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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Verte de Fougerolles 72°
Devoille Distillery, Fougerolles, France
Reviewed 13 April 2008
Sans sucre

Paul Devoille is widely regarded as one of the world’s top contemporary absinthe producers, along with Markus Lion, Ted Breaux et. al; and with good reason. Paul’s absinthes are intricate arrangements of familiar flavour notes, presented in interesting combinations, with the occasional surprising ingredient slipped in with great effect. However, the Fougerolles varieties (see our Blanche review here) are by no means absinthes for the casual drinker or the neophyte absintheur - the Verte in particular can present certain flavour combinations which may not be immediately embraced by all drinkers, but more on that later. It is our opinion here at www.absinthe.com.au that both the Verte de Fougerolles and Blanche de Fougerolles belong in the upper echelon of Superieure, distilled absinthes, and makes for a very, very interesting absinthe experience.

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The San Francisco World Spirit Awards were recently held (in San Francisco, as it happens), and it seems Matter-Luginbuhl AG/Absinthe.decame out winners, scoring medals for two different absinthes.

The SF World Spirit Awards are, in their own words, “the first comprehensive, international spirits judging ever held in the United States on an annual basis…Founded in 2000 by Anthony Dias Blue, the Executive Director of the San Francisco International Wine Competition and Carol Seibert, the Managing Director of the San Francisco International Wine Competition, the Spirits Competition continues to grow each year in entrants as well as in stature within the industry”. Judges for the competiton have been drawn from the upper eschelons of the US bars and clubs industry, distillers, journalists and editors and, oh dear… two ‘mixologists’. That term is rubbish. You’re a bartender, deal with it.

Anyway, my point is that the brains-trust behind the SF awards seems pretty secure, which cannot necessarily be said for those recently employed by Epicurious to ignorantly trash… pardon, review, the same absinthe which has just won an award.

A legitimate one, at that.

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Absinthe isn’t all green fairies.

We often obsess over whether it is artifical or naturally coloured, whether the natural colour is a commercial chlorophyll or whether a proper natural colouration step is used. So when the colour is removed, we are freed to focus a lot more on the other important characteristics of an absinthe - particularly the aromas and flavours.

Blanche de Fougerolles is, as implied by the name, a blanche - meaning it is a clear absinthe that has not undergone any colouration. It is our invisible fairy. Sometimes called a La Bleue in Switzerland, this style is more popularly associated in context to the illicit Swiss stills that produced bootleg absinthe. This product however is produced by French Distiller Paul Devoille at his family owned distillery exclusively for Liqueurs de France.

The label text of this 74% alc/vol absinthe reads as follows:

This unsweetened apertif is made by individually distilling in high quality grap-based spirit both grand and petit wormwood, green anise, coriander, hyssop, génépi , camomile, fennel, veronica and angelica. The distillates are then carefully blended in accordance to historical methods once again used by Hughes de Miscault at his distillery in North Eastern France. The protocols for this uncolored absinthe come from the recipe listed as “Absinthe suisse blanche” in several well regarded French distillers manuals of the 19th century, including P. Duplais, J.Fritsch and J.de Brevans. It has been finished at 74% alcohol in accordance with these works.”

Enough reading. I unwrap the silver composite foil capsule, pull the T-cork and inhale deeply……..wow.

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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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For those who are unaware - absinthe is “kind of a big deal” in America presently. Having recently become legal to import and sell la fee verte in the United States, people are falling over themselves to get their hands on a bottle, it would seem. The above photograph was taken at the St George Spirits distillery in December of last year, showing the queue of over 100+ people waiting to buy a bottle of their newly-released absinthe. Keen as mustard, I tell you.

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Lance Winters at the St George distillery (Image: Peter DaSilva for The New York Times)

St George Absinthe is the first absinthe to be both produced and sold in the US since US Tobacco and Alcohol regulatory agency, the TTB, passed legislation allowing for its sale late last year. Along side Ted Breaux’s Lucid and Kubler (read our review here) the label has garnered much attention from within the US as currently these three houses dominate the market. However, the international absinthe community has also been watching St George, partly out of sheer curiousity (it being the first ‘premium’ absinthe to emerge from the US), partly due to it’s ‘unorthodox’ formulation, which includes wormwood, star anise, mint, lemon balm, hyssop and fennel… as well as meadowsweet, basil, tarragon and stinging nettles on a 60% brandy alcohol base. Note: this absinthe is not currently available from Australia.

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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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