Ikea absinthe glasses?

"Pokal" wine glasses caught my eye the other day and I grabbed a box-- good shape and size (7oz) for absinthe, right diameter for a spoon. Cheaper to buy these than to rent glasses for the party...

Getting Your Louche On

With so many people trying out absinthe for the first time, accessories for the ritual are in high demand. Even Hammacher Schlemmer is offering a nice kit, though you could assemble it for less from the specialty vendors.

The key, really, is having a comfortable setup so you can add as much or as little cold water and sugar as you would like-- folks aren't missing anything if all they have is a small glass and a little ice water. But paraphernalia and rituals are fun...

Absinthe glasses:

• Simon Pearce glasses and carafes at Liqueurs de France from ~$70 (that's my double bubble in the photo above...:),
• Cristalerias San Miguel, reproduction, and Jade promotional glasses and brouilleurs at Liqueurs de France from ~$10,
• An interesting assortment of glasses at Absinthe Suisse from ~$9,
• Glasses, drippers, and saucers at AbsintheSpoon.com from ~$14,
• Great deals on six reservoir or torsade glasses from Absinthe.de for only ~$38,

Absinthe spoons and substitutes (only if you're adding sugar):

• Maison d'Absinthe in New Orleans has an assortment of spoons starting at $9,
• Reproduction spoons at AbsintheSpoon.com starting at ~$9,
• Fine silver spoons, drippers, and tongs by Kirk Burkett at AbsintheSpoon.com starting at ~$130,
• The Tempus Fugit spoons and dripper at Liqueurs de France from ~$25, the spoon also available at Absinthe.de,
• Reproduction spoons and bruoilleurs at Liqueurs de France starting at only ~$5, most available (along with others) at Absinthe.de starting at ~$8, and at Absinthe Suisse too,
• The Lucid store has cheap pressed spoons for 6/$36 (not a great deal)...
• Anyway, a tea strainer like this will balance on a glass's edge and hold a sugar cube nicely-- probably $3 at your grocery store.

Absinthe fountains:

• The Lucid store has the best prices I've ever seen for 2- and 4-spigot Frenchman fountains-- $135 and $185
  Update 3/28/08: Heard on a forum that the fountains are out of stock, but they expect a shipment soon of non-Frenchman reproduction fountans,
• La Maison d'Absinthe has six fountains starting at $185,
  Update 3/25/08: They now stock a 2-spigot fountain for only $48-- might have to get one of those... though Spoon got one and says it's a little chintzy,
• Frenchman fountains are also available from AbsintheSpoon.com,
• Absinthe Suisse has a few glass fountains from ~$65, one also available from Absinthe.de for a bit more.

Makeshift absinthe fountains and supplies:

• (But... do you really need a fountain?! A carafe works great and is as "authentic" as using a fountain...:)
• Vodka infuser jars with spigots go for ~$50 or so and work great if your glasses are short enough or if you put it on a taller pedestal, plus you can have a glass shop drill holes for more spigots,
• Spigots from aftosa from ~$7.50,
• Spigots from InfusedVodka.com from $7,
• The infamous Lowe's Mouthwash Dispenser on a little pedestal-- $25,
• Make your own dripper with whatever's on hand-- I made a little MacGyver dripper ("green beret" survival skill...:) for kicks once with two yogurt cups and a length of wire,
• And if you're really desperate and want to drip, you can always use a sink, but you'll need some ice in the glass to keep it cool.

Now go drink up!

Update: I'll keep this post around and add to it when I find more vendors and prices change. PLEASE leave a comment if you hear of any new products or vendors!

St. George: Second Release of Absinthe Verte

Made it to St. George Spirits this morning with Spoon to pick up some of the second batch of Absinthe Verte. We arrived at around 11:30 and the line had tripled by noon, but it still took an hour to get in while the folks ahead made their buys and left-- few stayed to taste. Thankfully the rain came and went quickly!

After buying a few bottles (three max), I got a taste and was surprised by how much I liked it-- more balanced than the first run, a more prominent wormwood flavor, less anise and meadowsweet. Great to meet "Brit Geek Girl" and a few of her dedicated drinking buddies. Unfortunately, Lance Winters was nowhere to be found-- had hoped to have him sign the bottles and pose for a shot... which explains why he wasn't around...:)

Asking about the taste differences between the two batches, a few folks told me the wormwood was more mature for this batch-- that it had big flowers-- but was otherwise the same formula. With twice as much made as last time, they said they were just trying to satisfy demand before changing anything.

Seriously-- Don't Burn It!

(link)

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It can't be said enough-- burning absinthe is not a good idea. Probably 151 or everclear in these clips, but any booze over 100 proof should burn freely, so don't be like these guys. Thanks to SP for the clips. Here's two more: 1, 2

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Here's hoping everybody's having a great day with friends, family, good eats, and a glass of the good stuff, whatever that might be for you!

I've enjoyed a few absinthes with JS, starting with the St. George, then comparing to Edouard, Duplais Balance, a few others. St. George stands out in a crowd-- pronounced aftertastes are new to us, must be stinging nettles and/or meadowsweet. You would pick it first in a blind tasting lineup-- there's nothing like it. It benefitted from a cube of sugar after trying them all at 2:1, then watered to 3:1 or so. We kept coming back to "medicinal" and "greens" for flavor cues-- sort of vegetal, tea-like.

Thrilling that an American absinthe is as unique as this, appropriate that it comes from the Bay Area-- first had stinging nettles at the Chez Panisse Café-- it's one of the original gourmet ghetto ingredients-- chuckled when I first saw it listed on St. George's label!

For a little holiday cheer, try coming up with a new absinthe cliché/pun with this handy form:

AbsenceAbsinthe Abstinence Absinthetinence makestakeswakessnakesshakesfakesbakesrakesrakeslakes the a my your Yoda's any every no me you hearttartfartsmartartcartpartshartBonaparte growhoshowmowsnowblowMargaret ChogorowsewtowwoeyoEndomellowJell-oyellowfellow fonderyondersquanderponderwanderlongertranspondercollanderanacondaRhondaHondacondorblonderasunderthunder

Or, make your own:

.

If you come up with a good one, please leave it in the comments!

Update 11:30 PM: also a little Kübler, Lucid, Nouvelle Orleans, Marteau,...

St. George: Early Arrival!

I leave San Francisco later tonight and figured I'd try the St. George absinthe when I get back in a few days, but DM just called to say he picked up my bottle from D&M Liquors-- I'm off to the Mission to pick it up!!! First louche picture to come ASAP...

Update 10:00PM: Got the bottle but I need to head to OAK in a few minutes...:( No time to louche it up, but I'll be following reports of the release event and tastings over the next few days, and I'll be back in SF by Christmas Eve for my first taste with a few friends. Couldn't resist shooting the label since it's not the 21st yet.

Drink Your Booze, Burn Your Fuel

Not the other way around!

With so many people finding absinthe available in the U.S., it's important that newcomers understand that the Czech fire show done with inferior absinthes may be fun when you're on vacation in Prague, but it is a party trick akin to beer bongs, keg stands, body shots, cement mixers, and its original inspiration in the 1990's: flaming Sambuca shots. Those games don't relate at all to how you would normally drink beer or spirits.

Thankfully, real absinthe distributors are taking the opportunity to explain the proper way to drink absinthe-- diluted or mixed in a cocktail. Ordering Kübler last night at Dalva, I asked "You don't burn it, do you?" and the bartender replied, "No, this isn't Czech garbage." Right answer!

So why not burn absinthe?

• In its heyday, people drank their absinthe diluted with water-- they did not burn it-- no matter what the Czech producers may try to tell you,
• It's DANGEROUS (see photo, via Static),
• It is a waste of alcohol,
• It does not encourage the absinthe to louche-- any cloudiness the caramelized sugar adds to the drink is not a louche effect at all.

Good Absinthe Info for the Public

Following its article yesterday about St. George Spirits Absinthe Verte, the San Francisco Chronicle posted an "All About Absinthe" Q+A section and an AP Interactive graphic with a voice-over by Ted Breaux. I don't dig the skull motif, but they didn't ask me.

As always, many questions and answers can be found at the two premier absinthe FAQ's online, at La Fée Verte and The Wormwood Society.

St. George Spirits "Absinthe Verte"!

I'd heard rumors and now the word is out-- St. George Spirits of Alameda got final approval last Wednesday for their label and will start selling Absinthe Verte on December 21! The New York Times and San Francisco Chronicle are running full stories on it today, with photos and interviews with Lance Winters and everything! It's a pleasure to add an American distillery to the absinthe map. The cowbell on the label is a nice touch.

Crapsinthe, or "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them"

Part of what this blog is about is trying to draw a line between real absinthe and, for lack of a better term, crapsinthe-- absinthe made without regard to its history, marketed with a pack of falsehoods either through ignorance or deceit.

Czech "absinth" and "absynth," sold with untested thujone claims, are so foul, it's no wonder they do a fire show and a shot to distract from the taste. Claims of crazy times make sense-- shots of warm, high proof alcohol go straight to the head, making for a surreal drunk buzz.

The commercial crapsinthe folks have been more active lately, setting up spam sites for search results, making false statements and claims and leveling false accusations against real absintheurs in their shill blogs and forum postings. I wonder if just one person is posting and selling the same fluorescent mouthwash under a dozen brand names...

It all comes out in the end, it seems, if absinthe's recent press coverage is an indicator-- any decent reporter figures out early on the flawed logic of the crapsinthe peddlers and pays them no attention.

Update: It might seem that the czechabsinthe blog hosts some interesting conversations, but many comments have been censored. One censored comment was a reply by T.A. Breaux which Alan spotted and saved before it was removed by the host.

Happiness is...

...a fresh shipment from overseas...;)

Bloomberg: "Absinthe trickling back into the U.S."

The L.A. Times picked up a Bloomberg article on absinthe which helps fill in details on the approval process for Kübler and Lucid in the U.S. I had previously thought that Lucid did all the legal wrangling, but according to the article, Kübler (really Altamar Brands, its North American distributor) did most of the leg work (according to Wikipedia, getting "formula" approval (?) from the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau ("TTB") in 2004), with Lucid dealing with the last problem of labeling the beverage as "absinthe," apparently resulting in the "absinthe supérieure" designation. From the TTB "Industry Circular" #2007-5 dated Oct. 16, 2007:

The term "absinthe" may not stand alone on the label; it must be accompanied by additional or dispelling information so as not to appear as the class and type designation.

All in all, the Altamar Brands folks are doing a fine job of getting the word out about absinthe in the U.S.

Kübler at BevMo?!

Spoon spotted Kübler at BevMo! so hopefully Lucid isn't far behind. (Not to keep dissing Kübler, it's just not to my taste.) Al Brown spotted both absinthes for sale in Boston at Liquor Land and a few other places last week-- it will be interesting to see if Lucid can keep up with the more experienced Kübler in terms of satisfying market demand.

Update 12/5: Well, it looks like absinthe is totally mainstream-- just picked up Lucid from the same BevMo where Spoon spotted the Kübler.

IWSC 2007: Absinthe Awards

Award winners for Absinthe from the 2007 International Wine and Spirits Competition helps to explain why PF1901 and Verte Suisse supplies have been decimated:

Country	Award	Category	Winning Spirit	Producer
France		Absinthe - France - 65-70%	Jade Verte Suisse	Jade Liqueurs
Switzerland		Absinthe - Switzerland - 50-55%	La Fée XS Absinthe Suisse	BBH Spirits
Switzerland		Absinthe - Switzerland - 60-72%	Absinthe Duplais Balance 60%	Oliver Matter & Markus Lion
France		Absinthe - France - 65-70%	Jade PF 1901	Jade Liqueurs
France		Absinthe - France - 65-70%	La Fée Parisian Absinthe	BBH Spirits
Switzerland		Absinthe - Switzerland - 50-55%	Absinth Studer	Studer & Co AG

Absinthetinence

Stephen Colbert featured Lucid absinthe ("...brought to you by Cats...") on 10/29 and led viewers in a tongue-twisting "Absinthetinence" pledge:

Press for U.S.-legal Absinthe

There has been a lot of U.S. press over the last two months since Kubler joined Lucid on American liquor store shelves (er, at least in the New York City area...):

• Southern Discomfort at Forbes.com dated 11/26/07 (really?!),
• Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder at BostonNOW.com 11/13/07,
• America Goes Green with Absinthe at Gothamist 11/12/07,
• The Green Fairy Gets a Green Card at reason.com 11/12/07,
• No longer absinthe in Hub: Long-banned nectar flows once again in Boston bars in The Boston Herald 11/12/07,
• The Right Chemistry in the New Orleans Times-Picayune 11/9/07,
• The green fairy flies again in the Vail Daily 11/2/09,
• Absinthe makes a comeback after ban by Bloomberg News 10/21/07,
• Absinthe Taste Test: Are New Brands the Real Deal? in New York Magazine 10/15/07,

and lots more!

Mansinthe

There has been a lot of Mansinthe press since it became available, and I've been happy to read that it does, in fact, contain Artemisia absinthium, not just pontica, making it a proper absinthe after all! I tried a glass with Spoon and thought it was ok, though there was an artificial flavor that put me off, and the color doesn't look quite natural... but, then, Mr. Manson isn't exactly nature boy! Recent hype:

• Marilyn Manson Launches Own Brand of Absinthe Liquor at The Cleveland Leader 11/10/07,
• Whom do you hate? at The Australian 9/29/07,
• MANSON+ABSINTHE=MANSINTHE at The Worlds Best Ever 9/24/07,
• Mansinthe: Marilyn Manson Sells Own Line Of Absinthe in the 9/17/07 Huffington Post,
• Rolling Stones blurb from 9/17/07,
• Marilyn Manson Wants You To Sip On His Mansinthe on Chart Attach 9/14/07,

Hitting the Big Time

"Absinthe Returns in a Glass Half Full of Mystique and Misery" in the New York Times by Edward Rothstein made the front page "INSIDE NYTIMES.COM" band yesterday, and today is the third most-emailed article! A slightly stylized piece running down the famous names, glancing over details of the ban in favor of details on the lifting of the ban, including a tasting of Lucid and Kübler:

...once I sat down with bottles of Kübler, Lucid and some friends, the cause of absinthe’s reputation didn’t matter, nor did the absence, in these brands, of the pearly green color of legend. What I did find, along with flavors of anise, fennel, coriander, mint and other herbs, was something different in the liquid’s effect, a kind of relaxed alertness accompanying the lulling impact of alcohol.

NYTimes also published "A Fond Hello" about absinthe as its "Shaken and Stirred" cocktail column for 9/30 in the Fashion & Style section.

Absinthe on the Way!

So much happening for absinthe! Lull in posting notwithstanding, more is on the way, but I'll premention:

• Mansinthe,
• Oxy's recent publication: "Systematic Misinformation about Thujone in Pre-ban Absinthe",
• press...,

But for now, "Tree That Owns Itself" (wiki)!

Hangar One Absinthe?

Via the Fee Verte Forums, a video from The Daily Geek of St. George Spirits, producers of Hangar One vodka. About 2/3 of the way through, master distiller Lance Winters shows a batch of absinthe he's working on...