Color: An ounce of Obsello poured into a glass results in a near-perfect peridot. After adding water to a 3:1 ratio, it is of course noticeably paler, but still pleasantly green. I'm surprised by how many people found it to be leaning heavily toward yellow or gold, as I simply saw a paler peridot after watering, but as with the louche (see below), this may depend partly on the light. There was no noticeable sediment and very little haziness.

Louche: Don't pour or drip your water too fast, or else you might miss the louche altogether. It arrives quickly, and disappears nearly as fast. While it's there, you'll mostly see billowy clouds, with the occasional tendril of cigarette-like smoke. Attractive blues and greens on my second attempt is what pushed the rating up to a 4 in this category, but you must have good lighting and a steady pour to find them.

Aroma: The scent of anise is prominent, but mint and a soft alcohol aroma are definitely present and not displeasing. As the water drip continues, the presence of the latter two recede somewhat, but the aroma remains crisp and refreshing.

Flavor: Obsello starts off as a well-balanced absinthe, with a medium-bitter wormwood taste that is softened by the grape neutral spirits and meshes nicely with the anise and fennel. Additional flavors that come through are mint, which is fairly prominent, and finally an aftertaste of citrus, which I would attribute largely to the melissa. Others noted having tasted vanilla and even a hint of candied plum, but I did not detect either of those two flavors. As I continued to drink, I found that the contrast between the two extremes of mintiness and bitterness made the flavor seem just slightly unbalanced and even a tad thin, like two strands of a previously thick rope being pulled apart in places. Keeping the water to absinthe ratio fairly low at 3:1 all but eliminated this effect, though.

Finish: The Obsello really shines in its finish, which is long and leaves a pleasant tingling and mild numbness on your tongue. By the time the palette of flavors recedes, the memory of it makes you want another sip.

Overall: I very much enjoyed this absinthe, and found it particularly refreshing here in late spring while the weather has been very warm. The taste is not completely balanced at all times, but the mild complexity is intriguing in a lazy afternoon sort of way, and the taste is interesting while the finish is crisp and invigorating.

I would definitely recommend it, particularly to those looking to try their second or third absinthe and are working their way up the bitterness scale after having tried Lucid or the equivalent (as I did).