Tuesday 20 October 2015

Berlinsterdam Booty Part 4: Maldoror

I’m looking at another bottle that I collected from Berlin this week; Maldoror absinthe.

Purchased from the designated Absinth Depot in Berlin, Maldoror has a claim to fame as (at the time of writing) the world’s first blended absinthe – and that isn’t seen as a bad thing. It’s a German product, but it is blended from Czech, French and Swiss absinthes. It is bottled at a friendly 66.6 ABVs and was around 55 euros for a litre.

As ever, I opened it in the presence of other heavy drinkers and we elected to use the backdraft method as a quick and easy way to get it into our systems in advance of the poker that a shot of absinthe has recently become a prerequisite to. You might want to think carefully before you incorporate that into your games since the play can get pretty messy and, if you’re intending to follow it up with some fine whisky, you might find you’re unable to overcome its influence and enjoy the particular charms of your designated spirit.

The next day I tried it on my own, adding just a few measures of ice water. It louched up real good, but I’m afraid it isn’t something I’m going to be able to come around to sipping like this. There is a bitter finish that makes it unpleasant to consume this way. In all fairness, all absinthe I had tried so far has been like this, though online reviews have suggested some absinthes aren’t bitter. That remains to be seen.

The next thing was to try with sugar.

I tried that at a new year party with a bastardisation of the bohemian method. Sadly I was unable to get the sugar to dissolve on this occasion, so it wasn’t entirely pleasant. I’ve since figured out that I was doing it wrong since I think you’re supposed to stir the sugary spoon in and stir while it’s all still lit, which I didn’t, so I’ll try again when I have occasion to. Sadly those kind of occasions just aren’t coming around – I never want to get that smashed too quickly and I always want to be able to taste something else afterwards, so I literally can’t fit it into my schedule. Frankly, a litre is far too much absinthe to have. I really made a mistake there, and have about a third of a bottle left now. It is very unusual that I get to post on a bottle before I’ve actually finished it, but this time, that’s the case.


I’d like to finish off by telling you something useful that will help you to select this product (or not this product) over any other brand of absinthe, but sadly I can’t. I just can’t say whether it’s any better or worse than any other bitter, aniseedy, super-strength brain destroyer.

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