The colour is olivine. Clear, natural, and attractive. Before water it has a bit of a bitter, musty aroma. Leathery, perfumey. Herbal qualities are subdued.

The louche is a medium thick, opalescent green. Brighter than expected. Now the aroma is much more herbal than before. Powedery but till musty and leathery. Honeyed.

The wormwood and anise are in good balance on the palate and there's a medicinal astringency that reminds me of 1940s Chartreuse. More bitter than sweet, but not overkill. Spicy and earthy. Very dark. It's a bit numbing.

The flavour cleans up in the finish and becomes more typically absinthey for a bit, then fades into that astringency with notes of citrus that seems to last forever.

I think that since I taste things more on overall character than bits and pieces I don't get the preban comparison. It does however taste old to me, but it's an old quality that I've tasted in liqueur minis from the 1920s through the 1950s. I enjoy it although it's definitely odd.