the color is perfectly crystal clear. An easy 5.

the louche is a bit weak, as is to be expected. Still, we have nice opalescence. I give it a 3.

the aroma neat is one of wormwood and alcohol and not much else. Louched, it opens up to wormwood and alcohol with a little teeny bit of anise and fennel. Not balanced, but not unpleasant. 3.

the flavor is not balanced in the traditional sense. The other herbs take a back seat like faceless sidemen in identical suits whilst the wormwood solos. And a long, loud, and brilliant solo it is. A 3 that is actually a 3.5 because of the tradition thing, but I'd give it a 4 myself.

the finish is lengthy and quite pleasant. A wonderful floral fruity dryness permeates, making the nasal exhale so nice. The sweetness comes way later, and I am sure sugar would help it along but I drink it sans sucre. A bit of astringency on the sides of the tongue as well, but not to the point of being a detriment. Technically a 3, personally a 4.

Overall, I give it a 4. A very interesting product that I would like to have a bit of for that special day when I want to be slapped across the face with some wormwood. After tasting a couple of HGs that were extremely wormwood forward I wondered just how far they could push it with the Artemisia. I'd say this is as far as I would want to go with it. Unless you want to call it something other than absinthe...

I'm always open to an absinthe diverging from tradition if the concept is clear, and if it produces interesting and successful results. This is how I view this absinthe.

It is clearly a tribute to Pontarlier wormwood. As water is added, the wormwood literally jumps out of the glass and announces "I'm here." The louche is a tad on the thin side, but this is to be expected as anise plays a minor role here. As this is the concept, I have no problem with this point. I'd rather have it honest, than to see the maker put a star anise in just to thicken it up. It is a wonderful way to glean a clear understanding of this wormwood, and wormwood in general. Folks new to absinthe struggling to separate one element from another, will never wonder again about detecting wormwood in their absinthe. Aside from being quite good, it is a great educational tool for this reason.

The aroma and flavor are quite wonderful; clean, crisp, and vibrant. There is a slight astringency in the mouth, and the finish lingers forever, with a building citrus of epic proportions. For people who like strong spirits, it has heft, punch and power, yet there are surprisingly delicate elements as well. I tried it both with, and without sugar, and adding a touch of sugar brought out the florals without harming the intentions of this absinthe in any way.

It is a bold blanche, that makes a powerful statement, and a tasty one...if you enjoy wormwood, that is.

COLOR: Absolutely crystal-clear.

LOUCHE: Actually more of a louche than I expected, considering the sparsity of the usual herb bill.

AROMA: Wormwood with a bit of mint underneath. None of the typical blanche "sweet" scent.

FLAVOR: Once again, mostly wormwood. Less bitter than you might think, with the lack of significant anise & fennel to counter the A.A.

FINISH: Warm and numbing, with a pleasant "bite".

OVERALL: This was a tricky one to score, as it is so purposely skewed toward the wormwood characteristic. My ratings, for aroma and flavor especially, take this into consideration. (What would be "unbalanced" in a more traditional formula is not necessarily so in this case.)
That being said, I enjoyed this unique sample, and I appreciate getting the chance to further "educate" my palate.

The Wormwood Blanche does not conform to the standard absinthe profile. If the "holy trinity" of absinthe herbs forms a tripod, then this one leans severely due to the elongated wormwood leg. That said, it makes for an intriguing change of pace.

I gave it a four for color, so as not to skew this review upward. The Blanche is perfectly clear, and attractive enough, but the louche is very thin. I am told that is due to there being so little anise present. The aroma is pleasant and interesting, though there is a slight inky note in the mix which might offend a sensitive nose. This comes through somewhat in the flavor as well, which I found rather too unbalanced to rate above a three.

The finish is surprisingly good, however; a pleasing upnote at the end the tasting. Overall, this is well worth trying, especially if one is looking for a change of pace. For most, however, it would not likely do for every day.

-Color-
Before Water: Clear as a blanche should be.

After Water: Thin louche that’s more translucent than opaque. Reminds me of pre-2008sih Emile Pernot offerings.

-Louche-
Entertaining slow action but ultimately thin.

-Aroma-
Before Water: Concentrated aroma of floral fruity grande wormwood.

After Water: Less concentrated aroma of floral fruity wormwood. This is definitely some good wormwood that has enough going on to make me forget about anise and fennel or any other herbs, which are all hiding safely out of range.

-Flavor and Mouthfeel-
The flavor is that of floral fruity wormwood. There are also notes of floral fruity wormwood followed by floral fruity wormwood nuances. And I think some minty-ness as well. The body is pretty thin; seems like there’s just enough of the anethole section here to barely out hold it together and provide a louche, and that’s it.

-Finish-
Gosh that A.a. is nice but at this point the finish has become kinda cloying. A touch more minty tone makes it tolerable however. For me it seemed to fade out quickly instead of sing.

-Overall-
Well ya can’t accuse Wormwood Blanche of false advertising! It’s definitely a one trick pony, but nonetheless a pretty pony with wormwood flowers in it’s hair. If it wasn't a rare one-off product I’d recommend it as standard palate education for the great expression of distilled Pontarlier A. absinthium.

Notes: 3.5:1 water to absinthe, no sugar. 3.5 seemed like it was getting close to over watering for this one.