Neat, I was surprised to see essentially no color at all. From the bottle, I smelled mostly star anise, a faint hint of what seemed to be cardamom, and perhaps an undertone of green anise but I can't be sure. Along with a little alcohol heat, it reminded me of nothing so much as Ricard pastis.



The louche seemed to happen all at once, after a brief delay that depended greatly on drip speed. Once louched, it seemed too thick by a third, as Dr. Seuss might say. The aroma after water, perhaps this absinthe's strongest point, was interesting, but it stayed in the glass too much.



As for flavor, I would characterize it as just OK, not very complex (somewhat blanche like, in fact), and it did in fact remind me of Kubler. There was still just a bit of heat/alcohol taste at 4:1. The finish was wormwoody-bitter with just a hint of that "Juicy Fruit" taste that marred the Taboo.



Overall I had hoped for more, ostensibly one thinks these smaller "micro-distilleries" are going for the higher end of the market due to all the personal care and attention that can be put into the product. That's all well and good, but a little more experience and practice will help with products like these.