I'm going to approach this review as a comparison to the original.

The colour seems a bit deeper than the unaged spirit, but is still bright. No worse or better, just a slightly different shade. It smells very similar to the original, but a bit more subdued. The grape base stands out more and there's a bit more of a purfumey character.

The louche moves along the same lines as the unaged spirit, but finishes a tad deeper and more on the yellow side of green than blue. After water it's more mellow, a bit more honeylike and candied. Soft.

Aging has brought a little more wormwood to the front and it has a corresponding increase in bitterness, but the sweet, fruity anise is still present. Some qualities that I enjoyed in the original are more like subtleties now whereas the base is more present. If there's an oak flavour from the aging I can't find it.

The finish is a bit more numbing but otherwise has the same great balance.

It's a real treat to compare the the absinthe both before and after barrel aging. I prefer it before the barrel aging but it would be interesting to see how both of these fare after some time in bottles.