-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.

Color: Clear and without sediment, no hues or slight glow that I like to see in blanches but a very correct and nice color nonetheless.

Louche: Slow, almost like watching watery bombs drop into oil. Surprisingly decent thickness when done with a very slight blue tint.

Aroma: Smells like wormwood. Maybe a tiny bit of the other herbs, which are there since it did louche, but not exactly a balanced smell, at all.

Flavor: A.a. BOMB! How did this louche? Not bad being intentionally a wormwood bomb, in fact very tasty wormwood. Not something I'd drink everyday, but if it were still produced I'd keep a bottle in my cabinet.

Finish: Warms up and numbs well but fades a bit quickly before anything else can happen.

Overall: Very good at what it is supposed to be. Nothing I'd drink every day but a good reminder of what wormwood tastes like. I like this blanche quite a bit despite having to give it a low score for what it is obviously meant to be. If rounded out a bit it could make a very good wormwood forward blanche.

Color: Still and water-like, but less silvery than I've come to expect from blanches.

Louche: I was worried it wouldn't louche well, but eventually it did. Very pretty blue and amber tones, but definitely not as white or as opaque as most blanches.

Aroma: Definitely a couple different kinds of wormwood at play here, and perhaps a hint of white truffle.

Flavor: There's a slight sweetness, but the rest is a wormwood assault. Don't get me wrong, it tastes great, but it's very unbalanced. Of course, this is what the producer was going for.

Finish: Warm and throat-numbing, but without much flavor.

Overall: A good flavor experience to be sure. It's fun to try something so focused on something other than anise.

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.