Absinth Duplais Balance

Absinth Duplais Balance with 500 ml. and 60 % vol. The Balance bottle had our favorite label of the three we received - each has a picture from a different artist. The absinthe itself had a beautiful bright green hue we'd never seen before - it was actually so brightly green we were put into mind of chlorophyll, and it was perfectly free of haze and debris. When we added cold water, the louche was nice and thick and full of neon green swirls, though not quite as slow as we might have liked. Though it went mostly white and opaque during the louche, the absinthe kept a nice green haze we hadn't seen in other absinthes we've tried.

Before water the aroma was grander and more profound than the Blanche, much more strongly fennel and very herbal, which was most likely due in part to the lower alcohol. We found ourselves trying to describe it in terms of sound - this absinthe had a deeper pitch than the blanche - and we weren't even feeling the effects of the tasting yet. The water brightened the aroma up significantly, and we detected even more minty notes, plus a hint of coriander?

The mouth feel was described by our intern wingmen as "slimy in a good way," and there was definitely a bigness to it. Overall the taste was smokier than we'd expected, with some fruitiness there as well. The water brought out the anise flavor, and in a strange way we felt as though we were not experiencing a taste as much as an aftertaste, as though the flavor was delayed after the initial sip. The finish didn't last as long as with the Blanche, but it was nice and warm along the way.