Color: A wonderfully deep, pinkish amber.

Louche: Using ice cold water from a fountain and my Simon Pierce bubble glass, the louche began building almost immediately. The tendrils of milky pink louche wound its way from the top of the glass into the globe in an intoxicating dance. A beauty to behold.

Aroma: Sweet with the hint of very old cognac and leather. Flowery anise with a touch of pepper and minty wormwood. Just from the nose, you realize that sugar would be overkill. Not that I sugar my absinthe anyway.

Flavor: It's truly amazing what 100 years of aging can do to an absinthe. Even still, you can tell that this product was representative of what would have been the gold standard of absinthe during the Belle Epoque. Something that has aged into a flavor this good had to have started out amazing to begin with. It was so silky on the tongue and so smooth as it went down. The aging has melded the flavors so well that it's difficult to pull too much out other than the anise and wormwood, but those were obviously of top quality. Even without sugar, there was a 'juicy fruit' sweetness that danced on the tongue from the first sip to the last. Absolutely wonderful stuff.

Finish: The finish lingered, but was light and ephemeral, just hinting at an urge to take the next sip. Just a touch of anise and a maple sweetness that played with the heavenly mustiness of the grape base.

Overall: I don't know what else to say. It's awe inspiring. There's no other like it. I want to break into my entire stash now. Must...resist...