Coming in a nicely sized 700ml bottle labelled with a tasteful watercolour by Marilyn Manson, the aroma of the neat liquid is predominantly anise and alcohol. The colour is pale, thin and slightly bright in an unnatural way. I prefer the deeper emerald of Duplais Verte, but this colour obviously attracts the eye of the newcomer.

The louche doesn't quite have the same gentle transition of the other bottlings from Matter-Luginbühl, but a slow drip shows enough swirling of the fairy in the early stages, bringing out a pleasing anise aroma and a decent milky green end product.

This was the first verte absinthe I tried and it's been about six months since then. I've had plenty of other brands and bottlings including pre-ban absinthe in this time, but there's still something magical about Mansinthe's combination of wormwood and anise. The supporting herbs don't seem to have much presence, making the flavour a tad on the simple side, but this simplicity is extremely appealing.

Minty wormwood lingers on the tongue with the anise, with only a slight numbing. Watered at a ratio of around 3:1 to 4:1, Mansinthe presents a creamy and very pleasant experience. At the price, it's a great everyday verte and if you can get past the somewhat gimmicky association with Marilyn Manson, this is a quality drop.