15/20
It's a very nice drink, the wormwood is very much there, but it does get a bit too "spicy". The Amer 72 would benefit from a smoother more harmonious blend of the herbs. Still, it's nice.

OVERALL IMPRESSION 7/10
As said, a nice enough drink. Would benefit from some work.

Note: This one really benefits from adding sugar to it. That presents a whole different drink. The mouth-feel and taste improves a lot. However, that shouldn't be needed if this was really a top quality absinthe. I enjoy it, but it must be with sugar.

Harsmar scores Lemercier Abisinthe 72 Amer 68 out of 100.

Reviewed by peridot 11/5/2006

COLOR BEFORE WATER 6/10
Clear, light yellow and totally free of sediment. It looks natural.

LOUCHE ACTION 8/10
The louche is attractive but seems to occur a little too fast. There are beautiful oil contrails and clouds build from the bottom, becoming completely opaque by 1:1.

COLOR AFTER WATER 9/10
White with a hint of yellow. Red light refracts nicely all through the louched drink, which is otherwise opaque.

AROMA 13/30
Before adding water there's a lot of heat. There's a soft scent of green anise and a hint of wormwood. It's very simple. After water the heat subsides and the anise becomes rather obnoxious. The wormwood scent blossoms but cannot compete with the anise. There's a slightly candyish character.

MOUTH-FEEL 5/10
For the first couple of seconds it's extremely creamy and nice. Then it shifts to slightly harsh and very numbing. I don't mean tongue-numbing, but mouth-numbing like Anbesol. Adding sugar dramatically improves the mouth-feel and helps keep it creamy.

TASTE 12/20
The simple flavour is predominantly wormwood but not overbearing. The anise shows itself now less than in the aroma. The flavour is a little more bitter than I think it should be and adding sugar diminishes this aspect. The finish reveals nothing new.

OVERALL IMPRESSION 6/10
This absinthe is simple and tasty but has many flaws. Wormwood and anise dominate and compete against each other to be the strongest herb in almost every category. This results in a very loud drink with no subtlety at all. Both could be dialed back to reduce numbingness and bitterness. Perhaps other herbs would then be more noticeable... if there actually is anything else in there. I honestly can't tell.

PERSONAL NOTES
This is the first absinthe I ever really enjoyed and I still have a soft spot for it even after having much better brands. However, when experiencing it objectively its many flaws become apparent. This was the first time I'd ever had it without sugar and it was a rude awakening. This is the one absinthe that I like to be very sugary, but a quality absinthe should not require such treatment. Even though I enjoy it I don't think I'll order it again unless some serious improvements are made.

peridot scores Lemercier Abisinthe Amer 72 59 out of 100