Color
Unlouched, light medium peridot with an ever so slight bluish tinge. Not particularly nuanced, however crystal clear and bright. Although pleasing, it almost borders on being not quite natural looking. Louched, golden green, slightly bluish, and a good level of overall color.

Louche
Quite translucent, and as a result, very pretty. Very opalescent golden green with multicolor refractions of yellow, gold, amber, orange, glints of blue, and soft rose. The visual action getting there is very entertaining (thank you, Mr. 68%), with the show running to nearly 3:1.

Aroma
Neat, coffee and cacao up front with anise and other herbs in the background. Louched, the coffee and cacao stay up front, with the traditional verte components showing the kind of bloom that water always provides. Think traditional verte with the thinnest layer of unsweetened Mocha Java icing. Not overdone or clumsy, the addition of the "C and C" are judicious and deftly integrated. The "new" and "old" components all have their say here to make this nicely complex, and a lemony brightness focuses it all.

Flavor
Like the nose, the "C and C" is slightly up front, but make no mistake about it, this is absinthe. The trinity is apparent, with really nice wormwood, and an underlying spicy, citric tingle. All the usual suspects are present and really quite complex. All impressions are in excellent balance. Mouthfeel here is one of the best I have experienced in an absinthe. At 4.5:1 it's just velvety and hedonistic, at 5:1 still silky smooth and extremely clean.

Finish
A nice linear fade combines with an attractive subtle drying that overspreads the entire palate. The traditional verte facets hang in for a long time, accompanied by the "C and C" and an anise and lemon tingliness, all wrapped in a gentle pull on the entire palate.

Overall
Mmmmm... Nouvelle Vague (New Wave). I likey. Who says absinthe isn't for breakfast... or desert? Just yummy! Watch your water with this one. I found 4:1 to be just a little hot and prickly. 4.5:1 to 5:1 really show it nicely, in my opinion. Just remember, this is a 68% absinthe.

Well, I guess we all knew this was bound to happen (in fact, it already has, frequently with disastrous results). It's great to see such a sensitive, respectful riff on the traditional verte platform. Very successful, I would say. It, of course, won't make me wave goodbye to the more traditional offerings that I love, but it really has become a guilty little pleasure and will always have a place in my collection.

Done with a 1 ounce dose, diluted 4:1, 4.5:1, 5:1 and no sugar.

Absinthe Nouvelle Vague 12/31/10, 1/04/11, 1/08/11, 1/22/11.
All evaluations had consistent notes.