"The flavor is strongly anis with just the slightest hint of artemesia pontica's bitterness."

Unlike the other Spanish products, this one is a departure because it doesn't really present the flavor of a modified pastis.

I disagree with the quote above, as being that I've worked with A. pontica quite a lot, I don't taste the peculiar flavor of that herb in this product....at all. In fact, I can't think of *any* modern product which employs that particular herb, this one notwithstanding. Therefore, my revelation comes as no surprise.

Nevertheless, this product tastes like some effort went into it, and the flavor comes off as a peculiar balance of both anise and a couple of atypical aromatic essences, the combination of them giving almost a pleasant 'cough-syrup' like aroma and flavor. The texture of the flavor tells me something about how the herbs were prepared, and unlike the other Spanish products, it doesn't taste like any 'oily' adulterants were added to the distillate. Tasting the liqueur neat, I don't taste the pointed flavor of absinthium right off, but rather I get the heady scent of other aromas which present an alternate, unobtrusive bitterness. Don't mistake this for absinthium, it isn't. What I notice here is that the bitterness from the other essences seems to hit the bitter receptors rather quickly, so that's what you'll taste most prevalently.

The dark amber color looks to be derived from caramel. All things considered, the only negative thing I have to say about this product is that it is only 45 degrees, which would have qualified it as a lower grade, but FWIW, contributes to the peculiar softness of its aroma.

This product is priced about double that of the other Spanish products, and if I had to judge from experience, I'd say that it is made with considerably more care (and expense).
 
(With kind permission by Ted Breaux)