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.

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!

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.

Wired on Lucid Absinthe: "Barely Legal"

The Lucid media machine keeps rolling forward, with Wired publishing an article today comparing Lucid to Jade Liquor's Verte Suisse as well as Absente and two Czech brands. The always, uh, lucid Ted Breaux explains some history and chemistry, making sure to take a swipe at the foul Czech products which consistently misrepresent both.

Though retailers sold out of their first cases quickly, drinkupny.com (free shipping ftw!) accepts pre-orders of Lucid, expecting to receive their next shipment in the last week of July. You can find a list of other vendors along with bars, restaurants, and clubs serving Lucid at DrinkLucid.com.

Update: Got my Lucid... and I like it! Tastes like a Jade but with less flavor, very balanced recipe... much better than I'd expected!

ABSINTHE LEGAL in the USA

Trying to figure out the impact of Lucid's approval is tough. Hopefully we'll know more after next weekend, as the only coherent information I've found so far is Oxy's summary of the situation on the Fee Verte Forum, linked on his blog and quoted by Alan on his blog and the Wormwood Society Forum.

Searches for government documents on the submission or approval came up with nothing. [Still searching...] Regarding editing the Fee Verte FAQ about absinthe's legality in the US, Oxy writes:

1. Absinthes with less than (approximately) 10mg/l thujone are now potentially legal in the US.
2. Two others (apart from Lucid) have already been approved, and dozens will follow in due course.

Read the rest...