A 40ml dose louched with 160ml chilled water, unsweetened for this review.

Aroma (pre-louche): The aroma is completely free of any alcohol harshness. The grape foundation is allowed to shine through a spicy vegetal aroma, the combination reminds me a lot of frehly opened
orsnge flavored dark chocolate. This is a really wonderful aroma.
Very smooth and inviting. Whether or not it smells like "the ideal absinthe" is likely a matter for more knowledgable discussion, but
it definitely smells just wonderful.

Color (pre-louche): This is a little darker than I believe is optimal, peridot with a tinge of brown/dark olive, but not unpleasant.

Louche: The louche forms evenly, with wicked and thick "refractive artifacts" that bring on the cloudiness gradually. There is not a billowing of fog from the bottom as much as an "onset" which becomes the "always expected but startingly so" beatiful green tinged louche. There is less of the "meniscus" effect than in some, but it is still evident. A thick, beautiful colored louche that you will want to see
over and over.

Post-louche aroma: Very clean, herbal with clearer notes of fennel, wormwood and anise. The anise is evident, but not overpowering. There are some nice, delicate flowery notes, very pleasant.

Flavor: A distinctly herbal flavor, very fresh. The wormwood is
evident at the core of a spectrum of flowery, spicy and herbal flavor.
Fennel is very evident up front. A very nice anise that acts not so
much as a centerpiece for the flavor but as a "mesh" that holds it
together: subdued but definitely present. The aroma indicates a
natural sweetness that is maybe more psychological, but I'd say this
is one that could go unsweetened very easily.

Finish: I like to dilute to 12-13%, and because of this the finish will be less prolonged than with a lesser dilution. But it also seems like the prominent notss in the finish are easier to pick out. Even at this dilution, this has a wonderful fading of the fennel and herbal mist, with a wormwood flourish beneath a rising anise note, which gradually diminishes.

Overall: This has got to be at least a "4". It is a wonderful aroma, a very nice louche, a pleasant and complex flavor that has unique aspects.
Is it worth a premium price over, say, Lucid? Not an exhorbitant premium, I think, but it is absolutely in a higher tier: a more intricate and delicate set of flavors that takes full advantage of
the grape-based pedigree.

This absinthe has come a long way since batch #4, particularly regarding the color, which is now a nice shade of peridot, although it could be a bit more vibrant.

The nose is still a bit dominated by the Pisco base, and this carries through into the flavor, but I happen to really to enjoy the buttered rum ester that it imparts into the absinthe, and I find that it really works well with the herbs. Those herbs seem to be of very good quality, although the wormwood is not of the standout variety, like the Pontarlier, or the Piedemont used in L'Italienne.

The louche is very nice, thick,and gradual although there isn't the volcanic snow-globe action seen in the best of them. The mouthfeel is very creamy, and substantial, however, and the flavor, and finish are hearty, and put me in mind of rum toddies. This is my definitive winter absinthe, except perhaps for my favorite Berger clone.

Todd plans to do a little further rectification of the base once the present barrels are depleted, and I really look forward to tasting whether that allows the herbage to shine through a bit more in future batches.

Kudos to him for being so receptive to suggestions given to him on the forums, and I wish more distillers, who are relatively unfamiliar with the creation of absinthe, would follow his lead.