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 :(

Presentation:



Classic, old world charm. Thick red wax looks great but difficult to remove





Preparation



A thin stream from a fountain of iced spring water.



Color Before Water





Olive leaning towards a light yellow. It's not at all exceptional but totally natural looking. Clear and free of any sediment. Very acceptable and comparable to other brands.





Aroma Before Water



Not overpowering, There's the pronounced heat from alcohol and 150 proof that was expected. The Anise is dominant here and there's little in the way of any floral or herbal tones. The aroma is crisp and clean, but nothing to savor.



Louche



What Louche? Very disappointing. Even after a very slow drip from the fountain all we could coax is a haze. No density, no turbulent roll of clouds or puffy smoke, just a watery opalescent fog. The Mouth feel is as thin as the Louche but to it's credit it's not sticky nor cloying.





Aroma After Water



Watered down and somewhat cooled off. The heat of alcohol is still up front side by side with a nose of Anise and what I can only guess is Fennel. I was unable to detect any other herbs. The aroma is clean and free of any medicinal or off putting aroma.







Flavor



Like the Aroma the flavor is a predictable alcohol and Anise. Period. The Fennel and other flavors don't stand out or above other Absinthes I've had - many at much less of a price per bottle. There's little in the way of complexity here with the exception of a nice grassy taste that chimes in after a few sips.



The Finish



Nice numbing of the tongue, no cloying aftertaste.







Final Impression



Having had high expectations for this Absinthe I was disappointed that it fell so short of what I think are reasonable expectations to have. A fine and lovely aroma, a thick and powerful Louche, these are part in parcel things that to me anyway, add to the enjoyment of drinking Absinthe. But they're lacking here and that's unfortunate. The flavors of Anise and fennel are bold enough to make this a pleasant cocktail. But that's as far as it goes. Enjoyable to a degree but sorry to say, not memorable in the least.