Thursday 14 May 2009

Heinz 57 and Absinthe


Some of our younger readers may not be aware of the long-term Heinz slogan: "Heinz 57," used to describe the broad product range offered by Heinz. It was referred to in a recent New York Times article, and, according to Wikipedia, "Heinz 57" is sometimes also used as a slang term for mixed-breed dogs; which are more often called "Mutts" or a "Mutt".

What does this have to do with absinthe? Well I wasn't going to refer to dogs, although another, even more recent New York Times article does indeed describe some "absinthes" as dogs.

I refer to Heinz 57 to highlight both the current number of "absinthes" approved by the TTB or in process and the colourful variety that seems to be the latest thing. The latest three absinthes are:-

1/2. Abyss Authentic and Abyss Raspberry (!): labels now visible on the TTB site, indicating their new website (not operational at the time of writing). I'm intrigued at the 1811 claim, especially for the raspberry variant.

3. Fleurs du Mal: as featured at the top of the article, which has no actual reference to absinthe but the glass, strength and brand name clearly suggest it is aimed at the absinthe market. According to Wikipedia, "Les Fleurs du mal" (often translated The Flowers of Evil) is a volume of French poetry by Charles Baudelaire ... The subject matter of these poems deals with themes relating to decadence and eroticism."

I was disappointed to see that Fleurs du Mal contains several additives not prevalent in Baudelaire's day, such as FD&C Yellow #5 and FD&C Blue #1. The makers of Fleurs du Mal should study this posting about Le Tourment Vert in which the owner announces he is in the process of "changing the color to be a more natural absinthe hue." More on that interesting development later ....

6 comments:

Boggy said...

Another thing behind Fleurs du Mal is that Jules Girard Distillerie makes a decent, tasty and completely natural pastis, so why would they take such a short with absinthe is boggling my mind.

Alan said...

At this stage, I can't be sure that they are positioning this 100% in the absinthe sector. It doesn't say "absinthe" on the label, so maybe they are being more honest than other brands with a similar ingredient list.

However the imagery does seem to be all about absinthe ...

Anonymous said...

That is not La Fee Verte, it is the lady who lives on top of a glass mountain in a gold castle. There is an apple tree out front of her property and an eagle flying about. Note the cuffs and the flowers in her bonce.

Alan said...

And is that a wedding ring she is wearing?

The wind seems to be gusting around in different directions too: around her head it is blowing very strongly from behind; while further down her back there seems to be hardly any wind at all. Very strange.

How do you interpret this, anonymous?

Anonymous said...

There is a small window that has been left open, for the eagle to gain entrance to her, and this is causing a draft at head level. She is married to the jealous eagle who bites anyone that dares to climb the glass mountain to get at her wares.

Alan said...

Anonymous ... what have you been drinking?