I enjoyed the original Obsello quite a bit, and was really looking forward to this new version, especially at its great price. To keep things simple, it just is not up to par with the many decent and correct absinthes available. I found the aroma to be overwhelmed by the rum base, as well as the flavor. It simply is out of balance, and lacks the fundamental requirements to be recognizable as absinthe... At least one that I'm willing to drink. The louche is barely visible, and trust me, I worked at it, with every scenario I could muster up. None of the herbals or floral elements in absinthe that I love were present. Yes, in the background, I could detect them, but the rum base so tragically smothers them, that I could not finish any of the 4 glasses I tried over the 2 months of wanting to find it had mellowed, opened, or evolved in the bottle. I know many in the absinthe world that feel the same way, who have not spoken up in public, as the distiller is a great guy. I felt it was only fair however, to step forward, in support. I'm hoping they will dial down the base several notches, reconsider the rum, by not using it in the future, and bringing the anise and wormwood to the front, where they belong. I also detected a strong pine-like element... It tastes more like cedar perhaps. It comes off to me as a wood, not herbs. Strange. In a nutshell, It simply is too "left field" for me.