The best thing one can say about Absente is that it looks the part. The color before water is actually quite nice, a natural looking pale peridot. The louche is also reasonably convincing, though it forms rather rapidly and in the end isn't quite right.
The aroma is acceptable if one dimensional, but the taste is quite unbalanced. Whatever herbs are in this faux absinthe are overwhelmed by sweetness, almost as though there is sugar added in the manner of a liqueur. I'm not sure what to say about the finish; there is something odd about it that I do not care for.
Overall, Absente is not horrible, but it's a poor substitute for the real thing.