The nose is lemon, juniper, and cedar. The nose reminds me of daytime in the woods on a camping trip. It's quite nice win its own way, but it isn't normally want I would go for in a drink. The palate is pretty harsh and aggressive. There's a lot of spice and some strong bitterness. There is that absinthe sweetness, but like fernet, it is hard to appreciate. The bitterness is long and some numbing elements coming through with it. The complexity is nice and the flavors are appropriate and land well. The finish has a nice, mild herbal element. There's some chamomile flavor here that reminds me of modern gin in a good way and tastes quite good. This is a less sweet absinthe, but it has good flavors and balance for an herbal drink. I would like it to be less numbing, but it does a good job of balancing it's flavors. It isn't as good as Monkey 37 gin, but it's solid. There are some nice floral notes that add a mild rose perfume element to this drink, with a bit of a more bitter, subdued aspect. With water, the initial harshness is decreased, but it does come out more. The bitterness is also more pronounced and so is the chamomile. With enough water added, it goes from smelling like the woods to smelling like the sea. It's a nice shift that still exudes a feeling of relaxing vacation. The palate becomes increasingly bitter with added water. It's solid, but the flavor does go downhill. With a large amount of water added, the flavor becomes bitter with no balance from the sweet side, much like fernet. There is still plenty of chamomile, which suggests lemon peel and other herbs. It isn't excruciatingly bitter, but it is terribly numbing. The nose is delightfully complex, though not does smell like the pool. The harshness and spiciness are really what interfere with the palate at this point (though that is some pretty strong interference). I'm glad that that bit of lemon stays around to pull the chamomile notes in, but the overwhelming sense of this drink is increasingly conflicted as the water increases. Despite the really nice chamomile elements of modern gin here, Mata Hari tastes better as water is added and is not as absurdly numbing. This is a solid absinthe and I appreciate how it doesn't resort to excessive sweetness, but the flavor veers from solid and balanced to too bitter, harsh, and lacking in delightful notes. Even when it's 70% water, the bitterness and harshness remain. This just doesn't work with water, unfortunately. Without water though, it earns its 13. With it, it's a painful experience that pushes down to a 5 at times. I do not recommend this absinthe, though I do appreciate its good elements.