“Until very recently the history of absinthe in Australia has largely gone unrecorded. The work of contemporary absinthe researchers such as Gaye Valtilla, Jonathan Carfax and Robert Maxwell have uncovered key details relating to absinthe in 19th century Australia… it has recently been proven that absinthe was indeed being imported into Australia during the 19th century, particularly as several bottles of pre-ban absinthe have recently surfaced in the country with very strong provenance.”

Our history page has now been updated to include some of the latest information on pre-ban absinthe in 19th century Australia. This section of our site is continually growing and expanding as new leads come to light, so be sure to check back often.

Go to: Absinthe - A History in Green

We have been overwhelmed by the popularity of our wee website, as evinced by our ever-increasing member list and the enthusiastic response we have received from our readers across ther country and the world - and we cannot thank you enough for your support and encouragement. We can, however, urge you to spread the word! Libertines, unite! We can only get bigger and better.

Look out for a few special goodies in the coming weeks, such as reviews (including our very first review of a vintage, pre-ban absinthe), interviews with leading world experts on absinthe, an expansion of our history section to include absinthe in 19th century Australia, our first regular guest column (in which we track the descent into absinthe-soaked bohemia of a hapless Sydney crime writer), music reviews and… a forum! Yes, you too will be able to prattle on about la fee verte in the comfort of your own country. It’s terribly exciting.

We would also like to take this opportunity to welcome out newest advertiser and friend of Absinthe.com.au, Gallery Serpentine. Gallery Serpentine is Australia’s most highly regarded and successsful cosetry/period/gothic boutique, and produce some of the most beautiful pieces of clothing you are likely ever to encounter. I myself own half a dozen pieces, and I am a boy for God’s sake. So visit Serpentine, say hello to the gorgeous Stephanie and punish your credit card.

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One of your admins here at absinthe.com.au has recently had the pleasure of tasting the very first batch of hand-made chocolate absinthe truffles from a certain purveyor of fine absinthes. Without giving too much away let’s just say that there are several varieties of truffle using two types of absinthe and… they are very good. Very, very good. In fact, I want more of them immediately.

We will keep you posted.

Mmm… chocolate.

Lemercier ‘Abisinthe’ 45%

Lemercier Freres, Fougerolles, France

Reviewed: 10 February 2008

With/without sugar? 1 cube

Any absintheur familiar with other online absinthe review sites will be aware that, overall, the Lemercier 45% has not received the best of appraisals. Mind you, this is not to say that it has had bad reviews as such. Rather, it seems other reviewers have focussed on perceived short-comings of the 45%, most notably it’s colour and middling flavour profile. While your humble taster at absinthe.com.au cannot discount these observations, it remains that this absinthe is well made and quite obviously the product of a knowledgable hand. This is not, by any means, a bad absinthe. It’s just, well… a little bit yellow.

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In the spirit of Australia Day, we offer you…

Moulin Rooz 60%

The Australian Vodka Company - Tambourine Mountain Distillery

Reviewed: 26 January 2008

With/without sugar? Both

Reviewed - Robert Maxwell & Jonathan Carfax (Reviews in tandem! How modern.)

According to Aboriginal legend, the first platypus were born after a young female duck mated with a lonely and persuasive water-rat. The duck’s offspring had their mother’s bill and webbed feet and their father’s four legs and handsome brown fur.

-From www.platypus.asn.au

In much the same way that the eurocentric Royal Society gasped in disbelief when New South Wales Governor Captain John Hunter sent a platypus pelt to London, only to have it dismissed as an elaborate hoax - those of us learned absintheurs of French, Swiss or even Spanish tastes may find ourselves perplexed by what is before us.

Moulin Rooz, currently Australia’s only commercially distilled absinthe, really is a surprising creature indeed.

The first thing one notices is the extreme emerald green colour of the raw absinthe, presented in quite a long, nouveau-inspired clear glass bottle with t-cork closure (As it happens, the height of this bottle is it’s undoing in terms of my absinthe collection - it doesn’t fit in my absinthe cabinet. How tiresome. - Robert). The labelling is somewhat “home-spun” reflective of its cottage-industry origins, and features a kangaroo in quasi-fin-de-siecle costume with a bottle of MR and two more stuffed in her pouch.

Given the colour of the absinthe and the clear glass bottle, one immediately assumes that this is an artificially coloured absinthe, which is indeed the case. The label information tells us that:

“Moulin Rooz is Australia’s first premium Absinthe. Five times-distilled from the finest Australian grapes, with perfect balance of Elderflower, Gentian, Fennelseed, Hyssop and Wormwood(thujone), Moulin Rooz is further enhanced with Australian Native Aniseed Myrtle and other selected botanicals. A perfect expression of bitter and aromatic herbs, with hints of the Australian Bush. (Natural herbal particles may be present)”

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I’ll get to the point up front - this is a decent Swiss absinthe.

Adorned with a slightly surreal painting by Manson of himself in old age, one might become suspicious that this is largely a ‘vanity label’ or ‘celebrity brand’. But rather than just another product looking for a celebrity endorsement, we have a much more interesting story of a modern entertainer who has worked hand in hand with a traditional distiller to produce something that maintains the right aesthetic for both.

I would generally like to avoid using the term ‘brand’ here because Manson’s portfolio of interests is extending well past music into art, film, literature and now absinthe - would it be fair to call ‘Andy Warhol’ a brand? Well, yes, the Warhol Foundation has seen to it that it is now through extensive licencing.

So if Manson must be conceded as a brand, thank goodness it is a brand with certain minimum values.

I remember reading a story about Mr Manson ‘holding court’ with fans on an occasion - and at this meet and greet, the truly tragically gothic and beautiful were overlooked in favour of the geeky and awkward. And here is a dichotomy I think some people miss with Manson - for all the ‘distinctiveness’ he projects, I don’t believe he seems himself as forsaking society like some ascetic, but to evolve as he is ‘within’ the confines of that society. He is not inaccessible.

I’m trying to use this anecdote as a metaphor for saying that Manson has put his name to an accessible absinthe - with a quality and price point that allows anyone, the geeks, the goths, the “it must be French/Swiss” absintheur and even the “woohoo! absinth shooters!” consumer to try it (and hopefully change the behaviour of the latter).

In fact, accessibility seemed to have part of the very intent in the crafting of this absinthe by Swiss distillery Matter-Luginbühl AG. Read the history and you will see this product is as much about a family tradition as it is about a man with his name on a bottle.

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Although this absinthe is not in ready commercial distribution in Australia, there is mail order and notable tourist-based personal import, to the degree that the fine folk at the Fischer Schnappsmuseum in Vienna felt it necessary to produce a template customs declaration for Australia to verify that it contained less than the legal 10mg/kg of thujone.

I never got the chance to use this customs declaration when I picked up a bottle in Austria, because those *!@#@-wits at Heathrow Airport and British Airways decided to lose my bags for two weeks enroute back to Australia (despite multiple assurances that the luggage would be on board after missing a connection…look- don’t get me started or I’ll rave on about the pure incompetence of BA…needless to say I am among the thousands who will now refuse to go through that hell hole of a transport hub or travel on that airline).

Anyway, my bags were eventually returned with the absinthe, so fortunately I can bring you my particular thoughts on this somewhat unusual product…

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Kübler 53%

Blackmint Distillery, Motiers, Switzerland

Reviewed: 8 December 2007

With/without sugar? Both.

Kübler 53% is a distilled Swiss La Bleue absinthe, produced in the Kübler ancestral distillery in the Val de Travers, dating to 1864. Interestingly, Kübler was the first absinthe in Switzerland to be produced legally post-prohibition, thanks in part to distiller Yves Kübler’s idea to trademark the word ‘absinthe’, thus allowing him to sell his product as such when others could not. The absinthe is presented in a shouldered olive green bottle with a cork stopper. This cork closure turned out to be more of a problem than one would expect, as the ‘lid’ or external part of the stopper came away from the cork, meaning your taster had the delightful experience of opening his bottle of Kübler with a pair of pliers. Oh, the romance… (If this happens to anyone else, try to avoid opening the bottle with a cork screw, as this perforates the cork totally and may lead to evaporation of your absinthe. However, if you just can’t wait and have the corkscrew at the ready, replace it with a T-cork and make your life much easier in the long run.)

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