Bottle purchased and opened February 2006, review sample louched December 2008.

Serpis 65. What does one say? It's red, and it's heavy on the anise. Neat, it gives an aroma that is quite intriguing - alcohol accompanied by something like citrus and flowers, but not any flower you can identify. The color is striking - clear as crystal, like a red/orange candy diamond ring. Then the water is applied, and it turns peach. A beautiful, alluring peach. The aroma doesn't change, but gets smoothed out a bit - the alcohol drops into the background, and the flower/citrus aroma dominates.

The taste is bitter, wormwood, and anise. The finish is bitter and dry, and makes you want to take another sip to mitigate the bitterness. Sugar doesn't remove the bitterness, but I can't really imagine drinking this without sugar, it would be too damn bitter. It's surprising, but not unpleasant. The finish is long-lasting.

This is one of the strangest absinthes to have in your collection, but it represents a real value. The bottle is 1 Liter, and sells for less than $40 (plus shipping). Every connoisseur ought to have at least one bottle for the novelty.