With a logo that is, quite literally, eye-catching and a long history on shelves following the relegalization of absinthe, La Fée Absinthe is virtually impossible to miss in the absinthe world.
With several different offerings, numerous awards, and the endorsement of the French Absinthe Museum, the brand has taken an aggressive approach to making their mark on the Green Fairy’s storied history.
But does La Fée Absinthe Parisienne inspire the same passion as its namesake?
Find out now as we open a bottle for ourselves with this review of La Fée Parisienne Absinthe Supérieure!
What Is La Fée Parisienne Absinthe Supérieure?
La Fee Verte is French for “The Green Fairy,” and it references the nickname and myth of absinthe, which was a muse for artists and writers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Seeking to honor this history, La Fée Parisienne Absinthe Supérieure is made in collaboration with Marie-Claude Delahaye and George Rowley of the French Absinthe Museum.
La Fée Parisienne is 136-proof (68% ABV) and is made using neutral beet spirits. A blend of 9 herbs and spices is used to give the absinthe its flavor and natural color.
Particularly aiming to attract a new generation of absinthe drinkers, each bottle also comes with an absinthe spoon!
Aroma
Before preparation, La Fée introduces itself more like an anise bomb with a powerfully nose-burning alcoholic astringency.
Be forewarned: it’s a lot and can easily catch you off guard.
This intensity eases up a fair bit when preparing the absinthe, but it’s still lacking the kind of rich profile that I expect from an absinthe, especially at this price point.
Furthermore, I generally expect the aroma of the absinthe to build, blossom, and reveal new notes while water is being added. It’s a bit strange to view it only as just watering it down to be tolerable.
Truthfully, I expected more.
Recommended: How to Prepare Absinthe (The Right Way!)
Color & Louche
As regular readers will know, few things irritate me more than artificial coloring in absinthe. (Well, that and lighting absinthe on fire…)
Thankfully, La Fee Verte seems to no longer artificially color their absinthe. However, this was a problem some years ago and it wouldn’t surprise me if some of these old bottles are still out in the wild.
Nevertheless, these new bottles are completely covered to protect from UV rays and better maintain the absinthe’s green color. What results is a beautiful peridot hue that is both brilliant and lively.
Adding water, the louche is a bit shy at first.
However, when it does start to form, it builds quickly and thick. It’s not quite “blink and you miss it” fast, but it’s very close so make sure you are paying close attention to see the magic!
I appreciate the color and the louche of La Fée. It’s a good visual presentation of the green fairy.
Flavor
However, when all is said and done, it’s the flavor of an absinthe that matters most of all.
Unfortunately, as with the aroma, I was left wanting more…
Even preparing La Fée Parisienne with more water than I normally use, it was very difficult to get rid of the astringent burning from the alcohol.
While I often jokingly refer to this astringency as “the Green Fairy’s kiss” in other absinthes, La Fée Parisienne is a BITER!
Pushing through the burn, it becomes a somewhat confusing experience from there.
There is a distinct lack of complexity to La Fée Parisienne, with the anise flavor dominating and only the mildest presence of wormwood, mint, and fennel on the palate.
Curiously, there is also a lingering aftertaste that I can’t quite place. While I initially thought it might be the bitterness from the wormwood, it has a bit more of an off-putting metallic taste.
Finally, we come to the overall mouthfeel…
There is some texture to this absinthe, however it is very subtle. While I personally prefer absinthe with more oils and a thicker texture to the mouthfeel, those who prefer something lighter might enjoy this.
With that said, however, the very light texture and one-note flavor both leave me admittedly underwhelmed.
Conclusion – La Fée Parisienne Absinthe Supérieure Review
You could do worse as an introduction to the world of absinthe than La Fee Verte.
I would certainly take this over several other common introductory absinthes like Absente or… *shudder*… the horror which shall not be named…
However, you could also do much better.
For only slightly more (around $10 difference) than the average price of La Fée Parisienne Absinthe Supérieure, you could instead pick up something like Pernod Absinthe Supérieure or Leopold Bros Absinthe Verte, which will give you a better experience with the complex herbal flavors of true absinthe.
In cocktails like the Monkey Gland or the infamous Death In the Afternoon where you mostly want the anise flavor with an undercurrent of absinthe complexity, La Fée Parisienne Absinthe Supérieure would be acceptable to use.
However, I don’t want to end this review without giving credit where it’s due.
La Fée has come a long way over the years, and it’s nice to see a more legitimate offering from them versus the funhouse novelty pseudo-absinthe that I remember from many years ago.
While I would still challenge the distillers to bring out more of absinthe’s delicious complexity in their recipe, it’s absolutely worth recognizing the progress that they have made and will hopefully continue to improve upon.
When that day comes, I’ll have my absinthe spoon at the ready!