I was very impressed with this absinthe. I had expected it to be on the lighter side, so I dosed it at 3:1...wow, what a beautifully balanced melange of herbs and spices greeted me! I tasted lots of good green anise, and quality fennel, but also coriander (which I love), and melissa, which really adds a refreshing citric quality. There seemed to be couple of ancillary herbs I recognized as veronica, and, perhaps, genepi, and the finish was laced with a nice, bracing minty wormwood touch, although a tad more would have been ideal.

Certainly not an absinthe leaning towards the bitter (in fact, I think the addition of sugar here would definitely obfuscate some of the lovelier subtle nuances), but there is enough balance to avoid crossing over into the realm of cloying.

The color is a lovely peridot green...not the deepest I've ever seen, but very vibrant, and natural, and the louche was certainly lovely, slow to form, and swirling, nice and thick at 3:1, with much retention of the original green color.

The aroma was particularly savory, and spicy, both before, and after the louche. Perhaps not room filling, but certainly easily detectable from several feet away, and incredibly pleasant. The taste matched the aroma perfectly, and the finish was quite long, and eminently satisfying.

Kudos, indeed, Hiram!

Color: A clean and clear bright gem green. Not dark or deep but not light or shallow. Near perfect with no sediment or cloudy texture.

Louche: In the area of presentation this absinthe excels. The finished louche is a perfect balance between the thick and thin with a blue hue at the top leading into a gradient to a clear silk green at the bottom.

Aroma: This absinthe smells fennel heavy which is a nice twist. The spicy and sweet aromas of “masculine” absinthes are very noticeable as well as a bit of a grassy scent in the background. This still smells fresh which is surprising when considering the age of the sample that I was given. Anise and Wormwood are displayed nicely but are not forceful in any way. Overall a beautiful and complex aroma.

Flavor: There is a nice spice and sweet character that hits first with an herbal and grassy note following very quickly. The texture is light with an almost citrus feel. It is very tasty but there is some sort of medicinal quality in the back of the mouth. It tastes wonderful except for that very pronounced downside.

Finish: The finish heats up with a pronounced spice note and goes out with a fennel and wormwood one. The layering is more than simple but not really complex and the finish also lasts quite a while.

Overall: The recipe and production ooze craftsmanship but the medicinal feel in the flavor throws this one off quite a bit. The presentation is flawless and the aroma lets us know what the creators were aiming for. Even though this one beats the pants off of most absinthe out there I feel that the creators missed the bulls-eye by a ring or two.

Appearance: Really pleasant. Not too dark, not too light; a lovely clear and unblemished peridot green.

Louche: Builds slowly and thinly at first, but ends up right where it should be. Very pretty, with a combination of milk and greenness, with opalescent orange at the bottom. With my face near the glass while judging the aroma, lots of prismatic effects can be seen.

Aroma: Really nicely balanced. I can detect the sweet anise, wormwood AND fennel readily, with hints of a grassy meadow, citrus, and maybe a hint of star anise...very complex.

Flavor: Not quite as complex as I was expecting from the aroma, but it's pleasantly sweet and light with a nice wormwood profile.

Finish: The finish gets a bit overwhelmed by star anise, and becomes a bit to jelly beany for me.

Overall: This is a really lovely absinthe, especially considering what was available when this was released...yet it still holds up against many of the current commercial absinthes available today.

Presentation:



Elegant dark green bottle, Silver foil, up scale label all very attractive. Nice to see there's a specific warning not to burn on the back, in addition to don't burn sugar sign. Well done.



Preparation

A thin stream from a fountain of iced spring water.



Color Before Water

Perfectly Peridot. The color was an unexpected surprised as I imagined it leaning more towards emerald. But this lovely pale green is spectacular. It has the clarity and translucence of a jewel. Quite dazzling to see, especially in natural sunlight.



Aroma Before Water

Another surprise the Anise isn't overpowering it seems more of a compliment to a wonderfully herbal and fragrant bouquet. I strolled a bit, glass in hand and found the vapors quite beautiful. Floral notes and crisp sweetness made me wish it was heavier and more pronounced. Like a breeze off the sea you wish for more but the very qualities that are so faint and gorgeous may be best enjoyed just as it is.



Louche

Nice trails that start immediately and the Louche follows quite quickly. A dense puffy wave that lifts up and rolls out. Expanding and imploding it makes for a fun turbulent performance.The color was a surprise here to. Not the milky off white I've seen so much of. The Peridot color hangs in there and even at 4 to1 water ratio there's this fabulous, light green opalescence. The final stage of the razor thin line of pure Absinthe above the Louche is something special. Mouth feel is thinner than I expected but for me this would be a trait I seek out. It's not sticky nor does it cling to the tongue or inside the mouth.



Aroma After Water

Still gorgeous and inviting but very, very delicate I did find myself wanting more of it. That said, it's unique and fresh with notes that are herbal and floral, clean and inviting. Absolutely zero medicinal, odd or off putting aroma.



Flavor

Like the Aroma the flavor is smooth, subtle and distinct. There's a nice savory balance to it's natural sweetness which is delightful. After sampling a few glasses with sugar and without, my preference is without. There's a nice bite of Wormwood that's tasty and sharp. Overall the flavor is beautifully complex and wonderfully simple at the same time. It's many things, but never one dimensional. One flavor never really wins out over the others. The harmony is exceptional.





The Finish

A gentle numbing of the tongue and a lingering grassy aftertaste.



Final Impression

Marteau Verte Classique is exquisite. And again it's more delicate than any other Absinthe I've tried. Perhaps this is the reason it's been suggested for use in cocktails because the licorice flavors from Anise and fennel aren't center stage. Although I found myself wishing they were a bit more up front. But this is knit picking - it's a delicious and fascinating drink. My main complaint would be that this Absinthe is to be retired. Hence my two bottles will be used sparingly and I hope to purchase more before the remaining stock is gone forever. A better review or stronger recommendation to treat yourself to a bottle I can't make.

This absinthe is unique. The profile is completely different from any I've tasted before. There is hardly any bitterness, just a touch to balance things out. I won't get into specifics because two other better trained palates have already weighed in on this. I'll give the cliff notes version... It's delicious.



The color was quite nice and natural looking. The louche thick with lovely oil trails, morphed into an opalescent version of it's original color. I was nursing my second glass to the point where it even began to get slightly tepid, and the louche still didn't thin out a bit.



The best thing about this absinthe to me is the finish. It has a candy-like finish, leaves a taste in your mouth so delightful that you don't want to eat/drink anything else to ruin it. Stayed with me for hours after my last glass. One of the best I've ever experienced in this regard.



Good stuff, well done Hiram.