Color is a nice, clear peridot. Nothing too striking but quite proper. For the amount of alcohol present, the neat aroma is surprisingly not as overpowering as one would expect with the unmistakable scent of Pontarlier wormwood right up front. The louche forms nicely and results in something thick and lovely. The taste itself if earthy, woody, powdery... lovely bitter wormwood. In fact, I taste lots of wormwood the first few sips - but things become more balanced and sweet as the glass goes on. The flavor is quite enjoyable and fun to explore seeing as how it does tend to shift somewhat over the course of a glass... an adventurous spirit :)

I do perceive where many of these reviews detect a "medicinal" quality to this absinthe. It is there... but I don't find it distracting at all. I'd like to view this aspect to be more of a wild or untamed attribute to this particular brand.


5/28/14 update: Seems I've gotten a bad bottle for my second. I've taken down the scores for flavor and finish, and the overall score has been lowered significantly. I wouldn't buy another bottle until we are assured that the problems with Roquette batches has been sorted out. A real shame :(