Edited after over a year of sampling, from 3 bottles.
4:1 and 3:1 no sugar. Good both at dilutions


Color: A medium yellow with a slight touch of green, but was just a bit hazy.
Revist: after half a year, it still has a lot of haze, and simply is not clear enough pre-louche. Louched, the color is quite nice. I'd have rated the color higher were it not cloudy neat.

Louche: It formed quickly and evenly. There was nice clouding as it built, and the final result was pretty and opalescent.

Aroma: Powerful sweet anise, and a flowery minty herbal profile. Very nice. Perhaps the highlight of this absinthe.

Flavor. Crisp and clean. A light dryness that is quite enjoyable. The Grape base has a light brandy-like quality that is tempered nicely by the trinity, which is well balanced.
I like it a lot, and it is a different take on absinthe than the French and Swiss styles. I hope to sample more Spanish absentas.

Finish: Nice and clean. All the elements roll around, tingle lightly, wrap themselves in a silkiness then fade to a light spicy citrus, always with the kiss of grape base in there.

I plan to keep it in stock in my arsenal. It is a solid absinthe, refreshing and tasty!

This was my first time trying a Spanish absinthe, and I went into it a bit concerned about the purported "mint" flavor of this drink. In that regard, however, my concerns were misplaced.

The color before water was a nice but unremarkable green, somewhere between peridot and olive. After water, the drink louches to an equally unremarkable yellow jade. The louche itself forms very rapidly, without the thick, rope-like oil trails of other brands, and my sense was the louche developed somewhat too quickly to be entirely proper.

The aroma, flavor, and finish are all good. I found this absinthe heavier on wormwood and with less emphasis on anise than other varieties I've tried. In that regard, it is like Lucid, though overall it's better and does not have Lucid's peppery notes. The finish is also good: a nice, lingering bitterness.

Overall, a good offering and one I'll continue to enjoy.

Color: Nice dark olivey green. Perfectly clear and natural looking.

Louche: Louche came on very fast but was thick and dense. Amber and gold highlights with light olive green. The liquid in the glass now looks thick and creamy just like in the old pictures. 4
Aroma: Lemony and floral. Minty spice. Anise is very present but not overpowering. Very citrusy and unique.

Flavor: Right off the bat its mint and lemon. Very refreshing but perhaps a bit overpowering. Anise is there but wormwood is difficult to detect. To me wormwood has a slight mentholated with mild bitterness flavor so the mint could be masking the wormwood. There is another flavor in there that is difficult to put my finger on. It reminds me of Agwa a coca leaf liqueur and perhaps not too far off from tea. It’s not a bad flavour just untraditional for an absinthe. It tastes very good but I will give it a 3 due to the fact that mint and lemon are the predominant flavours.

Finish: This is where the wormwood shows up. Finish is light (a bit thin perhaps) but also smooth, fresh and crisp. Slight bitterness from the wormwood and slight tongue numbing from the anise. The bitterness and mint linger for a while but not in an unpleasant way. A very good finish overall. Smooth, fresh and crisp.

Overall: This is one of best absinthes to come out of Spain. It is distilled from grape spirits and is naturally coloured. Compared to other authentic absinthes it has a very unique flavour profile. It is very refreshing. A perfect absinthe for sitting outside in the early evening of a hot summer day. I could also see this being used in cocktails that call for mint or mint liqueur. I want to give some extra points here for the value of this absinthe. For the money it is an excellent absinthe. Even someone with a college budget could afford to always have a bottle on hand.

Presentation (no points): Obsello Absenta comes in what looks like a dark wine bottle, with an attractive label. A healthy amount of wax seals a t-cork. This review is based on a freshly opened bottle imported from Spain.



Color (4 points): A light natural green. Clear and free of sediment. Very attractive and natural looking. It could have been slightly brighter and more vibrant in color which is why I gave it a 4 instead of a 5.



Louche (4 points): The louche was practically instantaneous, as one might expect with the relatively low alcohol percentage. While relatively quick, it was full and attractive, and with bright light in the background some faint orange hues can be seen in the appetizing, light opalescent green cloud.



Aroma (3 points): The aroma smelled neat really took me by surprise. I mean, holy moly this was a strong smell. Rich, minty, spicy aroma. At this point I admittedly began to feel a touch nervous of how this was going to taste. So it was to my utter astonishment that after louche, the character changed completely. Gone was the spice assault, instead was a cool, mellow, sweet aroma of anise. I wasn't sure how to rate the aroma given how unusual an experience it was - smelled neat I must say it was strong enough such that I'm not entirely sure it was appetizing, but conversely after louche it certainly was.



Flavor (4 points): After the aroma experience I did not know what to expect from the flavor, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. There is certainly mint present and you taste it initially, but it fades to the background, and to my palate it thereafter does not overpower the flavor. Instead I was then greeted with a creamy vanilla, and a mouthfeel that was thicker than I expected. This part of the tasting was my favorite, this creamy vanilla coming out of nowhere and blooming. As the vanilla subsides a mellow flavor of anise spreads across tongue. Not a lot of wormwood. Rating this objectively was challenging, as "appropriateness" is one of the standards cited in the rating system, with a "3" being described as "appropriate but unremarkable" - well certainly Obsello is not unremarkable, it's interesting and complex, but the presence of mint may prompt some to question whether it is "appropriate." Meanwhile a "4" would correspond with "correct, pleasant, enjoyable" - once again I'm not sure of how correct it will be considered as I am not the most experienced absinthe taster, but I certainly found it pleasant and enjoyable. Thus, I wound up at a 4.



Finish (3 points): The finish is pleasant, but is primarily made of mint and a touch of anise, but the creamy vanilla that I savor during a sip departs. Very slight numbing of the middle of the tongue. Pleasant but not as good as the taste.



Overall (3 points): I really had fun tasting Obsello, so many different things caught me off guard. Mint in general is such a strong flavor, that I can imagine it was difficult to regulate when making this, and truth be told I could have used a smidgen less of it and a touch more wormwood character, but nevertheless I don't think it compromises the drink. Obsello is a very distinct, enjoyable absinthe that offers a creamy, and yes minty, Spanish alternative to what you may be used to. I would openly encourage anyone to give it a try.

Color: A cross between olive and yellow, and far too much on the yellow side. Not what I would call an attractive verte color.

Louche: The louche is decent enough. It doesn't build particularly well and starts quickly, but that's pretty standard. It gets thick enough.

Aroma: One person's peculiar can be another's "interesting". I don't like what's going on in there personally. It's spicy and minty with underlying vanilla. The anise plays second fiddle. I find it to be thin and flat in some areas.

Flavor: That vanilla that is underlying in the nose is far more prominent in the palate. I find it overbearing and distracting. There's also a distinct nuttiness that reminds me of almond that I don't care for. The mint is still there and the anise comes forward. The wormwood is easily detectable.

Finish: Since I don't care for the taste I naturally won't be a fan of the finish either, but regardless it is lacking in the duration department and wouldn't score high in this facet even if I did care for it.

Overall: This is a quality offering, just not one I'm a fan of.