Una Castana Absenta (circa 1970)

A little something from Spain. Interestingly the distillery is actually still in business, however the only one there who knew any english knew about 50 words... So - calling them and asking about this Absinthe didn't give me much more than an expensive phone bill. Either way, the one thing I got to know was that they actually made absinthe from around 1920 and all the way up to 1984. Given the color on this one I first dated it to somewhere around 1950-1960. However after I tasted it I would have to say it's more likely to be newer than that. So, somewhere around 1970... Why? Well - first of all pouring the contents in a glass didn't reveal any of the fine aromas I've scented from other vintage Absentas. There was some anise and a little herbal complexity but nothing spectacular at all.

Further more, the thing didn't louche. I used ice cold water and dripped it very slowly into the glass, but nothing happened. Keeping in mind that they produced absinthe from the 1920's it's a fair guess that someone altered their recipe along the way. If so, no wonder they stopped producing it in the mid 80's. If this was their absenta in the 1920's they'd be shit out of luck in no time.

So, it really didn't taste all that great. It was a bit sweet and with a hint of herbal notes and anise, but nothing I would care to drink again. Fact is - I poured the remaining half of the drink down the drain. Sad, but true. You win some and you lose some and certainly this proves that not all producers get things right even if they had continous production for over 60 years.