My review is mostly a comparison with Lucid, since these are the only half-real absinthes available in most all New Jersey liquor stores. I must either travel to NYC or order mail order to get high-quality absinthe here.

Color: The color is a nice bright green, but it's artificial and that fact is reflected in my score.

Louche: Very nice louche, oily trails take time clouding up into an opaque, lime green color. Good show.

Aroma: Hot alcohol aroma from bottle, but anise and lemon balm (?) seem quite apparent. Not unpleasant.

Flavor: I haven't tried it neat, but louched the citrusy flavor is pleasant when compared with Lucid. I taste some wormwood, certainly anise and lemon balm (?).

Finish: Better than Lucid, which seems to insist on using an inferior beet liquor base that causes terrible hangovers. Citrusy notes linger and are quite pleasant. No bad aftertaste but strong alcohol flavor stays on the tongue along with some wormwood flavor. Pleasant "secondary" feeling.

Overall: I hate Lucid, even though I gave it about a "C" for its naturalness. Maybe I'm personally allergic to some of the ingredients of Lucid? I don't know, but Pernod has better flavor and the liquor seems cleaner. I know there are "natural flavors" added and the artificial coloring is obvious to see, but to me it still beats Lucid for flavor, after effect, side effects and secondary "buzz." Need a good sugar cube to cut bitterness. It is over-priced though. For something mass produced, it shouldn't cost more than $4o, unless they're not telling us something we should know about the ingredients. Maybe it's my mood, maybe it's because I just took an allergy pill, but I like this. It deserves at least three points overall.

The color is very nice, but it's fake so I'm hard pressed to give it any praise. Resorting to artificial coloring shows a lack of respect and knowledge.

The louche is quite nice, but given the amount of anise in this thing it can hardly come as a surprise. The only downside I saw the artificial coloring sticking around to mess up the opalescence of the final product.

Nothing to comment about the aroma since I can't smell.

The flavor isn't terrible, it just isn't much to write home about either. There is certainly plenty of anise, and ghost of wormwood for a moment, and then: nothing. It's gone faster than I consider respectable, especially for the price they're asking.

Oops, I went right in to the finish while describing the flavor. But the two follow each other so closely it is little surprise. It's easy to drink Pernod quickly as there's little to savor, and perhaps this was their goal. Not a lofty one to be sure.

And yet I can't hate this drink. If it didn't pretend to carry on the Pernod Fils legacy it would be just another unremarkable absinthe that at least was aiming towards a traditional taste. Cut out the food coloring and balance the flavors and who knows?

I use a dose of 40ml to 200ml chilled water. Unsweetened for this review.

This has an extremely strong alcohol aroma. I pour into a small graduated measuring glass first to measure the dose, and slowly move my nose over the rim to get a whiff: the alcohol is wincingly strong.

Artificial color is listed on the label, and the color is slightly unnatural but not awfully so, appropriately olive/peridot and nicely clear.

The louche forms slowly with wicked oil trails, where a clear layer forms and holds its clarity until almost half my water is added.

The aroma after louche is much more pleasant, but not "filling the air aromatic" and not complex, primarily anise.

There is significant bitterness in the flavor, which has three primary notes: anise, wormwood and lemon. The finish has a slight peak of anise at the start, which then withers to bitter wormwood and lemon which clings to the tongue leaving a substantial numbness.

A comparison that springs to mind is the Absente pastis with higher octane alcohol. In a comparison with a price point per volume competitor, Lucid, it lacks complexity and body, and the harsh "rubbing alcohol" aroma at the outset is the biggest drawback.

My conclusion is that it is the absinthine analog of Orwell's 1984's 'Victory Gin'.

I had to think about the overall rating, where "3" is interpreted as "acceptable, ahows promise". Clearly this is from a mass producer, so even if they somehow 'tweak' their recipe it seems like it would take a while to show up on ths ehelves. The aroma is clearly unacceptable, whereas color and louche seem very nice, and the flavor has the "traditional elements" represented, although unbalanced and lacking interesting complexity.

But, as American-market-aimed absinthes go, I'd say if you want a verte, see this on the shelf next to Lucid at the same price and they are the only two verte absinthes in the store, buy the Lucid.