Color
Unlouched, light medium gold/green. Closer to peridot than most other Matter products I have seen. Sparkling clear. Louched, milky light medium green with yellow, gold, and rose glints, and milky whitish blue at the edges. Overall a little light, but pretty.

Louche
Where's that 4.5 when you need it? Not the thickest trails I've seen, but distinct nonetheless. Cloudiness builds on the bottom, while layering sets up. Louche goes opaque at about 2/1, and green line runs till about 3/1. Final thickness, at 4/1, is just right. Very entertaining.

Aroma
Fresh, clean, and savory. Wormwood, anise, and celery. I'm thinking I'm getting a good bit of hyssop and genepi here (but just a guess). Very even balance, nothing off whatsoever. As it warms, the wormwood shows a little mintiness and florality. Overall very subtle, classy, attractive.

Flavor
Wow! Much more umph than the nose led me to expect. Good insistence from the wormwood, balanced by the remainder of the trinity... a slight sweet impression. Nice spice and an insistent "pull". Definitely savory notes, as well. The celery notes make this unique, but not freakish. Nothing heavy handed. Very nice, balanced, complex, subtle, and harmonious.

Finish
A very linear follow-up to all the nose and palate impressions. A gentle "clamping down" of the wormwood and spice. Slight drying and tongue numbing. Not the wild multi-facets and undulating complexities of the very best, but very nice. As with the nose and palate, overall a very sophisticated dignity to this.

Overall
When I first started tasting this, I just didn't get the celery notes. It seemed like too much. Now every time I taste this, I like it better and better. 4/1 really helped to tame it. At that dilution, it is more subtle... still complex and harmonious, but not wimpy. Definitely toward the top, if not the top Matter offering I have tried. The charms of this absinthe take some time to get to know. It doesn't shout in your face, rather, it whispers in your ear, and something so notable, I'll hear it out every time.

1/27/10 Revisit - What a pleasure to taste this again! A class act through and through. Of my original impressions, the only one that is changed slightly, is that I find the celery component to be better integrated and a little less "up front" than in my original notes. As such, the only alteration to my original text is in regards to that facet, in the "Flavor" section. All scores remain the same. This bottle has been open about a year, and about 2/3 full. Time and air has treated it well. I can't tell you how much I'll miss this when it's gone (luckily, I have another). Fortunately, for all of us, Mr. Stone marches on!

Done with a 1 ounce dose, diluted 3/1, 4/1, 5/1 and no sugar.

Marteau Verte Classique 1/06/09, 2/15/09, 2/28/09, 3/02/09, 1/27/10
All evaluations had consistent notes.