Absinthe blogs, absinth ads

Interesting to see some good coverage of absinthe on Liquor Snob, an important American drinks blog. La Clandestine is one of several high quality absinthes covered in Liquor Snob recently, and it's coverage like this that may help sway opinion in the important American market in the long-term.

Reading Liquor Snob reminds me that there are several absinthe blogs all covering slightly different perspectives. There's Salsa's Absinthe Blargh, and there's In Absinthia, which has just returned from a break of a few months. Both these are written by American absinthe consumers who are also active members of the main absinthe forums; both are well-informed and can be relied on to give accurate information. And, of course, Oxygenee's Blog is bound to be thought-provoking with his unique insights into his area of the absinthe business.

The Czechsinthe blog (link removed) has, of course, a different take on the world. I've commented on this blog on a couple of issues, in particular the importance, or irrelevance, of thujone. To me, it's sad that some companies, especially those involved with Czech drinks, continue to stress the thujone issue.

Much worse is pushing the aphrodisiac or, worse, "date rape" aspect as seen in these two advertisements for Czech "absinth:"



and, getting even worse,



Marketing a drink on the basis of thujone with cynical hints that it will get you high, or marketing it as "the ultimate panty remover" does no favours to the absinthe category, and will only set back the cause of those wishing to legalise absinthe in the USA.

In this context, the industry as a whole should be really thankful for the support of people like Liquor Snob!

Post Script: Here's a long set of the advertising used by the "ultimate panty remover" people. Please feel free to add your comments. What do you think of these ads?