Mansinthe by Marilyn Manson

And again a product coming out of the Matter-Luginbühl distillery and Absinthvertrieb Lion (absinthe.de). This is also part of the "Absinthe art" range and is actually made in cooperation with Marilyn Manson. Even though I'm not personally a huge Marylin Manson fan there's a thing or two of his that even I can listen to. The background of this whole venture goes something like this;
Around 2005 Marilyn Manson contacted Markus Lion from whom he had previously bought absinthe and asked about making his own branded absinthe. Now in 2007, two years later, the final product was released and quite the success.

How is the Mansinthe then? To be honest it is much better than I think many would suspect. I must say that he made a wise choice in contacting Markus Lion on this... The Mansinthe is a decent product and certainly something for the "beginner" absintheur to try out.

First of all, it has a nice green color with a faint touch of yellowish brown and neat it has quite an appealing aroma even though I personally consider it a bit too simple. However it holds the qualities I'd expect and shows no immediate faults.
When diluted with iced water it louches nicely and turns into a fine light-green/white drink but the aroma is somewhat flattened. A nice touch of wormwood with pontica clearly showing through and in a fine blend of fennel, anise, hyssop and a slight touch of melissa sums most of it up. There's more to it but given the lighter profile of this absinthe compared to others it's not showing through as much. In a way that makes for a very nice drink, easy to drink and enjoy but on the other hand it misses a bit of the point of all the goodness a rich and complex absinthe holds.

Either way, the Mansinthe is worth a try and I think that most who try it will actually enjoy it, if for nothing else - for its simplicity in being a refreshing drink - maybe for the coming summer. (I know, it's late November now, but it's never too early to call for summer.)