As others have said, this is a wonderful absinthe. This glass was from the 1914 cache and was watered at 3.5:1 without sugar, using a brouilleur.



Wow. The color is a delicate dead leaf amber, perfectly clear and bright. Once water is added the green hints become apparent and the spectacle of what a louche should be appears. An amazing sight beginning with oil trails, then a beautiful hazy ball of milky absinthe at the bottom, followed by greater milkiness with very distinct banding between the louched and unlouched absinthe. At last, the louche wins. While appearing to be fairly dense, the louche has an opalescence that puts the current batch of modern absinthes to shame.



Truly, the colors of a glass of this absinthe are equal to the sunset.



The aroma was very nice, but compared to the flavor, the aroma is not why one wants a glass of this absinthe.



The flavor is quite magical and goes well beyond the dual Trinities of a mere text. This is the work of a master craftsman, and has only benefitted from the effects of Time. The tongue numbing is pleasant from both fennel and wormwood and perhaps more. A delicate mintiness teases and lingers long in the finish. There is a wonderful candy-like flavor pairing sweetly with a hint of licorice. I'm sorry if I've failed to convey all the taste and pleasure this absinthe brings, for my skills with words are pathetic and weak.



I'm glad they banned this absinthe. Otherwise, I'd wander the streets gathering what coin I could find - or steal - just so I could have another glass.



(Just kidding on the stealing part.)

What a fantastic experience to be able to taste this rare Absinthe. I was loathe to review this one given my less than Ph.D. tasting chops but, at the same time, I felt the obligation to set down my impressions for posterity.



The color was just what I imagine it should be although I did not see the greenish tint that some describe from their samples. The louche was fantastic and the aroma and flavour were distinct. Both were very floral above almost anything else and I had the impression of it being more strong and bold than delicate. I wish, 1. that I had more to taste (who doesn't) and 2. that it had been my first or second Absinthe of the evening and I had come at it with a "cleaner" palate. The finish was good but brief but overall it was truly, "I'll have another, thank you."

The colors of this cache vary from bottle to bottle, from rich amber to a startlingly fresh-looking peridot green. This one is a clear, pale amber with a slight hint of green.



The louche deserved a perfect score. Every now and again you get one of those perfect louches: it forms slowly and gently as the water drips into it and when complete, has a compelling depth and rich, jewel-like nuance that has to be seen to be fully appreciated. This has one of those.



The aroma is very pleasant, slightly spicy and perfumed. Not so much as the Pernod Fils 1910, but a similar floral note.



Like the Pernod Fils 1910 cache, I found this one to be a bit more crisp and bitter than most modern counterparts. Fortunately in this case, this is not unpleasant. There is a slightly medicinal twang, and the flavor counterpart of the floral aroma. The anise is not overpowering and the wormwood is very up-front. There are hints of flavors that I would not associate with the primary six ingredients of a Pontarlier absinthe. Whether this is due to the herbs marrying in age, or to other ingredients, is up to the GC/MS analysis to discover.



The finish is pleasant and lingering and what one would expect from a quality absinthe.



Overall, I think this is a very good absinthe, but in spite of the extraordinary privilege it is to taste any pre-ban absinthe, I'm wondering how many of these I could finish in a sitting before moving on to something else, like a 1910 Pernod Fils or an Edouard Pernod.