Appearance: The color is light. Really, really light. Clearly natural, and not cloudy, but there's a lot more that could be going on here.

Louche: Develops a nice louche, but ends up pretty thick. It does maintain a nice color.

Aroma: Ever so slight muskiness, but the aroma is fairly pleasant, reminiscent of the more "dessert-like" absinthes, with noticeable anise and melissa.

Flavor: Very sweet and full of anise, but not at all unpleasant. Tongue-numbing, but not a lot of complexity.

Finish: The finish has the mouth-watering sensation I would typically attribute to wormwood, but there isn't much wormwood flavor to be found...this sensation is decently lengthy.

Overall: I know it's pretty much the cool thing nowadays to make fun of this absinthe, especially among experienced absintheurs, but Lucid is honestly not bad. I grow a little tired of people going "I tried Lucid and it was so completely horrible, but I got a bottle of better absinthe and I'm happy now", which tends to read the same as most Czech-sinthe experiences...I don't find it to be at all like that. This was the first absinthe I ever tried, and I honestly breathed a sigh of relief that I found myself enjoying Lucid and would be willing to purchase more absinthe in the future, because initially I was worried I wouldn't like absinthe at all. I do feel that for the price, there are a number of much better absinthes on the market, but if I didn't have access to these other absinthes, I would still drink Lucid.

Appearance: Pale yellow that looks like an off color blanche. Natural though.

Louche: Nice oil trails with a smooth gradient. When finished it is a very thick louche. The color is nice and the formulation is good.

Aroma: Good anise forward smell. Not much wormwood and not much balance. No odd or exceptional aromas.

Flavor: Simple and like the smell this is very anise forward with maybe some lemon balm easily detectable as well. A very sweet absinthe on by itself, maybe overly so. It is smooth though. Nothing here that I would shun but nothing remarkable either.

Finish: The finish maintains the flavor for a decent amount of time but it doesn't do much else.

Overall: It is almost as if the producers were aiming for average. This is nothing that would go into my rotation but it is a very acceptable gatekeeper to the world of real absinthe. My only concern in marketing this towards newcomers is the pricepoint now that much stiffer competition is available for the same price. This is decent stuff but it is not really worth the pricetag that it is currently at.

Color: A mostly yellow-yellow-green, clear liquid. I see some opalescence after the louche; the finished glass of Lucid is mostly white with some blue and green highlights. It's acceptable.

Louche: Glass brouilleur was placed over my classic Pontarlier absinthe glass, which has a nice glass bubble on the bottom to hold and measure the correct amount of absinthe. Sugar cube was put into brouilleur and filtered ice water was poured in. A small stream of iced water poured into the Lucid through the brouilleur. (I can control the drip of the brouilleur by placing it flush over the top of he glass to create a tight seal. The water won't drip then. I slowly slide the brouilleur to open the seal to control the flow, from drip to slow stream.) This time I simply went with the slow stream all the way. Surprisingly, the louche took its time finishing. Nice oily trails appeared through the lower "bubble" in the Pontarlier glass, for what seemed a goodly time providing a nice show ... before turning into some lovely swirling white clouds, which went on for longer than usual before finally turning to an opaque, mostly white drink with very slight blue and green highlights.

Aroma: Strong anise and fennel aroma that is slightly peppery. Not very complex, but not bad.

Flavor: Again, strong anise and fennel taste, slightly peppery. Wormwood clearly numbs the tongue, so it's present. The "trinity" is there — it's a real absinthe — but I can't tell what are the other herbs. Not very complex is the main thing. Problem? Aftertaste is quite poor, perhaps due to the beet-based alcohol. Mouth ends up quite numb with not the most pleasant taste.

Finish: I'm through with the first glass and waiting for the second. Aftertaste of the first is a bit unpleasant and now I'm considering the elixir quality. So far it's mediocre. However, my mouth is numb; in that way, the slightly unpleasant background taste is thankfully minimized.

Minutes later ... OK, I've had most of the second glass. Again, it's a real absinthe, the "trinity" is there, my impression is slightly "complex," better than after just one. Still, the low quality of the beet-alcohol base is too evident. Why use beets and charge this price? There are plenty of wine- or brandy-based spirits in France, this country of elite alcohols, aren't there?

Overall: Again, it's a real absinthe. Lucid leaves you with not the most complex or pleasant taste, but a slightly complex "impression." It's very average, not the type of thing I would want to have at a sunny café late in the day, but rather something desired in a blues bar late at night while wearing dark glasses, if it was on "special." It is quite overpriced: I paid more than $80 including tax at a local liquor store in New Jersey for it. At this price range, I would certainly consider other absinthe "vertes," such as the Duplais Verte or the Pacifique Verte, a Swiss and an American brand respectively. They are far superior choices. Lucid's louche is nice, yes, but the beet-based alcohol has been cited as the main issue here concerning poor aftertaste, and it might be. Still, I'd cite the lack of excitement concerning the herbal ingredients as the main determining factor in giving this an average to slightly below average score. Also, the bottle with two light green eyes on a dark green bottle — the "green lady," is it? — with the word Lucid in dripping green, it's all a bit purposefully creepy. It makes what's in the bottle seem sinister. The half-empty bottle is going to the back of my liquor cabinet, a souvenir of the first offering of a real absinthe in the USA in a very long time.

Update May 20, 2010: This is often the best choice in liquor stores in New Jersey, as it beats out Pernod and all of the hyped Czech brands. New Jersey liquor stores have yet to catch up and it seems very, very few carry the superior brands, such as Pacifique, Walton Waters, Absinthe Duplais Verte (or Blanche!), La Clandestine, et al. But Lucid is usually stocked — So far, it's invariably the best thing on the shelves here, and it's a reasonable choice.

Update May 23, 2010: If it's Lucid or Pernod, then get the Pernod. Both are subpar when compared with Pacifique, Walton Waters — the "boutigue" brands — but he Pernod was just better for me for taste, aftertaste, and secondary effect. The Pernod's liquor base is also "cleaner" IMO. Still, these are very average brands, and I recommend St. George, Absinthe Duplais varieties and La Clandestine (as a blanche) as more better choices. All are far superior to Lucid or the current Pernod offering.

Color was a nice light peridot, not quite as clear as it could have been, but it looked natural.

Louche was appropriate, and detailed. Nice trails and clouds that built up from the bottom with a nice layer above.

Aroma was anise and fennel for the most part, with a mild spice.

Flavor was a balance of anise, fennel and wormwood. I found none of the "funk" a few have mentioned.

The finish was clean and crisp, lingered well. Not as 3-D as the best out there, but again, you could do a lot worse.

I was expecting this entry level absinthe to be mediocre, but it was pretty good!
In fact, I'd suggest this to someone who wanted to try absinthe to see if they like the general vibe, letting them know there are better absinthes to be had...but for the $60 kit which includes 2 glasses and a spoon, it's a good starter for someone to test the waters. I think it would lead one to purchases of higher end absinthes.

Color- Thin green. A little bit hazy as well. No sediment and it’s leaning towards a nice peridot.

Louche- It takes a while to develop and is a welcome change from some ‘premature’ star anise louches that are over in an instant. Decent refractions and a nice green tinge at the edge of the glass.

Aroma- Fennel and anise dominate with a bit of ‘dirty sock’ funk that brings it down a notch

Flavor- Heavy on the fennel with the anise in equal measure. Decent wormwood bite mid palate. A nice creamy mouth feel is interrupted by some peppery aftertastes that are kind of annoying. I can detect the ‘saltiness’ as others have noted.

Finish- Lingers for a while but is nothing but pure anise. Doesn’t leave a sense of complexity in the mouth.

Overall- This is a decent verte and is a good place to start absinthe tasting. Decent value depending on where you buy it.