A look at Lucid Absinthe.
With only two absinthes left to look at in “Absinthe August” we turn our palates over to the first pre-ban absinthe that was made available within the United States, when the ban was removed in 2007.
After years of poor chemically colored spirits (and I use the term spirits loosely) masquerading themselves as absinthe, finally a true offering of absinthe was available to those of us living in the states.
The story of Lucid can be traced back to one T. A. Breaux , a chemist who after tasting a vintage sample of Pernod Tarragona in 1996, decided to analyze the sample and determine what “made it tick”. This was the first step in how Lucid began, among several reproductions that Ted has produced via Jade Liquors.
Sometime around 1999, after having been working with absinthe for several years, Ted starting working on the recipe of what is known as Lucid, which he played around with and tweaked over time.
While not based on one specific interpretation of pre-ban absinthe, but rather a combination of several of the most interesting aspects of each, Lucid is a standard yet bold interpretation of absinthe. From using the holy trinity of herbs(wom) and being distilled within the Combier Distillery in Saumur, France in copper stills that date back to the 1800’s, Lucid is representative of era’s long since past.
Starting with the nose of heavy fennel that follows through upon tasting with a nice balance of anise interwoven with notes of fennel.
Upon adding sugar, it becomes an even more straightforward absinthe that just hits you right.
A sample of Lucid Louching.
This is yet another example of an absinthe that’s recommended as an introductory absinthe, though slightly more impressive than other introductory absinthes as it’s more of the classical approach. When speaking to Ted about Lucid he summed up the inspiration in one word. Pow!! His goal when creating Lucid was to make an absinthe that would be a definitive example for the first time absinthe drinker. And that is exactly what was accomplished.
Final Score: 8/10
