Appearance: (neat) Pale moss with yellow peridot highlights. (louched) Pale, opalescent with an off-white bluish hue. The louche starts slowly but then suddenly blossoms just before 1:1 and is fully formed by 1:3, however it is not a strong louche and has a cloudy appearance rather than being dense and opaque. Against a strong light the louche is misty. Nose: (neat) Green anise, fennel, mint. Fresh piney notes and hint of almond. (louched) The aromas develop strongly with the first drops of water and are easily noticed from a distance. Clean and fresh in character with well defined wormwood. The anise is held in check and there is a light floral and spearmint presence along with a woody note. Palate: Poised and delicate. The balance between the holy trinity of green anise, grand wormwood and fennel is good with the green anise being slightly forward. The palate has a pleasant texture but it is not quite creamy. As the palate develops you notice subtle woody qualities, and later more complex alpine herbal flavours and a forceful presence of mint. At no time is there any suggestion of hard or gripping notes, even at very low dilution ratios, but there is an agreeable bitter taste to the later palate and finish. I’d recommend not over-watering this absinthe as its delicate character can easily be drowned. I’d suggest a ratio of 1:3, at which point there is a little tangy numbingness to the sides of the tongue and the palate is at its best. Duplais Balance was formulated by Oliver Matter at Matter-Luginbuhl distillery, located near Bern. His recipe was based on one from Paul Duplais’ 1855 book “A Treatise on the Manufacture & Distillation of Alcoholic Liqueurs”. It is a well constructed absinthe that, like its name, displays excellent balance. However the name is actually an hommage to musician and artist Jhonn Balance who died tragically following an accident in 2004. This is a good absinthe, and very well made, however it is not one of the greats and as it costs the same as any of the Jade range I would recommend one of those instead. I have mostly been using this for making Sazaracs rather than taking it diluted on its own. “Good” : 83/100 (3.5)