I really like this blanche... smooth, sweet, pleasant-- seems good on any day.

Color: Perfectly clear, shines like a diamond-- I can tell something's in the glass when poured, but more because of the gleam it adds than because of any color. Maybe this should even be a "5"-- but I'm not calling any blanche the height of perfection until I'm sure I've seen the perfect blanche.

Louche: Acceptable, but very thick & totally opaque. Not much dimension when it's too thick/opaque for any translucent shine through. Good thing I choose absinthes by taste, not by how good the louche looks (so long as it does louche-- an absinthe that doesn't louche at all isn't real absinthe).

Aroma: I'm not the best judge of this category, but it smells quite good to me.

Flavor/Mouthfeel: Very tasty. Of the three blanches I've tried, I like this one the best-- "Rich, complex, well-balanced, delicious" -- yes, I think it meets that description and deserves the "5" I'm giving it in this category. I might be biased-- I like drinks with a sweeter taste, and that also describes La Sorciere Bleue well... it is made right, no added sugar in the bottle, etc-- but it's the sweetest absinthe after louching and all that I've tasted so far.

Finish: "Interesting, intriguing, complex, long" Yep. Meets the list for the "4"-- while it's really good, I don't think it quite closes in on the perfect finish for an absinthe, so I don't think it deserves a "5".

Overall: I think this is a truly superb blanche. My experience is a little bit limited, but I think it is quite exceptional, based on what I've tried so far & what I've seen. Truly "world class"? Maybe not quite, but that's why I'm placing it at 4.5 rather than at 5.

Final comments: The distiller has added the comment "Good stuff needs no special effects" on the label of his Absinthes-- I'm inclined to agree. I like this blanche a lot more than I like the La Sorciere Verte-- although I do still like the Verte.