Bringing Absinthe back to the US?

"Unfortunately, along with repeating standard factual information about absinthe, those online sites tend to collect the perspectives of recent absinthe hobbyists who have unwittingly bought into some absinthe misconceptions even while deploring others."

Hobbyists is not the full picture - they are also now proxies of the manufacturing industry. What's the big problem with selling absinthe today? Thujone.

Convenient how the guy that makes Lucid (thujone free absinthe ) "discovered" there was little or no thujone in old bottles....VERY CONVENIENT if you want to sell a faux version in America to the masses.

Do you dispute Dr Arnold's findings?

Bluebeard in Spirits

Attraction of Absinthe vs. Arak

Absinthe started life not as an aperatif but as an herbal elixir. It's existence predtaes the fairy stories invented by the 19th Century commercial absinthe dynasties.

The French word for wormwood is absinthe. Wormwood water was around long before that, and if you believe the modern fairy stories about "no thujone" in old bottles of absinthe...that's up to you.

Dr Niels Arnold (Biochemist, University of Kansas) reports 260mg/l thujone in old absinthe. The highest thesedays is 100mg/ l and the effects are pronounced. It is not a drink to be taken lightly....unless you want to sip some faux absinthe with a cute old French name and a decorative label.

Real absinthe in the tradition of the elixirs of old is hard to find in the noise of the modern mass market. One is called Century Absinth 100 and there's another private label called 330

Hausgemacht and the tradition of the farmhouse distiller is what you should look out for.

Bluebeard in Spirits

Real Absinthe...."King of Spirits"

I don't think Ernest Hemingway drank King of Spirits, did he? It seems unlikely as it wasn't made during his lifetime. I think he drank absinthe in Spain and Cuba when it was illegal elsewhere. I guess you mean he drank absinthe.

There is a lot of "debate" as to whether thujone is important or not - this may be because all absinthe that is currently sold in the USA must be "thujone free" Rather convenient...but there you go.

Bluebeard in Spirits

Attraction of Absinthe vs. Arak

Ask yourself these questions:

1. Who did the tests?
2. Which brands of pre-ban absinthe?
3. Do you think the thujone molecule degrades over 100 years?

Answers

1. The guy that makes "thujone free" Lucid..TA.Breaux
2. Nobdoy will tell you
3. Yes.

"Thujone Free" is the FDA definition. The test is carried out by the TTB. Welcome to America :-(

This is what Lucid has to say:

Does Lucid contain Thujone?

Lucid contains an amount of thujone that is within the legal limits set by the US regulatory authorities. Any product that comes to the US containing Grande Wormwood must also meet those same requirements, which are similar to the requirements of many other countries. Lucid also meets the thujone requirements of the European Union. According to extensive research conducted by T.A. Breaux, contrary to some common misconceptions, it was not unusual for genuine, high-quality absinthe from the Belle Epoqué period also to contain levels of thujone that would, today, be within US and EU regulatory limits. T.A. Breaux collected vintage absinthe bottles from estate sales and applied modern chemical analysis and determined the thujone content of vintage absinthe was much lower than was commonly believed. His research has been well documented and his findings remain generally undisputed.

According to Dr Niels Arnold of the University of Kansas (a better source than a manufacturers website) the real thujone level in old absinthe was 260mg/l. It does not exist today. The highest that you can find is 100mg/l

Bluebeard in Spirits

Century Absinthe & Others

LOL. Did you ever try it, Up With Olives?

Bluebeard in Spirits

Century Absinthe & Others

Whilst the US is being flooded with thujone free absinthe pastis (and associated hype in the media) there are a few quiet little corners of the world where the real Fee Verte flowers like a flower in a field of wheat. I've been tasting a few recently.

One that I stumbled across is an artisnal verte called Century Absinthe which has a thujone level of 100mg.

According to Dr Niels Arnold the thujone level in old absinthe was about 260mg and so this is about as close as it gets I guess. I was reading about the effects of this verte on various websites and found it very difficult to find any. It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

The taste is very pleasing with a complex wormwood bitterness and a back note of anise, it is really smooth and not at all astringent. The secondaries are pronounced and the effects of drinking such an absinthe are well known from the days of the Belle Epoque. Do I need to say more?

Whether this is a speedball of herbs or not, the high thujone level definitely plays a part. Why do some absinthes have pronounced secondaries and some don't?

I also tried a couple of others on subsequent nights. They were Absente (made with Southern Wormwood), King of Spirits Gold, Francois Guy. Both the Century Absinthe and the King of Spirits were expensive on account of their thujone content I guess. The others really didn't compare to this verte Century. Absente was tasty enough I guess and the Guy was what it is nothing special...I believe the French restrict the use of fennel for some reason and do not even allow absinthe to be called absinthe! I wasn't that pleased with the King of Spirits at all.

My tasting left me with a clear favourite and that was Century. I bought it after I read this guy

"I drank about 4 shots worth the first time and just remember sitting there and my wife just laughed and asked if I was alright. She said she asked that because I had a constant smile on my face. (Honestly wasn’t aware at the time till I stood up and looked in the mirror.)
Overall a strong sense of well being and clarity.. The best part was that the next morning I woke up 10 mins before the alarm went off and literally hopped out of bed. I felt outstanding.. It was the exact opposite of a hangover"

I know what he means.

http://www.centuryabsinthe.com has further info. Absesnte can be bought in many stores if you want a non thujone pastis.

Bluebeard in Spirits

Lucid Absinthe

There is another more authentic absinthe from Switzerland now available called Kubler Absinthe which contains thujone (Lucid doesn't) and that is OK for US sale as it has below 10mg / thujone and doesn't register on the TTB scale

I like the really high thujone and complex bitter edge of Century Absinthe which has 100mg. Strong and quite difficult to find as it is produced in very small batches only.

Bluebeard in Spirits

Date when Absinth Fire Ritual first started in Prague?

Totally wrong. The craze started in Dacice, Czech Republic (where the sugar cube was invented in the 1800s) during a visit by Bjork and The Sugar Cubes. The Czechs use caramel in many liquors. You DO NOT burn the absinthe - you add caramelised sugar...like an absinthe gommee syrup.

Here is a video of the correct fire ritual Boheme in French:

http://czechabsinthe.wordpress.com/2007/10/23/absinthe-ritual-2/

The thread that you suggest involves an unreliable source who knows absolutely nothing about this matter or absinthe. There was no "false information" in any ad copy - the fire ritual travelled to Rekjavik and then caught on, but it was already a well known means of adding caramel to negate the complex bitterness of high thujone bearing wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) in strong absinthe.

Bluebeard in Spirits

Okay, Absinthe is legal again - now where can I get it in DC?

There are three brands that are legal Kubler, Lucid and Green Moon. Luicd is available online for nationwide delivery. When you say absinthe is legal actually it is and it isn't. Two colleague kids got raided for drinking it in Arizona

http://czechabsinthe.wordpress.com/2007/10/05/absinthe-still-illegal-in-usa/

Maybe take time for law enforcement to get used to the idea? Theres something about thujone levels which make it legal or not.

Bluebeard in Washington DC & Baltimore Area

Real Absinthe...."King of Spirits"

Error: "Czech "absinthe" is all fake because it is made by maceration, not distillation, and uses food coloring"

This is just prejudice based upon lack of experience. Maceration is used in certain Czech absinthes:

"Today we have exceptional filtration technology that is able to process the macerate, remove the solid herbs and leave the herbal qualities in place in the alcohol."

Kyle J. Bairnsfather
Sdružení pro výrobu a odbyt likérů s.r.o

But distillation in others - i.e Cami Likeru. (See http://www.chowhound.com/topics/367463) Cami's Tolouse Lautrec ( a Czech blanche) is a top class absinthe. La Fee also make a great Bohemian absinth - Trul Absinthium 1792 is noted for it's louche etcera. BTW: the 20th century absinthe revival started in Bohemia.

Bluebeard in Spirits

Czech absinthe

What is your opinion of this?

"Today we have exceptional filtration technology that is able to process the macerate, remove the solid herbs and leave the herbal qualities in place in the alcohol."

Kyle J. Bairnsfather
Sdružení pro výrobu a odbyt likérů s.r.o

"Reality Absinthe can boast that it is handmade from all natural ingredients, with a darker olive-green coloration" (Review)

So no "food colouring"? This according to you is the standard of Czech Absinthe. Could you be wrong? Perish the thought!

Bluebeard in Spirits

Czech absinthe

I really loved your use of the term "dare"! Reminds me of the schoolyard! How old are you? Do you mean Cami's Tolouse Lautrec Absinthe? That's not distilled according to you, then?

I am here to learn :-)

Bluebeard in Spirits

Czech absinthe

"except that mine is an educated opinion"

Thank you for the clarification...:-)

"some opinions, however, happen to also be facts. others are not"

Really? "the Czech stuff is always made by maceration (much cheaper)" Always...are you sure about that? I do not think you are. Prejudice isn't fact.

Bluebeard in Spirits

Czech absinthe

"it outrages the new absinthe hobbyists and collectors, who go on and on about it,"
eatzalot Feb 17, 2007

Yep :-)

Re: Czech Absinthe. Nathan07: With all due respect that is just your opinion. Do you know about maceration? It may be cheaper (I do not know) but does it not preserve the herbal constituents better than distillation? Seems logical to me :-)

Bluebeard in Spirits

Czech absinthe

Becherovka, from the spa town Karlsbad (now called Karlovy Vary) in the Czech Republic, is one such "patent medicine" from the same period. It was wildly popular at one time too.

This may also interest you eatzalot:

http://www.godelfineart.com/artists/wiles_absinthe.htm

Bluebeard in Spirits

Czech absinthe

It may be "new" to us - I just learnt that mad Icelandic popstar Bjork was involved in it's discovery - but the Czechs have been burning sugar for ages. They invented the sweet thing in 1843! There is also a rumour that the fire ritual intensifies the thujone in the wormwood (which may account for Ali G's comments ;-)

I have tried both ways and find that you get two different drinks from the same bottle. Fine by me :-)

Bluebeard in Spirits

Czech absinthe

I agree Butterfly - you cannot drink absinthe neat! The ritual of absinthe drinking is fun though...fire or water with that Sir? I think it depends on your mood :-)

Bluebeard in Spirits