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.

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...

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.

I was expecting a horrible wormwood bomb, but I quite liked it with or without sugar.

I could enjoy it on occasion on its own. A wonderful base, on which L'Artisanale builds upon.

there is a unique aroma/flavor that it shares with L'Artisanale. Not bad, but it does stand out.

I enjoyed my glass of Wormwood Blanche without sugar and at a ratio of 4 parts water to 1 part absinthe.

The color was ideally clear. The louche formed well at about 2:1, but quickly thinned out after that. At 4:1 it's still there, but not as thick as it could be.

The aroma is beautiful, almost all wormwood. There are some other herbs but they're muted and in the background.

The flavor is amazing. Very close to a pleasant aroma of wormwood. I was expecting it to be insanely bitter and astringent, but that is not the case. The wormwood flavor is very solid, but not dominant or unpleasant the way some wormwood bombs can be. I believe all of the attractive qualities of wormwood were captured perfectly, without any of what I would call unappetizing qualities. All of the other herbs are very muted. The spotlight is on the wormwood.

The finish too is very pleasant and refreshing. It doesn't leave my mouth drying out and there's no urge or need to pucker. The finish lasts for a long time, which is also nice.

Aside from the louche, this is a wonderful absinthe, and one of the best blanches I've ever had. I'm usually not too interested in blanches, but this one is indeed, very very nice. If it were readily available I'd be drinking this absinthe just as often as I drink vertes, and that is quite an achievement.