A look at Le Tourment Vert
Posted in Absinthe, Spirits on August 9th, 2009 by halw – 1 Comment
A bottle of Le Tourment Vert
Now we come to an absinthe that stands alone, though it’s not for good reasons. Le Tourment Vert is being marketed mainly as a mixer; as much they are pushing it in cocktails think more like the absinthe of choice of TGI Fridays. Yes, Le Tourment Vert has partnered into an agreement with TGI Fridays, famous for mudslides and two for one Wednesday night specials, to become their “absinthe of choice”.
Before publishing the tasting notes below, I took another taste of Le Tourment Vert. As I opened the bottle and poured one oz into a glass, the smell instantly caused me to think of mouthwash and nothing else.
This scent of mouthwash traveled along into my mouth as I was hit with flavors reminiscent of a minty mouthwash, each taste contained heavy hints of mint, lemon and a small amount of anise.
Moving on to the color of Le Tourment Vert out of the bottle it’s a bizarre bluish green color. Absinthe when created with the right herbs should be not appear the color that Le Tourment Verte does.
Upon examining the side of the bottle it revealed a list of ingredients that reads like a bottle of generic soda, with the inclusion of FD&C yellow #5, Blue #1, and red #40. A true specimen of abinsthe should not need to use anything for coloring other than that of natural herbs such as lemon balm, roman wormwood, and hyssop.
Due to the mostly artificially makeup of Le Tourment Verte, it barely louched when water was added.
Le Tourment Verte with water added. Very little louching taking place.
The one compliment I can pay to Le Tourmente Verte is the design of the bottle inspires hope of the spirit, and the enjoyment it could hold. After tasting it, I’m sad to say the bottle is not fitting of the spirit contained within.
If Le Tourment Vert accomplishes one thing its current form, it’s that of familiarizing the masses with the spirit known of Absinthe.
Let’s just hope the person whose introduction to Absinthe via Le Tourmente Vert decides to purchase a legitimate variety of Absinthe the next time. Who knows maybe TGI Fridays will have bought up all the Le Tourment Verte, and they’ll have to choose a different brand.
Final Score: 3/10
