Color: An inviting emerald green. Not as 'green' as most other Matter products.

Louche: wonderful layering produced by the fountain. Well formed, deep and opalescent.

Aroma: clean and fresh with lots of anise sweetness

Flavor: An interesting profile with an upfront sweetness that borders on cloying for me. I much more prefer a drier flavor. the taste evolves into a minty pepperiness that is enjoyable.

Finish: Extremely sweet, but enjoyable.

Overall: Not bad at all. A great insight into an absinthe made with non-traditional ingredients. I think most people could get away with not sugaring this one at all.

Color
Unlouched, light medium lime green with slight push toward olive. Very clear, very natural looking. Louched, milky yellowish-green with that slight olive tinge, amber highlights, and a bluish green-white at the meniscus. Nice opalescence and sheen, very classic color.

Louche
Very nice clear trails at first. As louche approaches .5/1 things really get going. Layering sets up, and trails really get to be thick, round and rolling. Nice yellow and gold reflections at this point. As 1/1 nears, the drink gets pretty completely clouded and is fully opaque by 1.2/1. Louche then thickens up and holds to 4/1. Louche is fast, but while it's going, it's plenty entertaining.

Aroma
Unlouched, quite bright citrus, wormwood and anise. Louched, nice really fresh wormwood dominates with good balance of anise and fennel. Almost a sense of creaminess on the nose. A dusty herbaceousness with notes of chamomile, hay, florals and untanned leather. A hint of celery, lemon rind, and mint keeps things focused. No off aromas, very good balance, quite complex. Of the categories that really count with me (Aroma, Flavor, Finish), this is the one that really brings this home.

Flavor
Wormwood, fennel and anise, in that order. Strong spice with a little heat. Mouthfeel is a fine milky medium weight. Wormwood sensation is a real easy "pull" on the palate, with slight tongue numbing. Finishing tones of mint and citrus, a brightness that is very pleasant. A fresh sense of all things herbal. This category could be a 5 if heat and spice were a little more under control.

Finish
Wormwood, anise, spice, mint, citrus leave me with a "smacky" sensation on the palate, begging me to sip again. Just a little heat. This finish has completely changed since this was first opened. It had been quite short, not really remarkable. Now, it has good length, complexity, and balance. Nice bright top notes with good push in all other frequencies. Everything fades to a nice fennel state.

Overall
An interesting and unique verte. I can see the production similarities with Mansinthe and Duplais even though the style here is different. Some very classic characteristics with a couple of new twists thrown in for good measure. Give this one time and air. Even though my notes for all evaluations were reasonably consistent, my impressions and scores in Aroma, Finish, and Overall have moved up since my first tasting. Focused, with a distinct personality. A real success.

7/11/09 Revisit - All observations are consistent enough with my original review here, that all scores and text remain unaltered. I really like this absinthe, and it's nice to taste it again. A great example of a modern, inventive, and herbal driven verte.

Done with a 1 ounce dose, diluted 4/1, and no sugar.

Promethee 11/15/08, 11/25/08, 12/06/08, 7/11/09.
All evaluations had consistent notes.