Color: nice clear emerald green, slightly on the pale side. I'm getting so used to seeing olive-hued green absinthes that this one was a bit of a surprise when I poured it. But this is a very nice shade of green, and I think it would be beautiful with just a bit more intensity to give it more of a jewel-like appearance.



Aroma (neat): anise, herbal, and minty. I got a bit of a Wrigley's spearmint gum smell, not unpleasant but seemed a bit out of place. Nice and clean, the herbs stand out and the alcohol stays out of the way.



Louche: a slow, very cold drip resulted in nice trails with cloudiness developing fairly early. Early on the color went to a sort of swampy/froggy green, almost like a glow-in-the-dark slime, but got more pale and more attractive with more water. Stopped at about 3.5 or 4:1, finished color is very attractive, but a bit more thin/translucent than I'd expect at this dilution.



Aroma (after louche): Aroma settles down a bit with the water to anise and herbal/spicy. Looking at other reviews after the fact I wasn't noticing anything that I thought was coriander, I'll be looking for that next time. Overall a very balanced, pleasant aroma.



Flavor: The flavor was quite a surprise, very full and strong, probably could have held up to a bit more water. As expected it is very nicely balanced. Mouthfeel is medium, I got some tongue tingling but not a full mouth coating. Certainly not thin.



Finish: Long, and again balanced with mostly anise and wormwood, lexx complex than expected after the initial aroma and flavor.



Overall, very good. I'm a relative newbie compared to the reviews before mine, so I didn't pick up on some of the specifics that the other reviewers noted, particularly the coriander. Generally, I feel about the Balance the same way I remember the Eichelberger 68 -- clean, very well made, traditional, tasty (I'm tempted to try the Balance and Eich side-by-side in the near future). I'd almost say "easy drinking" if it didn't sound like a negative. For those occasions when you're looking for something assertive or full of character, the Balance probably isn't what you want. But its beauty is in its balance, strength, and roundness, and on most occasions, Duplais Balance will not disappoint.