Color- Dark peridot that is very vibrant- no sediment but there is just a hint of haze

Louche- Slow transition to a louche. Rather weak. Ends in green and gold refractions with light blue streaks.

Aroma- Wormwood & spice, some vanilla and mint. Very medicinal rather than herbaceous. I can’t detect much anise or fennel. Hints of Chinese five spice as well.

Flavor- Wormwood, flowery citrus and baking spices. Again, it appears to be missing some anise and fennel. All of these flavors come together to remind me of Angostura bitters.

Finish- Lingering wormwood, spice. At the same time the finish is soft and fruity. Very nice.

Overall- Enjoyable, even though the absinthe doesn’t take on a traditional profile. I can enjoy the idiosyncrasies and still know I’m actually drinking absinthe. I’m thinking this would be best consumed around the holidays due to the spicy attributes.

While in Switzerland I have had the opportunity of trying 1st Montmartre and 2nd Montmartre editions.

Whereas the 1st was highly idiosyncratic, 2nd one was better, yet not that good.

Colour is very pale and weak since absinthe is 65%, it is a serious flaw. Louche is very quick, thanks to badiane, yet not that tragic-not too quick.

Aroma is not bad, but not absinthe akin at all, it smells like freshly baked very spicy cake. Flavour is dull, slightly spicy with accentuated coriander and some unusual notes. The rest is not interesting. Although i liked 2nd than 1st edition, I am far from calling it a really good product. It is drinkable, interesting but owning to its idiosyncracity it is still some very unusual absinthe in the making.

Pale olive before louche, this out-of-left-field absinthe tastes quite good neat. I could see it making for some interesting cocktails.

The louche is over quickly, without much in the way of trails, and the result is translucent and muted, almost as if the herbs have been taken from the morgue.

It smells more like a vegetable garden than a floral one, with the alcohol much more present before the louche. Afterwards, the aroma is more toned down and balanced. I don't smell much in the way of anise or wormwood, but I am getting plenty of vegetables with cinnamon.

This carries on to the flavour which makes the drink taste not very much like absinthe to this set of taste buds. There are subtle notes of anise and wormwood, but this is covered by the citrus, cinnamon and something very much like vegetable pulp (parsley mixed with celery?). The finish lingers well enough, but the citrus hangs around like an unwelcome guest, refusing to leave.

I'm a fan of cinnamon and that's what drew me to this drink, but I'm not very partial to citrus when it comes to absinthe. In fact, Montmartre reminds me of the horrible Doubs Premium from South Africa, even though it is much better crafted. I'd say Montmartre's second edition is not for everyone, but if you like citrus and cinnamon, as well as challenging your taste buds with something different, it's definitely worth a try.

Still, I have a feeling it's going to take me a long time to work through this bottle. Hopefully some cocktails will help that along nicely.

EDIT: I was under the impression that this was the second formulation but have since found that it is the Troisième edition.