What? Another anise-free pseudo-absinthe? What's wrong with me? Why can't I just drink the real thing? Well, there's a couple reasons, all of them poor but valid in my eyes. For starters, since the bottle of La Fee is open, I figure I should finish it before starting another. Second, absinthe is more fun in the company of friends, and I have a hard time convincing people they want to make the trek out to Sheepshead Bay, and then make the trek back to Manhattan or Queens or wherever it is they may live, under the influence of absinthe. Drinking absinthe alone is just not as enjoyable. If I'm drinking alone, it's a slug o' bourbon or a glass of wine. Thirdly, the true absinthes didn't come that cheap, so I like to trot them out on special occasions, of which there have been few lately. But it's going to make a perfect Christmas spirit!

The pseudo-absinthes don't come with the pressure, and they're easier to mix with other drinks (why just today I was talking to a co-worker about the nightmare that would come from mixing anise-tasting absinthe with anise-tasting Nyquil -- such a bad, bad idea, and yet…). And since they are non-traditional, I feel less of a requirement to be traditional wit them. So I tend to sample them a quicker clip than the real absinthe (I'm breaking out the Nouvelle Orleans for Christmas, which is highbrow absinthe indeed, and damn near bankrupted me thanks to the exchange rate). Which has brought me this week to Absinth Blue Velvet (29.60 Euros).

As you would expect from the label, this particular German spirit is soft blue and artificial (though quite pretty) in color. It smells vaguely of anise but is an anise-free concoction with a relatively low (for absinthes) 55% alcohol content by volume. That's pretty damn high compared to most other spirits, but keep in mind that the standard for absinthe is 68%. Despite being anise-free and artificial in color, it still has a pleasant aroma that avoids the chemical stench and oily consistency of all that Czech swill. Truth be told, I don't even bother with the absinthe ritual when I'm drinking these pseudo-absinthes, so I can't comment on its louche or behavior.

Sampled neat, Blue Velvet is more bitter than any of the absinthes or pseudo-absinthes I've had to date. Most of the anise-free variants have a sweeter taste. Blue Velvet's bitterness comes supposedly from the increased thujon levels, thujone being the chemical that gives absinthe its reputation as a hallucinogenic that gets you crazy-headed without turning you into a slurring drunk. Although thujon levels cannot be measured accurately, Blue Velvet claims to hover somewhere around 35mg/l -- higher than some modern absinthes, but keep in mind that experts estimate Victorian-era absinthes were well into the hundreds of milligrams per liter, so if you think 35 is going to transport you into a magical realm, well you might be right, but it's not going to be the same as what Oscar Wilde was drinking. Whatever the case, I found the effects of this spirit to be pleasant but mild -- you can assure hesitant friends that it's not going to turn them into crazy jack the Ripper maniacs.

Aside from the bitterness, there's an herbal taste that tends toward mint and cinnamon but avoids tasting like mouthwash. Not bad at all, but still not the real thing, a little too bitter to drink neat again. Mixed with Coke with Lime, it made for a pleasant lowbrow mixed drink (I'm snobby, so even fine imported liquors become lowbrow when mixed with Coke). I'm afraid I didn't get any further into the bottle than that. It was a weekday, after all. As far as these sorts of spirits go, I think Blue Velvet is quite good. It didn't have nearly the impact that stronger absinthes have, so I don't think that alleged higher thujon content is doing as much as people hope. At the end of the day, when it comes to anise-free absinthes, I prefer Gruene Fee over Blue Velvet, but I still like Blue Velvet a lot and would buy myself another bottle or two. The bitterness would make it a great spirit to mix for a dinner drink. What food would go well with it? Like many of the anise-free absinthes coming from Germany and France, it's perfectly enjoyable and would go over well at a party -- and timid drinkers seem more willing to sample anise-free absinthe for some reason, though they're probably more willing to go with the sweeter Gruene Fee than they would be the more bitter, earthy Blue Velvet. I bet scotch drinkers would appreciate this one, though.

Labels: Drink