Now you can hallucinate under the Green Fairy’s spell on your next Trans-American flight.

At least this is what the media coverage would like to suggest, with the news that Sir “Getting It Up” Dicko Branson will be serving absinthe on Virgin America flights in First Class and Cabin Select.

Just which absinthe has the pleasure of becoming a born-again Virgin?

Le Tourment Vert.

While the trademarks have been registered in Australia, we are yet to see this product on Australian shores, and to be frank we aren’t salivating in anticipation at Absinthe.com.au.  While this brand has been making big media in the US, with some big promotional dollars - amongst the absinthe intelligensia we learn that the biggest fundamental faults with the product is that it doesn’t louche and is artificially coloured to buggery. The flavour profile leaves a lot to be desired as well.

Probably no wonder that Virgin are using it for cocktails rather than any traditional preparation.

Oh, but it gets better. The inaugural absinthe cocktail - The Mile High - is a creative mixological opus that combines Tourment Vert with Sprite lemonade. With a wedge of lemon.

With Virgin about to launch their international service in Australia, I sincerely hope that Australian flyers are not short changed into losing their ‘absinthe viriginity’ to a second rate product that many are even questioning as to whether it deserves the moniker.

You’re on notice Dicko.  Don’t make it an experience we’ll all regret next morning.

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An event fast becoming noteworthy on the calender in terms of absinthe is the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

It is true that in previous years that the (lack of) knowledge and discernment has been reflected in the absinthe products that have surprisingly received awards.  Oh, don’t get me wrong - I’m sure the judges selected have been experts in their fields in wine, mainstream spirits and cocktail creations - bit the relative obscurity of absinthe in the commercial mainstream until quite recently can only raise the question as to what the basis of comparison was for some of the decisions?

We have moved on a bit - and perhaps the most fascinating trend to emerge from the competition is the proliferation of new American absinthe products from artisan distillers throwing their hat into the ring (and relative absence of high end European brands with an exception or two).

While most of these products are not yet available in Australia, it is a good idea to become familiar with the new offerings emerging in the American markets, and ponder whether we might see something of the Old World-New World divide emerging in the future, not unlike wine.

Gold Medal Winner

Vieux Carre Absinthe Superieure, Pennsylvania, USA

Silver Medal Winner

Obsello Absinthe Verte, Spain

Bronze Medal Winners

Redux Absinthe, Ohio, USA

Leopold Bros. Absinthe Verte, USA

Versinthe Absinthe, France

Jade Nouvelle-Orleans Review 30 March 2009

Jade Liquers Absinthe has had a near mythical status over the past 10 years.  Literally meeting the oft-imagined archetype of mad scientists retro-engineering original absinthe with modern technology, the Jade portfolio of absinthe has had a very difficult birth.  Through government stalling, fluctuating business relationships,  frequent beating of the piñata of popular absinthe myth - the drinks affectionately known to many as Breaux’s Brews (after Jade’s founder Ted Breaux, scientist, absintheur and chiselled Val Kilmer look-alike) is subject of a tale I’m sure that will be told by a skillful raconteur still to come.  Unfortunately many of us involved in the proto-revival are not at an arms-length to the Jade story.  Many were recipients of early clandestine versions, some were avid supporters, some hardened critics.

Even fellow editor Mr Maxwell and myself were subjected to hours of consuming an early version of Jade in a steamy Bangkok summer at the infamous ‘Chateau Jade’ where some early distillation development occurred by the proprietor - but I assure you dear reader that we were there for the good company, Thai food and absinthe, not the dominatrixes in cat suits.  (But they certainly helped the atmosphere of decadence).

That brings me to the actual tasting of Nouvelle-Orleans….

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Absinthe Duplais Blanche 72°

Matter-Luginbühl Distillery

Reviewed 8 Dec 2008

sans sucre

Quite simply, Absinthe Duplais Blanche is beautiful. It is smooth, alpine, refreshing and altogether bloody good.

What, that’s not long enough? OK, it is also delicate and refined, and certainly not the sort of thing you’d splash about on newbies or reach for halfway through a well-lubricated party. This one of those absinthes you keep at the front of the cabinet, but only get out when you’re feeling reeeeally generous. Or want to show off. Or are flush this month. Or have a craving.

Actually, I’m having one now.

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Obsello Absenta 50°
Reviewed 15 Nov 2008
sans sucre

Note: This absinthe is sold internationally with two different labels, one which say ‘absinthe’ and the other which says ‘absenta’ (absinthe in Spanish). They are exactly the same product.

Aah, good old Spanish absenta… those were the days.

I remember a time, not that long ago, when Carfax and I would place an order to an online bottle shop in Spain, and sit in our respective living rooms for about two weeks clock-watching and praying that we would get a lazy customs person this time, or that they wouldn’t realise that the booze in their hand was illegal to import into Australia, or that they didn’t know what absinthe was. Just let it get through! Most of the time it did. Some of the time, however, it did not. It was the latter scenario which prompted us to investigate the prohibition on absinthe active in Australia at the time, and led to an interesting discovery… but that’s another story.

What I was getting at is that I have very fond memories of my first Spanish absinthe experiences, even though they were all oil mixes and of questionable connoisseurial value. Though I do still say that Serpis is one of my all-time favourites. It’s red, for f*cks sake.

Given the above, you can understand how excited I was when I found out that I was getting a bottle of Obsello, the first premium, distilled absinthe verte to be produced in Spain. If you are a crusty old fan of dodgy Spanish absinthe, and remember sitting by candlelight, listening to Bauhaus and waiting for the mailman to come – wait ’til you try this one.

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Since the fine folk at Absinthesalon provided me this bottle during a recent imbibing over excellent tapas, I’ve been waiting for good spring weather to review this absinthe with some professional distance and concerted contemplation. I tasted something very special over my garlic prawns that night -  but I needed a clean palate and fresh air to re-evaluate my first impressions.

And as it is a cottage-industry made absinthe, what is more appropriate than to review it in the garden of a cottage?

Those of you more familiar with the modern commercial absinthe offerings may not have heard the term used in some absinthe circles - Hausgemacht. Homemade. Prior to the global re-legalisation there was a lot of clandestine Hausgemacht absinthe being made and shipped secretly amongst the global absinthe community. Some laid the foundations for new global enterprise. Some served as a substitute for draino.

Eichelberger (Acorn Mountain) Spezialitaten Vert 68 is a special artisan absinthe made in Germany with its origins amongst the then clandestine teuton community, who challenged themselves to arrive at a quality crafted brew worthy of larger commercial production. The distiller Michael Weinzierl, under the pseudonym of Deep Forest, paved the way for his peer-supported absinthe to undergo production at a family run distillery in Bavaria owned by Dr Lili and Rudolph Wild. Production is usually limited to a quite small but special 30 litres per batch.

While it may seem small scale on production size and presentation - it is big on impressions.

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For the confused, a number of tourist retailers in Austria carry T-shirts with the above slogan. It would be funnier if it wasn’t for the fact that many an importing absintheur in Australia has in fact had their packages turn up in Austria instead.

However, I digress from the intention of this post.

Recent browsing through the Australian Trademarks Registry has alerted us to the fact that those mighty fine Fischer folk at the Vienna Schnapps Museum are in the process of finalising the legal leg work to bring two absinthe products to our antipodean shores from Austria.

The first is Absinth Grüne Fee - I must admit initial nervousness that this might be a ‘Czech’ style ‘absinth’, however referral to the company website indicates that it does louche, so I will hold any judgement until a proper review can be conducted.

The second is Mata Hari - Mark 2. I for one am pleased to see this product now coloured naturally instead for the vibrant radioactive green of past formulations. It still retains its ‘niche’ of being low on the anise to make it an accessible entry point for those otherwise adverse to this particular flavour.

Details are indeed sketchy at this time. However dear reader, as soon as we know more we shall ensure you know as well. Formal trademark approval was only granted late July 2008, so I well expect that we may see these on our markets before the years end.

One begins to develop specific criteria around when you want to have an absinthe, and how you would like an absinthe to be prepared. I for one seem to prefer to partake in absinthe when the weather is warmer, as the chilled water is more refreshing, and yet the ambient temperature allows for the heady aromas to burst forth from the bottle and the glass to add to the olfactory enjoyment.

It is therefore with some trepidation that I review this absinthe, Duplais Verte, as it is below 15 Celsius, wet and miserable outside. I will however press on with this review, but perhaps reserve the right to revisit my thoughts when spring has sprung and conditions are more to my liking.

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This has been a bit of a nostalgic journey for me.

About 9 months ago I left Sydney and moved to Adelaide, yet now here I am, tracing paths in the back streets of Newtown on a Sunday afternoon, much like I used to do on a regular basis. Strong emotion stirs from the familiarity of footsteps on these same roads, the same stray cats, the same eccentric individuals perched in coffee shops or begging in a doorway, passing by the old 19th century houses that I have often thought ‘I’d like to live in that’, thinking about a parallel life that maybe is happening in another time and space.

The popular inner Sydney suburbs of Newtown, Camperdown, Erskineville and surrounds are an appropriate place to reflect on history, particularly the era when absinthe was in its heyday.  In these gracefully decaying streets are the lingering ghosts of previous centuries… the ’Murdering Makins of MacDonaldtown’ who mercilessly did away with at least 13 babies while running a faux-child care operation out of labyrinthine lane ways; the blackened dusty workmen who laboured at the Eveleigh railyards or St Peters Brickworks; the juvenile delinquents of the  ’Glebe Push’ and ‘Forty Thieves’ street gangs, notorious for their trail of theft and assault…

I spy with my little eye….

It is fitting, then, that we invoke these phantoms, that we grasp at the sounds and sights of another time, for on this afternoon both Robert and I journey to the house of our good friend Daniel to partake in something almost 100 years old, our own little time-travel experience….

- a sample of pre-ban Pernod Fils Absinthe, circa 1910.

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 Daniel Hatadi - Still life with Pernod Fils 1910 and Sydney Morning Herald 2008 

After a time of quietude and reverential repose, we are back… and do we have news for you.

Reviews a-plenty are in the works, so make sure you check back for our thoughts on Duplais Verte and St George, amongst quite a few others. The St George review is well worth looking out for, as it is the first Australian tasting of this marque which caused a stir in its native US, as much for its significance (the first absinthe distilled in the US post-ban) as for its formulation (which includes Tarragon and Stinging Nettles, amongst other things). We will also be conducting  some reviews of Ordinaire brands like La Fee Parisienne, Doubs, and Pernod.

If either Carfax or I can stand it, we will also be forcing ourselves to do some tastings of some of the typical ‘absinth’ brands you’re likely to encounter, and what, if anything they are even remotely appropriate for (apart from getting a fire started when you’re wood is a bit damp. No shit, it actually works). So, in the name of scientific endeavour, connoisseurship and the edification of the great unwashed, we will voluntarily imbibe foul smelling liquids and comment upon them. With as little obscenity as possible.

Most importantly, we were recently lucky enough to sample a bottle of preban absinthe, Pernod Fils circa 1910, which was simply sublime. Expect an imminent review with many, many pictures, such as the one by the dedicated, debauched and most generous of Libertines Daniel Hatadi featured above.

On top of all this loveliness, we have interviews, history updates and a series of photographic works in the offing, so stay tuned.