Below you'll find the translation of an article in a now-defunct French blog written by relations of Charlotte Vaucher. 

To preface that, I've been struck by the fact that Charlotte Vaucher was born in 1905, the year that led eventually to the bans on absinthe in Switzerland, USA and then France. And she died in 1988, the year that saw the first steps to overturning that ban. 

So Charlotte lived through most of the years of the ban but played a key part in what was to follow that ban!

Read on to discover the role played by Charlotte ...

"October 7, 1910, one hundred years ago today. A black day for absinthe in Switzerland since this was the day that absinthe was officially banned. Over the next few years, similar bans followed in France, in the USA, and in many other countries. In Switzerland, the ban was to last nearly 95 years.

 ..

But while it seemed like a black day in Switzerland at the time, it led to an explosion in underground “white” drinks! A resistance army of farmers and of housewives started making absinthe without the final green colouring step, and drank them “en famille,” with their friends, and maybe even with the Customs guards who were supposed to stop such practices!

La Clandestine itself was born 25 years after the introduction of the ban, in 1935. We have known the name of the creator of La Clandestine, Charlotte Vaucher, née Jeanneret; we have seen photos of Charlotte and of some of her family. But until recently that was all.

So you can imagine our delight to see a blog published on August 22, 2010 which detailed some of the story of Charlotte … from her family’s perspective. You can read the original here.

Knowing, however, that not everyone can read French, we’ve translated the original blog article and are pleased to bring it to you today to mark the 100^th anniversary of the ban. Enjoy!

A celebrity in the family!

We all dream of having a famous ancestor that we can tell our children about. My daughters are very proud of their Swiss origins which come from their father. And they are even more proud because of this little story I'm going to tell you ...

My husband and his family are from a beautiful region of Switzerland: the Val-de-Travers. For those who do not know this beautiful area, it is situated in the canton of Neuchâtel (average altitude of 700 to 900 meters above sea level), and is a district that includes 13 municipalities (county seat: Môtiers). The canton of Neuchatel is on the far west of Switzerland and has a common border with the French Jura. So much for geography ...

In this lovely country and especially in the Val-de-Travers, there is a tradition: that of ABSINTHE! For those who do not know, absinthe is an anise flavoured spirit (very different from our French pastis). Green or clear, its roots are in this small region of Switzerland. Now for a little history lesson:

In 1769, an “extrait d’absinthe” was being sold on the market: it is believed to be the first. The very first production of absinthe took place in the Val-de-Travers and more specifically in the small town of Couvet (which is precisely where my husband’s family came from). Indeed, the geography, climate and altitude in the area are ideal for growing plants such as Artemisia absinthium, (or grande wormwood), a key ingredient in absinthe.

In the 19^th century, the fame of absinthe spread throughout France and then into most other European countries and the United States. Its immense popularity was not to everyone's taste, especially not to the producers of wine grapes which had been attacked by phylloxera. The Green Fairy was accused of all the worst evils (she drove people mad, she destroyed families, etc) and was banned in many countries. But in Switzerland, she survived thanks to the "clandestine resistance" as the artisans of the Val-de-Travers were called.

Green absinthe became strangely clear; some assume this was to fool the inspectors (or the police) into believing that the bottles contained vodka. But we think that these officers knew exactly what was happening and their silence was bought with a few bottles of the Green Fairy!

So where is the family history in all this? Well, one evening, “surfing" on the net, I was reading about this famous banned absinthe that was distilled in Switzerland. A few websites and blogs later, I discovered a page mentioning a distillery in Couvet and one “Charlotte.”

My curiosity piqued, I asked my husband about this and I finally made the connection between one of his great-aunts (the above named Charlotte) and a Couvet distiller who produces a famous absinthe exported to the United States. This absinthe is called "La Clandestine" and comes from a recipe left by the enigmatic Charlotte. I realize that this is the Charlotte Vaucher that my husband's family knows so well … and for a very good reason!

For many years, my parents-in-law and their four children often went to Aunt Charlotte’s for their holidays. My husband and sister-in-law remembered being allowed to roam throughout the large family residence, with the exception of one locked room. What better way to arouse the interest of the young! But the door remained permanently locked. Those children, now adults, never knew what was hiding in this room ... until that evening when I discovered that Aunt Charlotte was indeed a "clandestine" operator who quietly and secretly distilled an absinthe that is now exported to the other end of the world!

I contacted the distiller in question to confirm the identity of Aunt Charlotte. And, bingo, it is indeed the same person. The memories of my husband and his sister, Sylvie, did the rest! Aunt Charlotte was indeed the "illegal" distiller now referred to on the official website of La Clandestine. So how did Charlotte’s recipe and its "secret" arrive in the hands of the Couvet distiller who was unknown to the family?

The distiller himself provided the explanation:

On the death of Aunt Charlotte, one of her nephews "inherited" the recipe. Working in an oil company, he was a colleague of Claude-Alain Bugnon who one day decided to give up oil and to start distilling high quality absinthe! One Christmas, Charlotte’s nephew visited his former colleague and asked him if he could make a few bottles of absinthe from Charlotte’s recipe to be given to his family in memory of their aunt or great-aunt.

So the story of La Clandestine begins: a little later, the nephew sells the recipe (which dates from 1935) to Claude-Alain Bugnon who now sells it in countries from the USA to Asia. Helped of course by the legalization of absinthe in Switzerland on 1 March 2005, which saw the official launch of La Clandestine!

 

La Clandestine is produced from 100% natural ingredients and, apparently, the experts are not wrong! This absinthe has won numerous awards each year at the "Absinthiades" (the equivalent of Oscars for absinthe!) in Pontarlier in France.

This story is now part of the "heritage" of my family and my children are even more proud of their Swiss origins!

This story is interesting for two reasons. Firstly, it is emblematic of a part of the history of Switzerland torn between preserving its cultural heritage and the need to ensure the health of its population. The old absinthe contained thujone, (a natural chemical that has been accused of having so-called hallucinogenic properties*). Today consumption is again permitted and absinthe still contains a small amount of thujone. Then, for the story of Aunt Charlotte, I like it because it tells of a woman who decides to "resist", to defy the public authorities and who does so in secret for all those years. A fact that has intrigued many of her descendants ...

My sister-in-law, Sylvie, has often spoken of "Aunt Charlotte" as a "personality," a "pillar" within the family. She clearly was! A big thank you to Sylvie for her contribution to the reconstruction of this history. And for all the anecdotes she has shared with us.

Oh, I forgot, I must add: "Alcohol is dangerous for your health. Consume with moderation!" For those who don’t know this yet ...

La Maman

Note that there are further comments from the family beneath the original French blog. I liked this one:

“What a great story indeed. The mystery of the locked door revealed after so many years ... There was also a blue jug marked "Gentlemen, it's time" that Uncle Charlie left to fill in the laundry room, slowly, with a tiny stream of water (there was no ice at Aunt Charlotte’s). And we, the small children in the house, did not understand the subtle innuendoes when the adults spoke about the "blue" ... that, when it crossed the border (into France), was confined in a white wine bottle. And imagine the taste of the risotto prepared by Aunt Charlotte, who, preoccupied with the discussion of a camping holiday, poured in some “blue” instead of the white wine ...” (Written by Misstinguett, great-niece of Charlotte)

* Translator’s clarification: In truth you would have to drink several bottles of absinthe to get any “thujone effect” and would likely die of alcohol poisoning first. In addition, research indicates that there is no meaningful difference between Swiss absinthes before the ban, during the ban, or after the ban.

………………………..

We hope you agree that Charlotte’s story is fascinating and we hope that we can tell you more in future.

Thanks to Charlotte, and thanks to many like her, absinthe was kept alive when many must have thought it dead. In other countries, “absinthes” were produced, notably in the years before and after the turn of the millennium. When absinthe was finally re-legalised in Switzerland on May 1, 2005 accompanied by stricter definitions of absinthe than exercised anywhere else, the work of Charlotte and her fellow freedom fighters finally saw the light of day … officially.

We drink a toast to Charlotte and her compatriots today and thank them for their work in keeping the fairy alive. Santé!

The Absinthe Forger: not just for lovers of absinthe!

 

Of all the absinthe books I have reviewed on this blog, this is probably the most interesting. The cover suggests it might be a thriller but it isn't - or at least it wasn't for me - because I know how the true story ends.

I had read the saga in a Facebook group back in April 2019. Search the posts from April 2 2019 and onwards. Put simply, someone (let's call him or her "Simon") is believed, maybe proven, to have taken empty pre-ban bottles, added old labels (available on line), and concocted something that may have tasted like pre-ban absinthe. Not in the Ted Breaux or Martin Zufanek way but much more deviously (I won't detail that here: read the book!).

For me, this book is not a thriller as the cover and description of the book on Amazon led me to believe. It's much better than that, in that it's a true story of how the absinthe community responded to the fraud. An absinthe community I have met, primarily in Switzerland at the annual Fête de l'Absinthe. I "know" at least 15 of those absintheurs who are named in the book (some of them only online) and it is indeed a community who responded to the fraud and came together as a real "absinthe friends for life" community. For me, the togetherness of the community was and is the main tale here and it's a very positive message to take from the book.

It was especially interesting for me to read the accounts of Evan's meetings with Patrick Roussel and Jan Hartmann, both of whom I had met just once beforehand (at the 2019 Absinthe Festival in Freiburg, Germany). Reading the book five years later reminded me just how much I had enjoyed meeting them, but I also got to know them much better. Their insights into the fraud were amazing, and the parts they played, from very different perspectives, were highly illuminating. Congratulations to Evan for explaining Jan's very technical account and for painting a picture for me of Patrick's amazing museum as well as the bottle markings proof of the fraud. 

I have to confess at this stage that I have very little experience of pre-ban absinthe, having tasted maybe 3 or 4 pre-ban samples via friends or at absinthe community gatherings. I have never purchased pre-ban absinthe. Indeed the closest I have come to this is buying on Ebay the empty, apparently pre-ban absinthe bottle on the left below. Before reading further, can you guess which of these two bottles was the most expensive?

Here's a tiny clue. The branding on the bottle states Pernod Fils.

I have been told by one collector that this empty bottle might fetch $100. If that is true, maybe it's because the forger knew it would be a great way to start his product, before filling it with God knows what.

I didn't pay $100 or even $10. I paid less than a pound! Why did it go so cheaply? Probably because the vendor didn't understand the opportunity this bottle presented and called it "Pernod Pils," without even using the word "absinthe." Lesson for Ebay buyers of "absinthe?" If you just search "absinthe," you might just miss a gem like this. 

Some of the above account of my near-experience with pre-ban absinthe may not necessarily be of interest to those of my readers who don't buy absinthe and who don't know the absinthe community. Understood. 

Evan's book, however, could and should have an appeal and interest far beyond the absinthe community. It should be of interest to any community where people share an interest and passion in collecting. Whether it's collecting art, stamps, rare records, etc. 

As an example of collecting "art," I recently visited a collection where prints of L.S. Lowry paintings were for sale. A framed unsigned print might sell for £100 - 200; a framed signed print was on sale for over £15,000. I understand that signed prints are numbered and that someone, somewhere may keep records of where these signed prints go, but the big difference in price here makes me think that someone, somewhere may be able to find a way to play the system to his/her advantage. 

I had an interest a few years ago in buying rock'n'roll memorabilia. I used to go to record fairs where some memorabilia was for sale. I never bought rare memorabila there. I did later buy a few signed items, e.g. signed concert programmes with some clear provenance, but I always did so from recognised London auction houses. The cost may have been higher but I felt safer doing so. 

As a viewer of art and as a buyer of rock'n'roll memorabilia, I can understand how absinthe lovers feel about this fraud. I can also understand how the community took this, learnt from it, and grew stronger and more united as a result. Yes, some people still feel bitter and wonder if there is a way to get their money back, as at least one person has done so far.  Hopefully others will follow. Some may say that the community is less united. Having met many from the community this month, I really sensed that the community is stronger, maybe as a result of having a "common enemy."   

Evan's book is the best absinthe book I have read. But Evan's book is just as relevant to other communities with a common passion. It deserves to be read by those who love absinthe, and those who don't! Santé, Evan!

 

"The Absinthe Frappé" and "Cure New Orleans Drinks:" Almost 200 years of drinking in NOLA in 2 very different books

A small confession. The first few paragraphs here were provided by ChatGPT. 

"Absinthe and New Orleans cocktail enthusiasts, get ready to add two new books to your reading list! Marielle Songy's "The Absinthe Frappé" and Neal Bodenheimer's "Cure: New Orleans Drinks and how to mix 'em" are two must-read books for anyone interested either in the history and culture of absinthe or New Orleans cocktails more generally.

"The Absinthe Frappé" is a deep dive into the history and culture of absinthe in New Orleans. Songy's book explores the origins of absinthe in the city, how it became popular, and its eventual downfall. The book also includes recipes for traditional New Orleans absinthe cocktails, like the Sazerac and the Absinthe Frappé, as well as lesser-known drinks like the Ramos Gin Fizz (Editor note: The Absinthe Frappé book does not contain a Ramos Gin Fizz recipe but the second book here does!). Songy's book is a fascinating read for anyone interested in the history of absinthe in New Orleans. The author's passion for the subject is evident on every page, and the recipes are sure to inspire readers to try making their own absinthe cocktails at home.

On the other hand, "Cure: New Orleans Drinks and how to mix 'em" by Neal Bodenheimer is a cocktail recipe book that celebrates the unique culture of New Orleans. While the book is not specifically focused on absinthe, it includes several absinthe-based cocktails (actually only one: the Absinthe Suissesse, alongside five with Herbsaint), as well as other classic New Orleans drinks like the Hurricane and the French 75. 

What sets "Cure" apart from other cocktail books is its focus on the history and culture of New Orleans. The book includes essays and stories about the city's bartenders, drinks, and traditions, giving readers a deeper understanding of the unique cocktail culture of the Big Easy. Overall, both "The Absinthe Frappé" and "Cure: New Orleans Drinks and how to mix 'em" are excellent additions to any absinthe lover's book collection. Whether you're interested in the history of absinthe in New Orleans or just looking for some new cocktail recipes to try, these books are sure to satisfy. So, pour yourself a glass of absinthe and settle in for a good read!"

So much for ChatGPT. 

What do I think of these books? 

"The Absinthe Frappé" is a superb addition to the books I have reviewed previously about absinthe and cocktails. It has an excellent history of absinthe, correctly crediting the Henriods with its creation, and then detailing its boom, bust and subsequent re-birth. The book's focus is unashamedly American, mainly on New Orleans as the birthplace of the absinthe frappé. The story of the absinthe frappé is told in great detail and the book concludes with eleven absinthe cocktails and a list of bars in New Orleans where one can enjoy an absinthe frappé. 

Including, of course, The Old Absinthe House.

Followed by a wonderful three page list of sources. Sadly many of these are digital links, which may require a lot of concentration to type in correctly (do not attempt to type in these links after a few absinthe frappés!). Generally typing in the keywords (e.g. a book title) may get you to the link. Google famous new orleans drinks and how to mix 'em to get to a legal digital version of this classic. 

Don't be deceived by the book's size (4.8 x 0.32 x 6.85 inches). The book is very detailed, with a lot of information not assembled together elsewhere and with absolutely no padding. Its size allowed me to take it and to enjoy it on train journeys and will allow those visiting New Orleans to use it as a great guide book while going on a tour of the best absinthe bars in NOLA. It is not a coffee table book (many of those are books that are bought to be displayed and are never read). This is very definitely a book to be read, to be enjoyed and, hopefully, to inspire its readers to perfect their absinthe frappé making skills!   

"The Absinthe Frappé" was written by Marielle Songy, who was born and raised in New Orleans. We've been Facebook friends for a while and I am grateful to her and her publishers for an advance copy of the book for review. When I got the book, I asked her some questions: these and her answers follow: 

Do you have any plans to write more about absinthe and/or any other absinthe cocktails? 

I don't have any current plans to write about any other absinthe cocktails, but I do want this to be the beginning of adding to the conversation and absinthe education. I hope to do what I can to spread the word about absinthe, dispel the myths, and hopefully make it a bit more popular again (or at least get to the point where at least one absinthe-forward cocktail is offered on fine cocktail menus). 

What was the most surprising thing you discovered about absinthe and/or the Frappé? 

One thing I discovered in my research is just how versatile absinthe is! Before I started the book, I hadn't really tried many absinthe-forward cocktails. The book changed that. Of course there's the Frappe, but all of the cocktails in my cocktail guide are drinks I have tried throughout this process. My favorites are Bitter Party of One and Death in the Afternoon. 

How many absinthe frappés did you have to consume while researching/writing the book? Do you make this great cocktail at home or do you prefer to drink it in the great bars of NOLA? 

I tried many absinthe frappes throughout my research and I was surprised at how different they are, depending on the bar! My favorite is still the classic with the crushed ice and simple syrup, but Mr. B's had an interesting one served in a martini glass with egg white in it. I was also surprised at how many bars serve the frappe "neat" with no ice. I have made the cocktail at home because it's quite easy, but I do prefer to enjoy it at a nice bar. 

Would you be brave enough to specify the best absinthe frappé you had? What was so great about it? And which bar? Or would you prefer not to answer that? For me, it was at Cure and, of course, it contained La Clandestine! 

My favorite is definitely Cure. I just think it's made perfectly with the dome of ice and is a feast for the eyes as well as the taste buds!

.....................

Marielle and I agree on a lot. Notably on the role of the Henriods and on the best place in NOLA to enjoy the absinthe frappé. I hope to get to NOLA again soon to enjoy this superb drink at Cure with Marielle. Santé!

When I told Marielle that her book was going to be reviewed at the same time as "Cure: New Orleans Drinks and how to mix 'em,"  she wrote "I am beyond flattered to be included in the same universe as Neal's wonderful book, of which I also have a copy."  Here is Cure NOLA:

I first made it to Cure and met Neal Bodenheimer on July 15th, 2013, which was also my first day ever in New Orleans. I was staying at The Monteleone for Tales of the Cocktail and was just a few yards from The Old Absinthe House, so Cure was not the first NOLA bar I visited. But it made a big impression on me, so I was thrilled to be given Neal's new book as a present a few months ago.

For those of my readers who want to read about absinthe, you may be a little disappointed to note that there are not many absinthe recipes in this book. There is a recipe for Absinthe Suissesse (which has been one of my favourites recently) and, in the food recipe section, 

you'll find Mussels in Absinthe. Gorgeous!

This being New Orleans, there are, of course, several recipes with Herbsaint and, since absinthe and Herbsaint are more interchangeable here than anywhere else, that's understandable.

Neal's book is, indeed, a gorgeous and highly practical cocktail book with an amazing collection of almost every classic New Orleans cocktail. The Sazerac, 

the French 75, Ramos Gin Fizz. the Hurricane etc. Every New Orleans classic apart from the Absinthe Frappé. It's almost as if Neal knew Marielle's book was on the way!

It's a superb cocktail book, detailing Cure's style, spirits selection criteria, and techniques. As examples of the care and love that goes into making a Cure cocktail, there's almost a whole page about how to express citrus and another on whether or not to chill glassware!

From then on, Cure follows a straight-ish historical line through New Orleans cocktails from the Sazerac (and variations), the Old-Fashioned (and variations) etc.

The cocktails are interspersed with sections on the New Orleans Cocktail Bucket list (the best bars in town), the best music venues, classic dive bars, Black bars, Mardi Gras, and a page on the Green Fairy! This is a book to bring back memories of Tales of the Cocktail and NOLA (yes, it's time I returned post-Covid), with mentions of many people I have met there or elsewhere. This is a book with, it seems, hundreds of short stories (some of these are cocktails, some are Neal's anecdotes about NOLA). It's a book you dip into for inspiration or an idea, and half an hour later you're still reading about a cocktail's variations or the technical issues involved. For example, Cure used to use 21 drops of Peychaud's in a Sazerac but now uses 23 drops!

................................

I love both these books: Marielle's for the deep dive (thank you, ChatGPT) into the history and culture of absinthe in New Orleans, Neal's for the memories it evokes, for reminding me of the places I still have to visit in NOLA and for the amazing cocktail knowledge. This is clearly a must-have cocktail book, even if you're mainly interested in absinthe.

If you're visiting NOLA, you may find The Absinthe Frappé more portable and convenient to carry from bar to bar; alternatively you may want to splurge out on the Ebook version of Cure to take with you. 

I'd recommend both! Santé, Marielle and Neal!

Swiss Absinthe Day, meet Mardi Gras!

(Photo from The Old Absinthe House, New Orleans) 

March 1 is an important date in Switzerland, well for some of Switzerland. It is Republic Day in the canton of Neuchâtel: the Val-de-Travers is located within this àrea and this is where absinthe was born and where most Swiss absinthe is made today. March 1 2005 was chosen as the date on which absinthe was re-legalised in Switzerland: I guess the authorities assumed, correctly, that many people would be drinking a lot of absinthe that day, so choosing a holiday for re-legalisation seemed a good idea. I know that my distiller had good cause to celebrate in 2005 when he was finally able to move out of his clandestine distillation facilities!

I have written previously about absinthe being re-legalised in Europe by mistake in 1988, meaning that other countries in Europe do not have a date to celebrate. European action and the clearer action in Switzerland were part "door openers" for the next re-legalisation which is celebrated on March 5 in the USA. This marks the date in 2007 when the first Lucid label was approved. I have suggested that countries should take these two dates and use them as the basis for an "Absinthe week" from March 1 to March 5, but right now may not be the best time for such an event.

Mardi Gras, of course, doesn't have a fixed date as it depends on the date of Easter which depends on the phases of the moon. This year, however, marks the first time that Swiss Absinthe Day and Mardi Gras have fallen on the same day (interesting to note that the dates also align in 2033 and 2044, but not again until the 22nd century).

Mardi Gras can be celebrated anywhere, but it is most closely associated within the drinks trade with New Orleans which is the historic American centre of absinthe consumption and absinthe cocktail creation.  The histories of the Sazerac and the Absinthe Frappé are well-known but there are other less appreciated absinthe cocktails from New Orleans that are definitely worth trying. The Suissesse is described in the first  Dead Rabbit cocktail book as "the culmination of absinthe in the mixed drink format ... a simple and delicious beverage that many (especially in New Orleans) select for their daily eye-opener."

More about this cocktail, including different recipes on Instagram.

New Orleans may have a strong connection to France but, as this newspaper ad in Le Meschacébé from February 1898 shows, New Orleans also enjoyed Swiss absinthe.

Mardi Gras in New Orleans has suffered during the pandemic but 2022 looks set to be a special event.  If you are there this year, you shouldn't be reading this! You should be with the people in the picture at the top which shows the view from the Balconies above The Old Absinthe House. Or you should be in the picture like the one below which is one of my favourite shots from inside The Old Absinthe House (original here).

The last time I was in New Orleans, I selflessly devoted myself to absinthe cocktail research and creation. I don't recall what all of these were ..

I do recall Jackie at The Old Absinthe House making me a very nice Clandestino:

And I also recall some excellent Bloody Fairies at Pirate's Alley Café/Absinthe House. This photo with Virginia was taken a few months later:

Still to return to New Orleans, post Covid, is the Belle Epoque bar within The Old Absinthe House. The Belle Epoque looked set to be the most exciting new absinthe bar in the USA and we hope it will return soon. In the meantime, there have been some exciting absinthe bar openings in San Diego and in New York.

In San Diego, autumn saw the opening of Wormwood: they have a great absinthe selection, all served beautifully. This photo shows Chris Hampson from my US importer enjoying a glass of Butterfly, served with chilled water from one of their fifteen absinthe fountains! 

Also opening in the autumn was New York's Café de L'Enfer. From the team behind Amor y Amargo. 

We've heard some great reports about this and hope to bring more news from these new absinthe bars on West and East coasts soon.

Remember: 2022 gives you two good reasons to celebrate with absinthe. Swiss Absinthe day and Mardi Gras combined. You won't have an excuse like this for another 11 years. So, santé and laissez les bons temps rouler! 

  

Absinthe Eggnog: The ultimate Christmas cocktail

Eggnogs are perfect for Christmas. Low in alcohol, they are perfect for those people that don't want to get too tipsy. High in taste, they are delicious! Absinthe, of course, has a somewhat different reputation. It's strong and a little "evil" and is considered, by some at least, to be something of an acquired taste. Put all that together, and it is clear that an absinthe eggnog can be a delightful contradiction in terms, a real talking point at home and in bars. So I was delighted when my distiller partner started to make La Clandestine Crème d'Absinthe.

Apparently this style of drink, which is reminiscent of Bailey's, has been popular in Switzerland for some time. My distiller, however, wanted to make this with our absinthe. Swiss consumers loved it, as did international visitors to our distillery. 

I took a couple of bottles with me when I visited our importer, journalists and bars in the USA. Drinkhacker, the first journalist to taste it, was intrigued. "It’s super strange, yet surprisingly compelling." 

Robert Nikodem, Manager at Sage at the Aria Hotel, Las Vegas loved the Crème d'Absinthe. Sadly we had to tell him we couldn't sell it to him (not officially available in the USA, short shelf life etc). So his team developed their own version, considering all the absinthes they stocked (more than 15 at the time). They found La Clandestine to be the best absinthe for this cocktail, marrying perfectly with all the other ingredients. This proved to be such a success that it was listed separately at the top of the absinthe list ... and stayed there over Christmas, New Year and all the way to Easter (Easter and eggs is a good reason to offer this cocktail outside the normal Eggnog season).

Other bars in the USA, UK, Japan and Australia followed the example of Sage.  Café Bohème in London (part of the Soho House group) offered both hot and cold versions of Absinthe Eggnog.

So how can those making cocktails to drink at home make Absinthe Eggnog? Here are two options. Firstly a one drink version:

Secondly, a version which makes enough for two 750 ml bottles (thanks for this, Ron!):

Both versions are exceptional and are highly recommended. Santé! Joyeux Noël! Bonne et Heureuse Année!

What has the European Union ever done for us?

I have long thought that politics and drink (and in particular absinthe) don't mix well. Alcohol - especially absinthe - has been badly hit by politics in the past.

So I was interested to see this new cocktail book a few weeks ago:

Attempting to be politically neutral, I have hidden the subtitle of the book in the photo but if you're curious you can see it and read brief extracts here.

I love the idea of making absinthe great again, and have been trying to do so for more than 15 years. There are some interesting cocktails here, but sadly too few absinthe cocktails. If you want to get better books about absinthe cocktails, then we have a few recommendations here.

Back to politics and to the title of this post. What has the European Union ever done for us? Some of you may remember this from Monty Python's Life of Brian:



For me, a UK citizen, today is a day of reflection: it's the day we leave the European Union. I'm not going to provide a long list of things the European Union has done for us. There is one important action, however, that they took back in 1988, which has profoundly changed my life and maybe that of my readers too. In 1988, European Council Directive No. 88/388/EEC was enacted and it had one very interesting and unintended consequence. It set a limit for thujone (spelt as "thuyone" in the directive) in drinks, primarily aimed at bitters, vermouths, and herbal liqueurs:

10 mg/kg in alcoholic beverages with more than 25 % volume of alcohol

35 mg/kg in bitters

and these would lead to the complete re-legalization of absinthe across the European Union, in Switzerland in 2005 and in the USA in 2007.

Astonishingly no-one seemed to realise the effect of this legislation in the EU until several years after 1988. The EU probably didn't realise that their limits re-opened the door to absinthe, with 19th century samples shown to be within these limits. There are different claims as to who first realised this, and some of the first "absinthes" sold as a result were not good examples of what could be produced.

However it seems clear that this first re-legalization within the EU was not as a result of any pressure from distillers: it was a completely unintended consequence, one could almost term it a "mistake." Swiss and American companies were later able to capitalize on this, but, without it, absinthe might still be a curiosity produced in very small quantities for tourists to Spain and Prague. Without it, most of my readers might never have enjoyed this wonderful drink. So tonight as the UK leaves the European Union, I will be drinking an absinthe toast to the EU politicians and bureaucrats who helped to start absinthe's journey from the shadows to the light. Cheers! Santé!

In search of the Bloody Fairy

Virginia Davis, manager, Pirate’s Alley Café/Absinthe House, New Orleans

The ”Bloody Fairy?” Gimmick or classic? Let’s explore this..

By “Bloody Fairy,” of course, I mean an absinthe equivalent of the “Bloody Mary.” Sounds simple, or so I thought.

But it turns out that there are different directions this could go: it could be a standard spicy Bloody Mary with a few dashes of absinthe as seen here:

Or it could be a completely different (and not spicy) drink using absinthe, cranberry juice and tonic water as seen here:

Or it could be a drink in which absinthe completely replaces vodka as mentioned here:

I believe the last option included here fits far better with the "Bloody" proposition and is clearly more "Fairy" related.

I used this starting point on my 2018 visit to New Orleans and later at home. I now believe I am close to the perfect Bloody Fairy, loved by bars, using tweaks from famous cocktail experts, and indulging my own preferences too. It’s been a tough journey but someone had to do it!

Firstly I see little need to tamper with the "Bloody" element, For bars serving very spicy or alternatively more mellow Bloody Marys, you know what works for your customers, so don’t tamper with that element. That’s what your customers want, whether it be a brunch cocktail, aperitif or even digestif (a good Bloody Mary can indeed be all of these). So I will not detail or define here the spicy tomato element of this cocktail: what works for your customers in your bar or for you at home in a Bloody Mary will work for you in a Bloody Fairy.

Moving onto the absinthe element, it is clear that absinthe can be a polarising taste. While vodka can be somewhat blander. I believe less bitter absinthes work much better in this cocktail, complementing the tomato juice and the spicy elements, rather than fighting with them. For me, and the New Orleans bartenders we tried this with, Butterfly Classic Absinthe worked really well, with respectable strength (65%), little bitterness, and a flavour profile that complements tomato and spices. Butterfly has a traditional recipe base of herbs and spices which complement the spices used in Bloody Mary; it also has hints of citrus and mint that sit well alongside tomato juice.

Butterfly's US heritage makes it a perfect ingredient in this Bloody Mary twist, given that the Bloody Mary may have been born at the New York Bar in Paris in 1921 or in New York itself in the 1930's, and it is certainly a cocktail which is most popular in the USA.

So this was the start of the drink: a traditional tomato/spice mix and Butterfly Absinthe. A prototype Bloody Fairy that I drank in bars in New Orleans in September 2018. Firstly in The Old Absinthe House with Jackie and her team:

(yes, I know the Bloody Fairy glass is empty: a clear indication that this was the most popular of the three cocktails we shared)

at other bars around New Orleans:

and at Tony Seville's Pirate's Alley Café and Absinthe House (see photo with Virginia Davis at the top). We all loved it.

However I recognise that the slight element of bitterness in any good absinthe may not work for everyone, and after consideration I realised that an extra ingredient I had enjoyed in Bloody Marys a few years ago would really be the icing on the cake,

Sherry.

I researched further and I found that some of the world’s most celebrated cocktail experts have used sherry to complete their Bloody Marys. If this idea is good enough for Erik Lorincz (formerly of The Savoy)

and for Simon Ford of Ford's Gin

there must be a reason.

Manzanilla or Fino didn’t seem quite right, so I was interested to consider a cream sherry. I was not alone, judging by this article from a British newspaper:

So there we have it. The perfect Bloody Fairy recipe:-

1. Tomato juice and all the usual spices and garnishes: exactly how you would combine them in your Bloody Mary.

2. Spirit:

Either replace all the vodka with Butterfly Absinthe, an American-style absinthe. Noting that this comes in at 65% alcohol, then you could perhaps reduce the amount of absinthe to around two-thirds of the amount (of vodka) you would use in a Bloody Mary.

Or replace half of the vodka with  Butterfly Absinthe, so a smaller amount of Butterfly and half of the vodka.

3. The icing on the cake: float Cream Sherry on top.

We hope you love this Bloody Fairy as much as we do! It is much much more than a gimmick and deserves to become a new classic cocktail. And, as it's Oscar season, I'd like to thank Bernie for all her help in New Orleans and for sharing a few Bloody Fairies! Cheers!

Ladies drinking absinthe

I've posted about ladies and absinthe jokingly before, and have also highlighted the more serious role of women in making absinthe.

So it was interesting to discover recently two artistic treatment of women drinking absinthe: from Paris in 1905 and from New Orleans in 2017.

The first of these is probably more interesting!

Gustave Poetzsch was a Swiss artist who lived from 1870 to 1950. Born in Neuchâtel, he moved to Paris to develop his painting skills. His painting of L'Élégante au verre d'absinthe may surprise absinthe historians. It seems to show a fashionable French lady drinking absinthe on her own in a Parisian café or bar. She's drinking from a glass that doesn't look like an absinthe glass and seems to be on her third drink (count the saucers used to help keep count of how many drinks a customer would need to pay for). There seems to be no stigma associated with this: she is indeed an elegant lady. Marie-Claude Delahaye has written in some detail about the painting and the unusual glass. This painting seems, in summary, to debunk the myths about absinthe in Paris at the start of the 20th century: it is a long way from "absinthism."

As the painting debunks myths, so Hollywood continues to spread myths about absinthe. Below I present the "absinthe" sequence from the trailer for Girls Trip. While it may be true that tourists to New Orleans enjoy drinking the Green Fairy in The Old Absinthe House and elsewhere, and some may over-indulge, they do not get the kind of absinthe effects depicted here. The most active ingredient in absinthe is alcohol. Drinking too much absinthe, and hence too much alcohol, does not lead to experiencing anything more remarkable than seeing the sidewalk (pavement) close-up.



This is shared here to show how Hollywood continues to exaggerate the effects of absinthe. Something that reputable absinthe distillers will never do.