Absinthe Liqueur France

The green fairy does not have to knock anyone over. NV is the release where anise and fennel get to speak first, because the alcohol is not shouting over them. Same ritual with sugar and iced water, same green cast in the glass, simply in a lower gear.

The expert's description

La Fee NV Absinthe French Absinthe 70 cl 40% is a French Absinthe in the verte style distilled from wormwood, anise and fennel and bottled at 40%.

NV is the everyday bottle of the house. Where La Fée's Parisienne sits at 68% and is intended as a reconstruction of how absinthe tasted in the 19th century, NV is dialled down to 40% and built to be used. The recipe draws on the same herbal world with wormwood at its centre, but the strength is cut back so the bottle can join a drink without taking it over.

The number on the label changes more than you would expect. Alcohol is what holds the essential oils from the herbs in solution, and at 40% there is simply room for fewer of them. The louche therefore comes out lighter and more translucent than the dense cloud a full-strength absinthe produces, and less water is needed before the balance lands where it should.

That is also why NV ends up in a cocktail glass more often than an absinthe glass. Absinthe is used classically as a rinse for a Sazerac, where a few drops lay an anise trail beneath the rye whiskey, and as the base of a Death in the Afternoon topped with champagne. At 40% it is easier to measure without the anise running away with the drink.

Tasting notes

Nose

Anise out front, sweetish and clear, with fennel right behind. The wormwood is present but sits underneath rather than sticking out. No alcohol burn, so the glass can be held close without squinting.

Palate

Soft entry with a liquorice sweetness. Fennel and a green herbal streak through the middle, and only at the end does the wormwood bitterness draw a dry line through the sweet. With iced water it becomes genuinely easy drinking, and the sugar is far from necessary.

Finish

Short to medium. The anise fades calmly and leaves a faint bitterness on the palate. The mouth feels cool, but the lasting numbness of a full-strength absinthe never arrives.

Specifications

Name: La Fee NV Absinthe French Absinthe 70 cl 40%
Producer: La Fée Absinthe
Region/Country: France
Type: French Absinthe
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Botanicals: Wormwood, anise and fennel
EAN no.: 5033566034597
Serving suggestion: Iced water poured over a sugar cube on an absinthe spoon, or as an ingredient in cocktails

Flavour profile

Anise · Liquorice · Herbal · Soft · Fresh

Did you know?

Absinthe was banned in France in 1915 and vanished from French distilleries for close to a century. La Fée was the first traditional absinthe distilled on French soil again after the ban was lifted.

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In Auvers-sur-Oise, north of Paris, where Van Gogh painted his last canvases, there is a museum devoted entirely to absinthe. The woman who founded it signed off on this recipe. Green in the bottle, milky white in the glass, and built on wormwood the way it was in the 19th century.

Please note: No absinthe spoon is included with this bottle.

The expert's description

La Fee Parisienne Absinthe France Absinthe 68% Without spoon is a French Absinthe distilled from nine herbs to a 19th-century recipe and bottled at 68%.

The herb list runs grand wormwood, petite wormwood, genepi, green anise, star anise, fennel, hyssop and coriander seed, plus two ingredients the house keeps to itself. Each herb is distilled separately and the distiller blends the parts afterwards. It is slower than throwing everything into one still, but it hands over control of how far the anise steps forward and how dry the wormwood is allowed to bite.

The recipe was developed with Marie-Claude Delahaye, who founded the absinthe museum in Auvers-sur-Oise and still runs it. She approves every batch before bottling, and she looks at three things: the colour, how dense the louche turns when the water hits, and whether the herbs sit in the right proportion to one another. La Fée Parisienne is the only absinthe the museum puts its name to.

The base spirit is distilled from sugar beet and reaches roughly 96% before the herbs and the dilution. The green colour is not added but drawn out of fresh plants macerated in the spirit after distillation, so the chlorophyll does the colouring. At 68% this bottle is made for the ritual of iced water and sugar, not for drinking neat.

Tasting notes

Nose

Wormwood first, green and bitter like a crushed stem between the fingers. Anise settles on top and sweetens the aroma, with fennel right behind it. Move the glass and the coriander surfaces, warm and faintly peppery.

Palate

Undiluted it is concentrated and hot. Iced water changes it completely: anise and fennel spread out and soften, wormwood lays a dry bitterness underneath, and hyssop cuts in with a mineral, almost minty edge. Sugar takes the peak off the bitterness without making the drink sweet.

Finish

Long and coolly bitter. Anise holds on longest, wormwood stays at the back of the tongue, and the mouth is left clean and slightly numb the way only anise spirits manage.

Specifications

Name: La Fee Parisienne Absinthe France Absinthe 68% Without spoon
Producer: La Fée Absinthe
Region/Country: France
Type: French Absinthe
ABV: 68%
Size: 70 CL
Botanicals: Grand wormwood, petite wormwood, genepi, green anise, star anise, fennel, hyssop and coriander seed
Natural colour: Yes
Distillation method: The herbs are distilled separately and blended afterwards
EAN no.: 9010330000374
Serving suggestion: 1 part absinthe and 4-6 parts iced water poured over a sugar cube on an absinthe spoon

Flavour profile

Anise · Herbal · Bitter · Fresh · Powerful

Did you know?

The bottles carry a UV-inhibiting coating. The green comes from chlorophyll in the plants, and chlorophyll fades in sunlight. Without that coating the contents would slowly drift from green towards yellow-brown while the bottle sat on the shelf.

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