Color: Light olive. Somewhat dull and unremarkable but looks natural. After louche the color is murky, like dishwater.



Louche: The louche begins forming immediately. It could be thicker, but I wouldn't describe it as thin. It never becomes opaque. Not very attractive.



Aroma: Something immediately strikes me as "off" in the aroma. Not something I'd describe as clean. I find the peppery notes a bit distracting as well, but not all bad. Perhaps just a bit too heavy handed. The wormwood presence is more forward than I expected. And of course the predominant note is anise, no surprise there.



Flavor: Again I'm getting something I can only describe as "murky". It's pretty flat and uninteresting, like a light American beer. No flavors really jump out on my palate and demand my attention. Not very complex. I get that anise and underlying wormwood, along with the peppery presence.



Finish: The fennel becomes more noticeable in the finish along with a slight wormwood bitterness. Lingering but I wouldn't describe the duration as long.



Overall: I know that this is a quality made product, which is what I want to see entering the U.S. market. I'm just not a fan of this particular brand. I wonder if Ted attempted to cater to what we all know about the typical American beer preference (bland, watered down) when crafting this? This absinthe is to American beer as his Jades are to a full bodied ale.