The color is light peridot, crystal clear and stunning. The Louche has thick, expanding clouds that seem to move to their own pace, and then billowing into soft vibrant color. The color after water is a beautiful soft peridot green. The aroma before water is of a anise and herbal quality, with a enticing floral background. After water the glass explodes with notes of anise, fennel, and wormwood with a citrus tinge. Very balanced and floral. The mouth feel is thick, creamy and very smooth, with a pleasant numbing of the tongue at the end. The taste is of soft anise with a herbal floral sweetness, with slight hints of citrus. Excellent alpine meadow type association. This absinthe has a long finish with delicious wormwood balance.
This is a simply excellent absinthe. It is one of my top three commercial absinthe. Alpine meadow floral, soft, clean taste, with outstanding wormwood presence with an abundance of flavor. I would recommend without hesitation. Very impressive.

I've spent some time with this and settled to a dilution I like best, 5:1 brilliantly cold water (shaken with ice and strained) with no sugar necessary.

Color from my bottle (the 7th 2009 batch, if I interpret correctly) is a beautiful but natural green. Color softens in a wide glass; I prefer to serve this in a flute or bubble glass rather than a wine or wide reservoir.

Louche: Extraordinary. Dramatic louche even when fed a steady stream of water which is remarkable. Holds up well to a wide range of dilutions.

Aroma: Anise and fennel are noticeable but not dominating. There's a wonderful herbaceous lushness that I find unique. The addition of water releases scent that is light and subtle while still room-filling.

Flavor: More anise here, but in a dance with the other herbs. Each time I drink it I get a slightly different impression. There's a remarkable body, similar to the character of a malolactic fermentation in wine, smooth and round without being oily. The mouth-feel is round and full and easily stands up to 5 parts water.

Finish: Pleasant and not clingy. Fades relatively quickly but that just makes me crave another sip.

Overall: Brilliant. Easily the best of the 5 absinthes I've tried, including Meadow's brasher sister, WW. I like it so much that I ration it from myself, lest I run out before I can get a new bottle.

Color- Crystal clear forest green with no sediment. Natural and bright.

Louche- Oil trails billowing down then back up after hitting the bottom of my glass. Perfect opalescence at around 3.5 parts water to 1 part absinthe.

Aroma- The anise combines with some flowery overtones when louching. I get some vanilla notes too. I would have liked it to be stronger.

Flavor- Flavor is soft and powdery. Hyssop nicely cradles the holy trinity of herbs. The wormwood is assertive but soft/floral notes take over. It reminds me of a quality blanche in some ways. I think mouth feel is just a tad thin but the addition of sugar helps round things out.

Finish- It tastes like a mixture of mint and Juicey Fruit gum then leads to a more straightforward anise/fennel taste.

Overall- Awesome absinthe. I’ll have to agree with others that this is a ‘dessert’ absinthe. More floral then herbaceous. More soft then pungent. I’m looking forward to trying the Walton Waters next.

Notes- I liked this most with 3.5 parts water and a bit of sugar.

Color: The vivid green peridot color of Meadow Of Love is even brighter than that of it's close relative, Walton Waters, although there is a bit of haze. When louched, it retains very light greenish hues and never veers into yellow. As with my bottle of WW, this is a new bottle (I bought mine in mid-June, and the bottle is marked as batch 09-7, bottle 33). Since it is clear it may not retain the same color indefinitely without transfering it to a dark bottle.


Louche: The louche begins as soon as the water is added, and it slowly builds from cascades into clouds. Interestingly enough, the activity travels from the bottom to the top, with billowing clouds forming into a colored meniscus at the top well after the louche has all but finished on the bottom half of the glass. The entire process is enjoyable to watch.

Aroma: The initial aroma has a bite to it, with slight bitterness and a hint of sourness. While not as floral or
initially accessible to me as WW, I found that with each new glass (on different days) I became more acclimated to it, and may now appreciate it more thoroughly for what it offers.

Flavor: Meadow Of Love is everything I expected it to be -- a slightly bitter (and spicier) cousin to WW that is every bit as enjoyable, but in different way. The flavor is outstanding, and while I cannot yet determine all the herbs individually, I believe the distinct uniqueness it offers is probably a result of the violet other reviewers have mentioned.

Unlike the WW, I found the ideal balance for my tastes at 4.5:1 or even 5:1, where the bitterness and spice is tempered a bit. Those who enjoy the bitterness will likely find a 4:1 ratio to be most appealing. Sweetening is not absolutlely necessary, but half a teaspoon of agave nectar fills the flavor out quite nicely.

Finish: The mouthfeel is full, rich and creamy, with a lasting finish that edges out the WW just slightly here. The aftertaste is wonderful, with a medium amount of numbing to prickle your tongue with.

Overall: Meadow Of Love is an extraordinary offering from Delaware Phoenix, which has rapidly cornered the market on my favored absinthes. Admittedly, I have a ways to go in my absinthe taste tests, but it will be difficult to top these two. While I still prefer WW a bit, the high quality of Meadow Of Love is evident in every sip, and those of you with a bitter tooth will love it.

This is my new favorite commercial absinthe. Everything about it is incredibly appealing to me, from the medium peridot color, to its hyssop-y, violet-y aroma, and its creamy body, and rich mouth feel.

There is a genuine upper echelon HG quality to this absinthe which is very immediate in nature, and makes the drinker feel as though he (or she) is sitting down with Cheryl in her little distillery, and being treated to a special alchemical glass from her secret stash.

The vibrancy of this absinthe is quite remarkable, and the drinker is pulled in almost opposing directions (very sweet, and yet even more dry), and the especiallly floral aftertaste is quite remarkable, and created by the wonderful wonderful violet segueing into that fragrant, juicy Virginia wormwood.

What's even more amazing is that this wonder is only a few weeks old! I truly look forward to aging a couple of bottles to see if it can possibly improve even more...only time will tell the tale.