Appearance: Green with a hint of yellow. It's a little pale.

Louche: Pale and milky without being too creamy or thick...it reflects things from far away from the glass, almost like a crystal ball.

Aroma: Sweet and candied, quite soft, with some fennel, violet, and something that reminds me (in a good way) of Play-doh.

Flavor/Mouthfeel: Large and peppery spices which are somewhat hiding the absinthe notes. There's also something almost metallic in the flavor.

Finish: The finish is dry, and with prominently bitter (also in a good way) wormwood and citrus, along with more of the metallic feeling from earlier that makes my mouth water.

Overall: Softness in an absinthe is ok, but I don't like how out of balance it is with the spice flavors. It's definitely still likable.

*Received as sample in absinthe explore set from absinthes.com

Appearance - Very attractive in the glass. A little lighter than the other vertes we sampled, but very pretty.

Louche - Again, very attractive. Not a spectacular "show," but correct: not too thick, not too thin.

Aroma - Pleasant, light, and balanced. Nothing overwhelming.

Flavor - Very easy to drink! Refreshing and light. Very well-balanced.

Finish - Fades very quickly with no outstanding characteristics.

Overall - Very enjoyable. Light, refreshing, extremely easy to drink (more a "chugger" than a "sipper"). It may be a bit "weak" and ordinary, but it is still a good MOR effort. This would make for a good introduction to absinthe.

Appearance: A light and thin olive color. Clear and natural.

Louche: Opaline displays a perfect translucence with green-amber hues in the body and greyish blue hues towards the top. Very “opalescent”.

Aroma: The anise comes out right away with a slight citrus and spice notes as well. The wormwood balances nicely with other herbal scents still lingering.

Flavor: The initial flavor is surprisingly wormwood forward with the anise and spice notes taking a more supporting role. The texture is smooth but also very light with a fair amount of alcohol still detectable. There is a wonderful background note of an earthy and citrus brightness that reminds me of crisp lettuce. Although there is a lot going on, the overall flavor impression is unfortunately a bit weak even at lower ratios.

Finish: The finish sweetens up and then turns to a pleasant bitterness. The fresh-earthy tone underscores the duration and a curious astringency hits the sides of my palate towards the end.

Overall: Opaline is a refreshing and lighter absinthe, almost too light. The flavors and textures don't pound ones palate and are otherwise crisp and well balanced.

-Color-
(Before Water) Very pale green, no sediment.

-Louche-
Good trail and fog action. Louched color is still very pale green, decent opacity, a little on the thick side.

-Aroma-
Before Water: Alcohol heat, woodsy, with sweet and floral notes riding along.

After Water: Very pleasant fresh, sweet, and herbaceous aroma.

-Flavor-
Like the aroma, the flavor is fresh, sweet, and herbaceous. Tasty wormwood dominates but does not overwhelm the anise and fennel. There’s also some spicy flavors, however, other nuances one might expect in a verte aren’t really in evidence. I don’t know if the light color influenced my expectations or if a light hand was indeed used in the secondary infusion. A bit of alcohol heat even past 3:1.

-Finish-
Decent finish, not super long lasting but not unbalanced.

-Overall-
I found Opaline to be a well made verte. My sample was 8 months old by the time I finished it off for reviewing. My initial impression back then was that it was a little on the bland side; it has matured well.

Being an ardent Angelique fan, I haven't been convinced by the appearance of Opaline.

It is a solid, more feminine absinthe, created maybe as the more angelic than diabolical (the dreadful wormwood) version of Angelique.

Its louche builds up very nicely and present us with greenish opalescence, if the colour is a tad lighter than that of Angelique.

As I mentioned, absinthe is feminine, very floral, pleasant, does not have the herbaceousness of Angelique, nor does it have the robust foundation of CAB's les bleues. Wormwood is discrete there, but present enough as long as feminine aspect allows it to bloom.

Upon tasting, the best ratio seems to be 1:3.5, absinthe reveals us with a delicate breeze over Jura mountains with some herbal, yet very delicate, accents. So is the finish which is not as bold as one would await from verte, but close enough to a finish of such a feminine verte, Opaline proudly wins to be.

An alternative to Angelique, that is for sure, if no match for Butterfly or Sapphire.