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Ok - we have been a little quiet lately, and the only excuse I’m going to provide is that when one has a young addition to the family in the first years of his life, it really throws plans for regular absinthe consumption out the window. Now he has more of his own independence, I can indulge more in daddy’s little helper and bring back some regularity to what’s on in Australia with regard to absinthe and associated cultural mores.

I have been sitting on this particular absinthe for too long - the wife is out, the child is having his afternoon nap, ginger & garlic beef stew on the slow cooker. Time to break the seal.

This Swiss baby is, according to the back label, hand crafted by Claude-Alain Bugnon, “one of the first clandestine distillers to come out into the open after the Swiss ban on absinthe was lifted in 2005″. It is a Swiss meadow in a bottle - over a dozen aromatic herbs in the making. I must admit upfront, as a trained herbalist such products tend to be favourite of mine as I untangle the dispensary upon my tongue.

I pop the T cork - this 68% alc/vol absinthe greets me with sweetened hyssop notes, a light touch of mint in the air, characteristic anise, antique leather armchair. But a dominant aroma of a freshly opened box of pipe tobacco mushrooms into the air, moist, just shredded to release the aromatics, rich like treacle. Not sure if I should smoke it in a pipe or drink it?

I pour a sample, and it is almost yellow. Citrine or Chrysoberyl. It is naturally coloured, but it is certainly a unique hue.  When drinking alone I sometimes defer to the careful pour from my water decanter, which does tend to be a bit quicker than a fountain drip, but this is not a quick louche absinthe. It resists my aqueous invocations.  The level goes up and up before the first tease of transformation. Patience. Patience is a virtue. About 3/4 there it blossoms, swirls of opaqueness that soon transforms into a veritable mothers milk - thick, solid, almost impenetrable as the spoon disappears into its veil.

To the taste, I first note a soft saltiness wrapped up in a more gentle beguiling wormwood bitterness.  And then, for a minute you fear that there may be an impending and unfortunate alcohol burn in the back of the throat - but no - it halt on the edge of the precipice and instead melts down your neck like a thick anise linament, warming, therapeutic, but no more than that.

The aroma on dilution is principally anise & fennel, the texture on the tongue is thick and gracious reflecting the appearance of the louche. I do think there may be more complexity hidden and weaved on the nose than on the tongue - but do not mistake this as meaning the taste is at all boring.

For a complicated absinthe it seems to try not to complicate the taster, which can be a risk for absinthes of this style. It does have a very good length - continuing to please in the minutes after the taste.  And then, as the absinthe in the glass warms a little, the tongue and snoz are teased with that cheeky mint again - more like a Persian Spearmint tea kind.

By no means an entry level absinthe, but I think accessible to those on all rungs above on the ladder - the training of the nose and palate I believe will unveil more and more surprises in this absinthe.  A welcome back for me, openly taunting me with what I have been missing.

Angelique Verte Suisse was kindly provided by Absinthesalon.com.au for review

The fine folk at Just Drinks and the International Wine & Spirit Research magazine have released probably the first comprehensive global market analysis of absinthe, but being closer to $900AUS , we certainly don’t feel flush enough this side of Xmas to run out and purchase it.

However their article spruiking the report does contain some interesting nuggets of information.

It is reported that Pernod Ricard is “seeking to breathe new life into absinthe by targeting its own namesake brand of the controversial spirit at the arts and fashion world”. Far be it from us to suggest that maybe this is a band wagon Pernod Ricard should have jumped on properly on at the onset, and may well be regarded as a bit Johnny–Come-Lately by those  absinthe cognoscenti. While their modern Pernod absinthe is a good entry level product it does not necessarily set the world on fire, and what with their under investment in promoting the product since its re-entry to the market, it is no surprise they only sell about 15,000 cases annually.

But Pernod Ricard has the bucks and the marketing gravitas to make this all about the image and less about what is actually in the bottle, heaven knows it worked for Green Fairy, and thereby has a major advantage over more premium artisan products and mascerated-window cleaner ‘absinth’ products.

Maybe a reformulation is in the winds ? – we can only hope, when international director for Pernod absinthe, Jean-François Collobert is quoted “Since the restrictions were lifted in France in 2011 we decided to accelerate the redevelopment of our absinthe brand both in terms of the product itself, but also in terms of geographic expansion”. Furthermore, Collobert states in the article that he sees Pernod absinthe remaining a super-premium product, perhaps as a step up from the Pernod and Ricard anis drinks, with capacity for doubling the volume and making absinthe a major.

Many already in the know would say they have a high bar to jump to be ’super-premium’ compared to artisan absinthe products on the market, but good luck to them.

It’s a shame Just Drinks keep perpetuating the disproven palava about 19^th C Absinthe having much higher levels of thujone.

The Swiss are famous for many things - chocolate, wristwatches and half-assed neutrality. But one should never forget that many of the traditions of absinthe distillation were kept alive in the Alps of Switzerland amongst clandestine bootleggers when prohibition was enacted and operational.

These uncoloured La Bleue absinthes are quite a different style to many other continental absinthes, and La Clandestine Absinthe is no exception. The love child of distiller Claude-Alain Bugnon in Val-de-Travers, this particular incarnation of this very old style absinthe had its origins in a secret still next to his wife’s washing machine, before becoming the commercially produced and legally distributed product it is today.

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While enjoying the afternoon at the Absinthesalon, I had the opportunity to partake in a sneaky glass of absinthe, and chose to indulge in the Jade PF 1901 – yet another creation of the master, Ted Breaux.

PF1901 is a tribute absinthe to perhaps the most famous of absinthe’s, Pernod Fils, with the date reflective of the year that the famous Pontarlier absinthe distillery caught fire and was destroyed.

from the Melbourne “Argus”, 15 August 1901

This verte absinthe comes in at 68% alc/vol, in an attractive amber bottle with a ornate label highlighted in gold leaf.  The liquid was clear and intense in a convincing natural peridot colour, leaning more towards the olive yellow end of the spectrum.

My first long inhale was something of a surprise – to be honest I did not get the usual herbaceous hit of many absinthes, rather this absinthe had some similarities to a fine Pinot Noir.  It was an integrated perfumed nose, touches of violet and other sweet floral notes. It actually initiated discussion about the use of wine as a spirit base and to what degree this can influence the taste of an absinthe. The other surprise was I could smell a certain pleasant minerality that usually I only taste and generally seek out as one of my benchmarks for quality.

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Cheap puns and expensive liquor, yes siree, that’s what we are about here at Absinthe.com.au

Doubs Premium Absinthe has been on Australian liquor store shelves for a while now and probably overdue for a review.  Presented in a nice giftbox, this 500mL rectangular based bottle is adorned with a screw-cap printed with fleur-de-lys motifs, and so named after the region of Doubs at the base of the Jura Mountains in France, known historically for absinthe production (albeit the product is actually from South Africa). The product is 55% alc/vol, a little lower than some, and claims 7.4mg/L thujone - which is also a little at odds with the “maximum thujone” claim on the front label, which would be 10 mg/L.  But as we all know, the thujone content is not and should not be the determining factor of a quality absinthe, don’t we? (Repeat after me those thinking otherwise…)

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Industry intel from the Just Drinks media group alert us to multinational wine and spirits behemoth Pernod Ricard announcing that it will support emerging visual artists, through a competition featuring its Pernod Aux Plantes d’Absinthe Superieure brand.

The contest will award its first place winner $1805 US in cash with a second place prize of $500 and third place $250. There are plans for a celebratory event to be run concurrently with The Armory Show, the annual international art fair, in New York City.

Brian Eckert, Pernod brand manager for Pernod Ricard USA is quoted as saying “Pernod has been a strong supporter of the arts since the brand debuted in France more than 200 years ago” - a statement I am sure is true if you count keeping bohemian artists in constant creative lubrication.

“Since its debut, Pernod has been a favourite drink among the cultural elite including Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet and Poe. We thought it fitting to honour this relationship with a contest that celebrates the artist in us all.”

While some may suggest that these cultural elite were also regarded fringe degenerates by polite society in their time, certainly Pernod Ricard as a modern company are doing their bit to support the arts so they are putting their money where their mouth is.

Interested artists must submit only original works, and all works submitted must include the date 1805, the date the brand was first launched.  Submissions are being accepted until the end of  January, 2010, in the following categories: painting, illustration, photography, video, digital/animation.

Submissions will be accepted entirely online at www.facebook.com/pernodabsinthe.

Important news update antipodean absintheurs of Sydney!

Sometimes investing in an expensive bottle of absinthe does require a little bit of trust - wouldn’t it be good if you could try a range first before making that decision?

Well now you can.

Those providores of Parisian perfection at Absinthesalon have opened a shopfront and imbibing premises of distinction on 87 Albion Street, Surry Hills. With a large range of absinthes to sample, at very reasonable prices, I’m not sure why you are still reading this and not out the door. Or on a plane (if you are interstate)..

Why am I haunted by bad eighties tunes when I write these things? Ahem.

Fellow absintheur, you can no doubt be aware that many a fine cocktail establishment are making a mark for themselves, not only on the Australian stage, but yea verily, on the global stage.  And signature absinthe cocktails are contributing to this success.

You will hear more about such establishments in coming weeks, but I want to first highlight a major event just passed in Ol’ New Orleans - Tales of the Cocktail , an internationally acclaimed gathering of the literati and glitterati of the mixological world, including  the Second Annual Wormwood Society Grande Soiree d’Absinthe.  Honestly, if you want to get to know your absinthe (aside from us of course), join the merry folk on the Wormwood Society Forum. They are US based but many an antipodean does frequent its hallowed halls.

Matthew Bax - De Raum Owner and Artist

Now, why this particular event is so special is that over the last couple of years, Australian establishments have made something of an impact - last year with 1806, and this year with De Raum, two establishments who have made absinthe part of their cocktail raison d’etre.

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While I’m usually loathe to compare bands to other bands or artists that have similar sounds – as a point of complement I am happy on this occasion to say the first time I heard Jai Pyne’s voice, lead singer for Sydney band, The Paper Scissors, I pictured a strange experiment that somehow involved cross breeding David Bowie and Frank Black. Granted one would not engage in such profane genetic manipulation for visual aesthetics but perhaps for more profound musicality one would dare to play God a little.

The Paper Scissors have just released their new E.P., ‘Howl’ on the eve of a national tour, which can be downloaded from all good electronic stores like iTunes.

The E.P. title track ‘Howl’ has a certain rocky balladeering sentiment, haunted octaval lyrical treatment, with a somewhat kooky, but highly appropriate discordant backing vocal that fits nicely amongst this rock number.  This is followed by the new-wavish bass driven ‘Soldier’ that regularly jumps sideways into a pleasing pseudo-swing style chorus.  The E.P is complemented with 3 remixes of Howl – the Cleptoleptics brings the vocal structures and interplays more prominently into the fore amongst a more reserved IDMesque blip track. The E.L.F Remix is almost flocking with seagulls and may be the least adventurous treatment.  The SPOD Remix is practically a different song altogether, a conveyer belt of electronic grooving and widget twitching with electro-interference treatments that playfully pummel around the vocal refrains. Certainly the most interesting of the remixes.

I think that while the songs had great capacity to be played ‘safe’ – the risks that are taken make them musically much more engaging than many recent Australian bands coming out of the stables.  While getting good exposure of late on JJJ, with the lads on tour it is an excellent time to see them live, and grab yourself a copy of the E.P.

Absinthe Jade Edouard 72%
Reviewed 15 May 2009

Jade Edouard, in its relatively short life, has become quiet a phenomenon. This absinthe was created by Ted Breaux at Jade Liqueurs as an answer to Edouard Pernod, the pre-ban classic absinthe. Though not all absintheurs have had the opportunity to judge for themselves, anyone who has tasted the Jade Edouard will tell you the modern version is one hell of a fine absinthe.

Jade Edouard 72

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