Color: It's perfectly clear to start. Mission accomplished.

The louche started out nicely with some pronounced oil trails. It was nearly complete at a 1:1.75 to 1:2 ratio. Not stellar, but this could also have to do with the lower alcohol level. Might benefit from a bit of tweaking.

Aroma: From the bottle, I detect a lot of alcoholic heat. This doesn't bode well considering the 58% alcohol level. I was actually taken aback. Very astringent on the nose. Minty, in a way. Wormwood is there, but second to whatever that mint aroma is. Post louche, there's a honey-like aroma opening up the further it goes. The astringency has dissipated. Very similar to Kalnacher on the nose, but a hell of a lot more clean. I'm deducting a point for the big, overt aroma of alcohol when neat. This is out of balance from my experience.

The flavor: I like it a lot. It's a bit different than what I'm used to in a blanche, but I would still call this "traditional". The wormwood is a little gritty, but it's doable. If there's fennel involved, I don't taste a whole lot of it...if at all. Keep in mind I'm not very good at nailing this stuff down. I want to say I taste calamus, but it's been a long while since I've had an absinthe with this ingredient. Either way, it's tasty, kids.

The finish: Nice and clean. This is where that minty constituent shows up again...on the exhale. Very refreshing.

Overall: I would definitely buy this absinthe. The mouthfeel is fuller than I would have expected. Not exactly what I would call "creamy", but it's on the doorstep. There's a bit of tongue numbing, but nothing too far out of whack. It's pleasant and one of this absinthe's better attributes, in my book. There were comparisons to Clandestine by another absintheur. While I can't agree with that statement, it's still very good absinthe. With a few improvements, this could become a great absinthe.