Everything tastes and smells like licorice. My tongue also simultaneously burns and is numb.
This stuff's hard-core compared to absinthe in terms of packing flavor in an ouzo sledgehammer to the face vs an absinthe uppercut.
Edit: yes I drank it straight. And I'm also comparing it to absinthe straight.
Take a bite of a pickle afterwards, it's actually pretty ok. I mean ouzo tastes horrible to me but I love pickles, so.