The absinthe pours lucent gold with a hint of green. There's some sediment, but it's otherwise clear. It has a wormwood-forward aroma, very floral. Citrus, mint, and oak notes. Quite sweet-smelling.

The louche is a bit on the thin side, but more colourful than expected, similar to uranium glass. With water it's still wormwood dominated. Other than some revealed powderiness it's not terribly different than before water, however nothing is lost. It's a rich, full aroma.

Sipping it, the wormwood is upfront and intense with a good bit of bitterness, but the anise is very sweet. Raw mint. An in-your-face, not terribly balanced flavour. Strongly floral, but also earthy and woodsy. Crisp and bright. The finish is long but mostly dominated by wormwood. A few hints of other flavours try to emerge but they're pretty much shouted down.

It's an honour to get to try this rare piece of US absinthe history. I personally love unbalanced, wormwood-forward absinthes, so although this may not meet what we think of as ideal it's exactly my sort of drink. I actually would not even guess it was pre-ban absinthe as it has the explosive character of the recently bottled instead of the mellowness and sophistication of age.