Seasonal gifts and cocktails for the absinthe lover

Originally published in 2013: some content and links may be out-of-date.

The Christmas and New Year season brings out the best in us .. but also can be a difficult time. In the run-up to Christmas, there's the present-buying frenzy, and then there's all that drinking over the holidays. 

Because absinthe has only become available in the last few years, it is not seen as a natural part of gift-giving or of celebrations (at least not in the same way as a single malt or a glass of champagne). That fact makes absinthe an even more unusual gift or celebration drink for the person "who has everything," so I have scoured the shops to bring you the best gifts, and then I'll consider what to drink.

Those who've read my blog before will know I'm commercially involved in the absinthe sector, and I'll include some products I work on. Since it's the season of goodwill, I'll also include a wider range of products, including several made by my industry colleagues.

Absinthe Gift Guide Part One - Bottles

Lots to choose from but among the most interesting are:-

Butterfly Classic Absinthe, 

numbered and signed by the distiller (US only, limited edition of 1902 bottles available at good stores in California and Massachusetts). Unsigned bottles are available in Europe and Japan.

Ridge Absinthes from Montana,

a rarity since the branding will soon be changed to Vilya.

Marteau Master's Reserve from Seattle, 

which is a relatively new offering, currently in limited distribution in the Pacific North West

Jade's 1901

which is available online in Europe and in Jug Shop in San Francisco; other US stockists coming soon for this.

Locally made craft absinthes can now be found in many other US States as well as in some towns in the UK. I haven't tasted all of these, so you may want to check the reviews before you buy.

Small bottle stocking fillers make great presents; these include La Clandestine and St. George 200 ml bottles in the USA (Total Wine) and from some European stores. A 200 ml mixed set of Artemisia Absinthes 

is available in Europe. Some European stores offer a Dramvent Calendar of 24 x 3 cl absinthe samples!

In case you cannot find what you are looking for in your State or country, remember that you may be able to purchase online for shipping within the USA (Hi-Time seem to offer the widest range of States) while in Europe online stores have big assortments, including accessories, which they can ship to many countries. 

All the online shippers are very busy in the run-up to Christmas, so check their delivery timings.

Absinthe Books and Films

Absinthe lovers will also love the great range of books and films available.

I wrote about Scott MacDonald's Absinthe Antiques in March 2013: 

it's definitely one of the top absinthe gifts for this year.

A Taste for Absinthe 

remains the best book about absinthe cocktails, although it seems to be in short supply.

The ultimate absinthe book gift is

David Nathan-Maister's Absinthe Encyclopedia, with Barnaby Conrad III's Absinthe in a Bottle close behind.

Chris Buddy's 

Absinthe: The Movie (reviewed here) is available on DVD, or as a download.

Posters and other memorabilia

Absinthe Posters has an excellent of historic posters and postcards

Steampunk artists have created some interesting works with absinthe, notably

San Diego's Winona Cookie. She has a wide range of absinthe pictures available as prints and cards.

Some of David Nathan-Maister's personal collection is available, including photos from the personal archives of the Pernod family 

and a very rare Swiss clandestine distiller's alembic from the 1930's or 40's

Distillery Visits

Several US distilleries advertise tours (notably St. George and Philadelphia Distilling) but many of those who don't advertise tours will be pleased to help. In Europe, Artemisia offer distillery visits via Smartbox.

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

Absinthe Cocktails

So once you've finished buying and wrapping presents, it is time to prepare and enjoy an absinthe cocktail or two.

Many people have their own favourite egg nog recipes, so it may be presumptive to suggest another. At the time of writing Sage at Aria in Las Vegas had an exceptionally good kitchen-made absinthe egg nog.

Of course Christmas is a time for sparkling drinks. Absinthe and champagne make the classic Death in the Afternoon, but, however bad your Christmas lunch was, that doesn't sound like the right drink for the occasion. I prefer the White Christmas (created for me by Adam Schuman of the Fatty Crab, New York in March 2009):

1/2 oz La Clandestine Absinthe
1/4 oz Simple syrup
1 oz Grapefruit juice
3 dashes St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram (The Bitter Truth Aromatic Bitters can be used instead)
Top up with Prosecco

Adam Schuman's brilliance lies in inverting my suggestion of falling snow with the rising bubbles of the Prosecco, but this is more complex and more interesting than the Death in the Afternoon. Great job, Adam!

So with a cocktail book/video/poster/antique in one hand and a White Christmas cocktail in the other, I'd like to wish all my readers Season's Greetings!

Absinthe: the movie

THIS REVIEW HAS VARIOUS MOVIE QUOTES AND REFERENCES. SEE IF YOU CAN SPOT THEM ALL!

“Absinthe,” a new documentary about our favourite drink, was launched too late for an Oscar in 2011 (of course the competition was quite tough with “The King’s Speech” winning much of the glory and “Inside Job” winning the best documentary prize).

However, for absinthe fans and for those wanting to find out more about this mysterious spirit, Chris Buddy’s new film, now available for download in the USA from Amazon, will certainly win many friends, and maybe prizes in the future.

With my association with Claude-Alain Bugnon, I was fortunate enough to get a DVD copy of the film by airmail directly from Director Chris Buddy (global distribution has still to be announced), and I can only agree with the claim that it is, for now at least, the “Definitive Film on History’s Most Notorious Drink.”

Buddy rounds ups the usual suspects with a cast featuring many of the “Who’s Who” of modern absinthe, including the producers, sorry, I mean distillers, Ted Breaux, Claude-Alain Bugnon and Francois Guy, Lucid CEO Jared Gurfein, and many notable absinthe historians including Marie-Claude Delahaye, Barnaby Conrad III, Benoît Noël …. and, speaking via webcam (which made it sound like he was 20,000 leagues under the sea), David Nathan-Maister. Nice to see friends Peter Schaf, Nico Tripet, Luc-Santiago Rodriguez and Jean-Luc Tucoulat too (but no absinthe bloggers, unfortunately!).

Intriguingly, there was no trace of those responsible for artificially coloured and/or pre-sweetened absinthe, and no trace of products the absinthe community calls “fauxsinthes.” Nothing other than 100% distilled absinthes, the stuff that dreams are made of.

And, except for some fleeting shots of Combier, hardly a single distillery shown from outside the Val-de-Travers or Pontarlier (respectively the birthplace and 19th century capital of absinthe). Others would say that is the film’s only real omission but it’s certainly representative of historic absinthe production centres.

The movie progresses from the birth of absinthe (clearly explained by Marie-Claude Delahaye to be in Couvet in the 1790’s, and NOT anywhere else in 1805!). So much for a famous movie quote: “In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.” How about absinthe, Mr Welles? Marie-Claude is famous within the absinthe community, but she disarmingly tells us later that she doesn’t drink (so no point in thinking "I'll have what she's having").

Absinthe then details the drink's steady early growth, and its then more spectacular growth in the late 19th century Paris (“We’ll always have Paris”). The ban and the 20th century underground manufacture in Switzerland are covered in a lot of detail, bringing Claude-Alain Bugnon into focus, as large as life and just as humorous on film as in the flesh, as he bids for possible Oscar 2012 glory!


One can almost hear him saying “"I love the smell of wormwood in the morning!" By comparison, Ted Breaux comes across


as positively poetic, with Viridian’s Jared Gurfein, in detailing the US re-legalisation, playing the straight man to the famous absinthe distillers.

I’d be hard pressed to find many factual errors in the film, although I was surprised at the minimal references to the phylloxera blight which played a big part in absinthe’s explosive growth. And it is only recently becoming clear that absinthe was not actually banned in the USA in 1912, although importation and transport across State lines were (so production in some States, and sales within those States, could well have continued until much closer to prohibition).

A great way to watch Absinthe would be to sample some of the absinthes shown in the film at the same time they (or their inventors/owners) are on screen. So get the absinthe fountain out, invite some friends and share one of the Jade absinthes while listening to Ted Breaux talking about 19th century absinthe. Crack open a bottle of La Clandestine while listening to Claude-Alain Bugnon talking about the moonshiners of 20th century Switzerland. And then enjoy a glass of Lucid while Jared Gurfein describes the battle to legalise absinthe in the USA.


After all that, it is recommended that you only watch and imbibe the matching absinthes once every evening. Tomorrow is another day and Absinthe will definitely repay second and third viewings.

I leave almost the last word to Claude-Alain Bugnon as he brings the film to a close ...

In fact, he goes on to say a little more, but far be it from me to reveal the film's dénouement!

Here's the film's trailer:



In the spirit of movies, let's close with some fun. When you’ve watched the film, please let me know which of its stars might have said:

"I am big! It's the pictures that got small."

"Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer."

"If you build it, he will come."

"Made it, Ma! Top of the world!"

At $3.99 for 3 days' rental from Amazon, Absinthe is a must-have; at $14.99 to keep the movie it's great value. Enjoy the film, and to Chris and all the others involved in producing Absinthe: santé!