Absinthe: The Story Behind the Flavor

Absinthe is our most unusual flavor. It tastes like black licorice, and people either love it or leave it. Here is where the flavor comes from and a little of the story behind the name.

The herbs

Absinthe the spirit gets its flavor from three herbs: wormwood, green anise and sweet fennel. Anise and fennel taste like licorice. Wormwood adds a bitter, earthy edge. Our Absinthe flavor is built on anise and fennel, so what you taste is the licorice side, herbal and a little sweet.

No alcohol

There is no alcohol in a Stokes pick. The name refers to the flavor, not the drink. If you like licorice, fennel, sambuca or ouzo, you will recognize it right away.

A little history

Absinthe was first made in Switzerland in the late 1700s. By the late 1800s it was the drink of artists and writers in Paris, who called it the Green Fairy for its color. Painters such as Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec put it in their work. Then a wave of panic blamed it for all sorts of trouble, and most of Europe and the United States banned it in the early 1900s. The bans were lifted about a century later, once the fears turned out to be exaggerated. Today it is just a strong herbal spirit with a dramatic past.

What the pick tastes like

Fresh anise up front, then an herbal sweetness, with a clean licorice finish. It is the strongest flavor in our lineup and the most distinctive. The flavor is strongest at the start and settles as you go. Flip to the fresh end when it fades.

What is in it

American white birch, 5 mg of pure nicotine, certified organic anise and fennel flavors, organic monk fruit and vegetable glycerin. No sugar, no sucralose, no alcohol, nothing artificial. It is sugar-free with zero calories.

Is it a good first flavor

Yes, if you already like licorice. If you do not, start with Vanilla Mint or Lemon Ginger. Every flavor has the same 5 mg of nicotine.

A reminder

Nicotine is an addictive chemical. Stokes picks are for adults 21 and over who already use nicotine. If you are new to nicotine, start with one pick and wait before taking another.

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