As soon as I opened the bottle I immediately became aware of its wonderful fragrance and aroma. As I like to taste my absinthe straight up I poured myself half a shot. I played with it for a while swirling it around and noticed how wonderful its aroma was. I took the shot and was amazed at how smooth 136 proof can be! Up to this point I had only experienced grain spirited absinthe's. This was wonderful, I never new what I was missing! I then diluted it several times 2:1 and up to 4:1 My favorite being 3:1 - This is now my favorite absinthe. This to me was pure nirvana. Thank you Gwydion Stone for producing this wonderful concoction and keeping this absinthe pure to its pre-ban heritage!

I've gone through a couple bottles of this latest offering from Gnostalgic, and while I do like it, I do not like it as well as previous versions of Marteaux. I'm not sure whether the recipe has changed, or just my taste, but the bottom line is, this is a beautiful absinthe that has just a bit too much of one particular note in the flavor. In some ways, it reminds of of the Leopold, though the intrusive herb is not as prominent as in L14. For those who like a very delicate, floral absinthe, MMR is probably your ticket. I think my preference is for something a little more bold.