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.

Hiram has done something wonderful here. I had the pleasure of tasting the prototype before the initial release at the Tales of the Cocktail event in July of 2007. I immediately put it on my calendar to pick up a bottle when it was formally released.



The color is very nice, although I liked the coloring of the original recipe better than the finished product. It's still a great, vibrant green.



The louche is right on the money. It forms at the right pace, not too fast and not too slow. Mine was finished louching around 2.5:1. With a slow drip from the fountain, I got some great layering and trails while it was building. When complete, it's a nice, thick opalescent green.



Lots of things going on in the aroma. Some minty wormwood, vegetal fennel and sweetness from the anise. I also catch something that reminds me of something like sweet celery. It's a unique and intriguing aroma. I could sit here and sniff it all day.



A well balanced flavor, but noticeably on the sweeter side. I think sugaring this one would be overkill. The bitterness of the wormwood is there, but it's not as dominating as in some others. I can see why this one works so well as a 'cocktail absinthe'.



Overall, this was a great job. It's most definitely an enjoyable absinthe to be drank in the traditional manner, but I have to say, it makes one helluva Sazerac too!

Marteau Verte Classique has a beautiful color and opalescent louche. My initial impression is the aroma and taste are a little lighter than I expected which I am attributing to the beverage being crafted for cocktails. Served traditionally with sugar and cold water, it is a very delicate and delicious glass of absinthe. If Marteau is the shape of things to come, the future is looking very bright indeed.