Appearance: A softened yellow with just a little green hue. Clear but not bright or vibrant looking.

Louche: The final louche retains a bit of color and becomes somewhat murky because of this. Other than that it's time to get down with the thickness because this absinthe brings it.

Aroma: Grapefruit surprises me as well as a soft almost powdered sugar aroma. The anise is very forward accented by floral and wormwood notes.

Flavor: Piquant anise and some heat is the first to hit followed by floral and vanilla tones. At first the texture is rough but it smooths out quickly. Much like the aroma it is very anise forward.

Finish: Citrus tones comes out more while the texture continues to smooth out. It hit the side of the palate only in the finish. If you didn't already detect the use of star anise, you will definitely find it in the finish. The typical wood-age notes show up most predominately here with vanilla riding out the end pleasantly.

Overall: While at first this appears to just be another heavy star anise absinthe, it opens up quickly to allow more flavors through instead of being a wall of badine. The base alcohol seems to add a heat to an otherwise very smooth drink. There are a few flaws still but there are also some great qualities as well.