Absinthe Ben: Opinion-Former and Absintheur Supérieur

"9/28/07:

As of 4:36 PM EST The Absinthe Review Network website is officially live! I'd like to thank my fellow absintheurs for the feedback, encouragement, and willingness to spread the word over the last several months. Many thanks also to the guest reviewer submissions, it has helped provide a consistent flow of content in the weeks leading to today."

Two years ago, the words above first appeared on PC screens across the world (click on the image to read them all). At the time (just a few months after I started this blog), I was not too aware of Ben Lopez, aka Absinthe Ben, although he has well aware of La Clandestine. In fact La Clandestine made the second ever comment on the Absinthe Review Network page on MySpace way back on June 9th, 2007 and we corresponded regularly after that.

In September 2007, however, Ben launched the Absinthe Review Network (aka TARN), an excellent site that now enjoys a top 5 rating on Google for a search for "absinthe reviews." And in recent months, he has added the Absinthe Review Network Forums, expanded his presence on Twitter, and continued to hound those whose standards of what is and what isn't absinthe differ from his (and, in all likelihood, mine).


Ben is one of those rare individuals who puts in all this work, primarily for love. OK, there are now one or two advertisements on TARN, but they are unlikely to cover the expenses. So knowing that TARN is currently celebrating its second birthday, I contacted Ben to find out more about him, about his vision for TARN and for absinthe, and to discover what drives him.

Tell me about yourself, Ben.

You know, I always loathed this question during job interviews, too! But if I must. I've lived here in Michigan most of my life (just south of this "Speedle" fellow), softly weeping every bitter-cold winter that I attempt to make it out of the driveway without sliding into the mailbox. When it comes to bringing home the bacon, I've ventured into a lot of different career fields, from an editor of a local publication, to being on the creative team of a moderate-sized pro wrestling organization. Right now, I do freelance Promotions and Advertising, mainly for MMA/wrestling events and concerts, though I do have a few individual clients I'm working with as well. We had a great turnout for a comic book convention recently, which was a first for me, so I'm glad it was a hit. When I'm not working, you'll find me drinking, enjoying leisure activites like bike riding or a tipsy stumble through the park, or playing too much Sega Genesis. Fun fact: I have a bad habit of passing out on the floor before getting a chance to turn off the lights, so my electricity bill is quite high...

And how did you get into Absinthe? Dare you tell me about you first experience with the Green Fairy?

It's been about 7 years now, but I remember the gist of it well enough. I was on my computer listing auctions on eBay one afternoon, as I was big into selling at the time, when a friend of mine stopped by and mentioned something about it. Now, I had heard the name "absinthe" before, but could only vaguely recall what it was. So both our interests had been sparked at that point, and we were determined to buy a bottle of this crazy stuff. We should have done some proper research for a reputable vendor, but as impatient as we were, we figured "Heeey, as long as we're on eBay right now...", and after some digging, we did indeed find someone that was discreetly selling absinthe. They had Tabu 73 and a mini bottle of some Czechsinthe, and naturally were looking for a large bottle, so we decided on the Tabu 73. Yup, my first absinthe was Tabu, ... off eBay. Total crap, and really quite embarrassing in retrospect, but on the plus side it did louche, at least.

We got it in after an absurdly long wait, almost 9 weeks, and tore into it at 3 PM in the afternoon. We did a bit of halfhearted research on it beforehand, but must have stumbled onto the wrong site, as I remember trying to burn the sugar. The entire room smelled terrible and the half-melted sugar was now cooled and plastered onto the spoons, which we had to scrape off. We both just looked at each other wondering "Do we HAVE to do this as part of the ritual every time?" I was super-concerned about not wasting it after waiting over two months for half a damn litre, so I ended-up pouring these dinky little servings, probably half an ounce. And of course we had no concept of how much water to add, we just saw the 73% ABV and thought we would need a ton, so it was over-watered. My first impression was that it was all-licorice on the nose, and was way too bitter in the finish. Neither of us said anything, but we both knew it tasted like chalk, though were able to choke down the remainder of our servings. After that, we didn't do the fire ritual and it didn't seem quite as bad, but of course we had nothing to compare it to. Once the bottle was empty, my friend told me he was "done with this crap" and gave up on absinthe, but I knew there were more expensive brands out there, and I needed to know if they would be a quality I could actually enjoy. So after that, I ordered two bottles every 6 - 8 weeks, making sure to get a variety from different countries and never ordering the same bottle twice, even if I enjoyed it. I had this "Top 20 list" that I scribbled down on notebook paper, I would update every time a new shipment came in, and had a sentence or two description for each brand. It was then that the idea of TARN came about, but I knew at that point I wasn't ready to review yet. I needed to try more absinthe. LOTS more. I started ordering 4 or 6 bottles at a time and it progressed from there. The year before I launched Absinthe Review Network, I bought over a grand's worth of varied absinthe within a month to prepare myself.

So what is it you like about absinthe?

When I was first getting into absinthe, I think the louche was a big hook for me, I just thought it was awesome. Though admittedly, I was also very curious about this "absinthe buzz" I kept hearing about. As I tasted better brands, I became more and more fascinated by the tastes and aromas and less the superficial things like its louche or enthralling notoriety. I remember the first time I bought a litre of La Valote Martin, I took off the cap and said to a friend "Don't taste this, just smell it, and tell me what it reminds you of", and he gave me a stunned look, replying "flowers!". I was equally amazed that a liquor over 100 proof could have such a magnificent nose without a large presence of alcohol behind it. Also the fact that most absinthes seemed to be naturally sweet and drinkable. I actually lost interest in all other alcoholic beverages for a period, even sake, which I had been enjoying since before I had even heard about absinthe. At this point in my life, I just love everything about it.


Hell, I don't even need a stereo for drinking music. Lock me in a desolate, unfurnished room and I'll sit on the floor happily sipping a glass until the bottle runs dry.

And what is your vision for absinthe, what should it be and where it should be going?

Perhaps I'm dancing around the question here, but as many in the community are aware, I tend to be more concerned with what absinthe shouldn't be and where the market should not be headed. I have mixed feelings, but I tend to get uneasy (to put it politely) when I see these products that are pushing the envelope declaring themselves an absinthe, when in fact they are not. Having no legal definition of absinthe, I am now just as concerned with the increase of "absinthe" coming in at under 50% ABV as I am with anise-free fauxsinthe. Consumers are getting used to seeing brands coming in at 38 - 40% ABV, and that's dangerous. The most notorious absinthe-imitation offender to date has met a lot of resistance from the community, including my own scathing review. But realistically, the ranks of absinthe drinkers that are dedicated to the cause enough to proactively fight against this growing onslaught of fauxsinthe are limited; we simply do not possess the time, nor manpower, to vocally oppose them all. So to answer the original question, honestly all I'd like to see right now is a legal definition declaring the minimum ABV requirement, and demanding that a notable measure of green anise is used in the production. As far the evolution of flavour profiles is concerned, that is up to the masterful hands of the distillers. Quality absinthe finally trickling out of countries like Chile and the Czech Republic is also very exciting.

And your vision for the main TARN site?

Being completely impartial is the most important factor of any review website. Without this quality, what good are the reviews? I think TARN can pride itself on being widely recognized as unbiased, free of any commercial interest, and not afraid to offend with brutal honesty. It is both my vision and pledge to maintain that integrity.

I'm not looking to become the ultimate absinthe resource by any means, but I fully intend to keep pushing forward until our database of reviews is widely referenced not just nationally, but globally. From the regional demographic statistics I've been monitoring, I can see things are moving in that direction slowly but surely, but it will take some time. Regarding more immediate goals, if there's one thing that I'd like to do, it's expand on the user reviews. When I originally came up with the concept for TARN, that's all I wanted. No forums, no features, gallery, interviews or extensive information, nothing else. Just my reviews and the reviews of others. I believe encouraging involvement and feedback from everyone is what will drive the incentive for newcomers to expand their knowledge and continue to develop their palate. There is no joy like seeing someone adopt a genuine passion for absinthe. Also, as I mentioned earlier, I do have a designer working on the main website, which is coming along very slowly, but is looking good. I'm 90% sure your eyes will no longer bleed before the year's end! I'm writing up a few reviews in advance so I can focus on working out some kinks, give some feedback on the new design, and get around to finishing the FAQ page.

Furthermore, I have not announced this publicly yet, so I figure this is as good a time as any; I am currently in the process of appointing a staff for TARN. It's very difficult to do everything as just one person with the number of open projects and volume of e-mails I'm receiving these days. Another contributing factor for this decision was the desire to broaden the field of expertise (cocktail knowledge, historic knowledge, modern knowledge) and range of opinions at Absinthe Review Network. Choosing the right individuals cannot be rushed, so as of now I can't say when the full staff will be introduced, but at least one staff member has already been chosen. Other than that, there are a few other announcements on the horizon, but you'll have to wait and see...

And your vision for the Forum?

As far as the forum is concerned, I'd like to continue having a very leisure environment where people can speak their mind and enjoy themselves without any real formalities. I had intended for the focus to be more on discussing brand reviews, but... (shrug) things don't always go as intended. At this time I have few plans for it aside from making it look and function better, but I'm always open to suggestions. It will ultimately be shaped by the members of our absinthe family that contribute over the years, not me.

And what's diferent about your forum? Why does the world need another absinthe forum?

(Laugh), the world can always use another absinthe forum! If I could, I'd like to give a shout out to Martin and his absinthe forum that has also been introduced recently, the Absinthe Mafia. Believers of genuine absinthe in the Czech Republic have banded together and gather there, it's really quite remarkable. I'll have to ask them their secret, as I have never seen a single case of arguing or insults there. Ever. I guess it just goes to show how a common goal can bring people together like family, or more specifically, as their motto goes, "family of real absinthe lovers". The TARN community is also a family, albeit a more quirky one (smile)! As far as what is different, I made it a point to limit the number of dedicated forum sections to under a dozen. Even as the number of members grow, I see no reason to have dedicated forum sections for every single subcategory. After all, there's not much point in creating 50 separate forums if people are only going to frequent 8 of them. It's a way to keep discussion more intimate and keep the conversation flowing.

Something tells me that "intimate" line will surely get me some prodding in the Off-Topic Forum...

Why should people join the TARN absinthe forum?

Well, I can't promise newcomers our forum will provide any sort of divine revelation that can't be offered elsewhere, but I can promise you'll feel right at home in a casual environment with friendly, like-minded people from all walks of life. Plus, if it is any incentive, I'm bringing back something early readers will remember, the Tuesday Night Drunken Chat Sessions. It's the most fun you can have with a keyboard and a few drinks or your money back.

Do you have any interest in launching your own absinthe at some stage in the future?

I have no intention of producing my own absinthe now or any time in the future, no. Though producing sake commercially is, of course, not off the table for me...


OK, I'll admit it: this photo is staged (I think). Absinthe Ben is not the sort who'll over-indulge in absinthe. Well, maybe only on days of the week that end with "day." I'm constantly amazed by his energy (he seems to be posting on his Forum or on Twitter around 3 am his time), his zealous approach to the rights and wrongs of modern absinthe ... and "absinthe," and his boundless enthusiasm. Had Absinthe Ben been living in 1899, there would have been no "heure verte;" but many a "jour vert"(groan at the bi-lingual pun). Absinthe Ben may not have allowed early twentieth century governments to ban absinthe on such flimsy evidence. And then he would have returned to studying his absinthe bottles. Both from outside .. and from inside.

Santé, mon brave!

Real Absinthe: 2008 Review & 2009 forecast

The webpages above are my photos of 2008: a year which saw the number of absinthes available from US retailers such as DrinkUp New York and Bevmo rise to double figures, and saw the list of US-approved absinthes rise to at least 37.

If my readers thought that 2007 was an interesting year for real absinthe, then heaven knows what they thought of 2008! By December 2008, about 25 of the approved absinthes were actually in the US market (or very close to being so).

All this at a time when the USA enters its worst economic slowdown since 1929, with one major banking casualty, an auto industry close to bankruptcy and now with a ground-breaking new President-elect. So, given the plethora of new absinthes on the one hand and the recession on the other, what is really going on? And what will happen in 2009?

My forecasts for 2008: Review

A good start-point is my forecast for 2008 made 12 months ago:

1. By December 2008, there will be at least 8 - 10 absinthes freely available in the USA. They will include more absinthes from France, Switzerland, the USA and the first Czech absinth to launch officially in the USA. With DrinkUp New York and Bevmo respectively listing 14 and 12 different absinthes, my forecast could be seen to have been a little on the low side. Of course one or two of my forum friends


might suggest that several of these aren't real absinthe, but that's another debate for another time! My forecast for the first Czech absinth to enter the USA has only proved wrong in that while four are now US-approved, none of them has actually entered the market yet.

2. At least one of the big multi-national companies, probably Pernod-Ricard, will start to show more significant interest in absinthe. Pernod Absinthe is becoming slightly more prominent within Pernod's portfolio in some countries and the US interest in absinthe will have been noted. And if a second multi-national starts to get interested, then anything could happen! Pernod Absinthe is definitely more of a factor in the US market now, but whether it will satisfy the corporate objectives of the second biggest drinks group in the world is another matter, given Pernod-Ricard's purchase of Absolut Vodka in 2008. Absolut is probably more important than Absinthe for them. And is there a second multi-national looking at absinthe yet? Yes ... more to follow below in my 2009 forecast

3. One or two unlikely alliances between some of the main players will start to be seen. Consolidation is happening throughout the drinks business and absinthe will follow this trend. A year ago, would anyone have forecast that a brand like La Clandestine would be sold by the company selling Lucid?


4. Prices will fall, whether on the internet or in the retailers selling absinthe around the world. Some of this will come from greater production efficiency in the business and from greater competition; some will come from specification changes with suppliers reducing the alcohol strength as has been observed in at least one key market (the UK) in recent months. Some of this has proved correct, especially the effective prices (in dollar terms) from UK-based internet operators, although this is just a short-term foreign exchange phenomenon. Greater competition in the USA has yet to drive prices down, although there is now much more emphasis on value-added packs which has a similar effect.

5. More absinthe blogs will start (and many will wither); membership of the absinthe forums will continue to grow, and many of the longer-established members will tire of the inability of newcomers to read the FAQ's (that's an easy prediction)! However at the Louched Lounge, change will be less obvious! My forecast on new blogs has only come true if one counts the blogs on MySpace, and the demise of the Czech Absinthe blog was the main casualty over the last 12 months (with most other absinthe bloggers also a lot less active).

A notable start-up is the Absinthe Review Network.



The three main English language absinthe forums went in very different directions editorially, although in all cases visitor numbers seem to have stagnated or even declined.



Gwydion Stone's interest in Marteau Absinthe led to a greater presence by the non-commercial staff at the Wormwood Society, David-Nathan Maister's focus on the Absinthe Encyclopedia and on other ventures such as Absinthe Classics Canada and Finest and Rarest seems to have cut down his time spent on Fée Verte. More dramatically, a fall-out between two of the leading lights of the Louched Lounge has led to the virtual disappearance of Louched Liver ....



2008 Review

2007 had ended with the USA’s first locally distilled absinthe since 1912 and some final vitriolic exchanges on the Czech Absinthe blog. Was it RIP or just “au revoir” to Absintheur and DrAbsinthe?

The growing interest in absinthe in the USA was evident with Imbibe’s review of the US absinthe market in January 2008.

January also saw the TTB approval for Le Tourment Vert; February saw Grande Absente's approval; March saw La Fée Parisienne's approval.

In April, Sign On San Diego broke the news that Tom Boyd (absinthe bloggist and inquisitor) was actually Dominik Miller, spokesman for Century “Absinthe.” Interviewed by the journalist, he invented the wonderful term “thujone denialists” to describe Ted Breaux and others involved in the emerging US absinthe market. In truth, this spokesman for Century and others like him (who took upon themselves the task of arguing on behalf of all Czech “absinthe” with every real absinthe lover on the internet) have probably done more to harm the cause of Czech “absinthe” than anyone through continually linking it with high thujone. Hardly likely to help their cause with the TTB!

Talking of which, in April Mata Hari and Sirene received their final TTB approvals, as did Leopold in May.

June saw the 11th Annual Absinthe Festival in Boveresse, Switzerland. This year Claude-Alain Bugnon's webcam came into its own, filming those of us who were drunk-dialling the USA.





Ted Breaux and Jared Gurfein of Viridian were at Boveresse in 2008, allowing some final fine-tuning prior to the announcement of the La Clandestine and Nouvelle-Orléans US launches.

More TTB approvals followed in June: Trillium and Van Gogh Klasiek. The latter, one of the first absinthes developed by an established American premium spirits company, is not yet in the US market, and we have heard rumours that it will not be launched. I wonder why ...

July is supposed to be the start of the summer holidays, but there was no sign of holidays at the TTB with Marteau, Obsello (the first Spanish absinthe in the USA) and Duplais all getting their approvals. The pace barely slowed in August with Mansinthe and Vieux Pontarlier gaining theirs.

September saw the Absinthiades in Pontarlier.


For the fourth consecutive year, the Absinthe professionals of the world awarded Claude-Alain Bugnon the Golden Spoon for his Recette Marianne; for the second consecutive year the other distilled absinthe winner was La Fée XS Suisse (also produced at a small distillery in the birthplace of absinthe!).

September was also the month when I went on a whirlwind tour of


Moscow (above), Miami, New York and


Toronto (above), all on non-absinthe business. Apart from


in New York (above), it was clear that the absinthe business is under-developed in the other major cities visited: maybe 2009 will be the year for absinthe in Canada?

For me, October was significant as the month when La Clandestine was finally launched in New York, New Orleans, and Kentucky. It was also the month when the Beverage Tasting Institute of Chicago scores for nine absinthes became available. Members of the Wormwood Society were not impressed.

Also in October, the Czech absinthe protagonist(s) returned. “Praha” debated absinthe issues in the National Examiner while “Ragnarok” followed suit in Newsminer. In both discussions, Hiram aka Gwydion Stone of the Wormwood Society was the target of the “thujone hypers,” and even if he didn't get the last word in the debates, he got the last laugh in life with the launch of his new Marteau Absinthe de la Belle Epoque.

In November, news breaks of the first Czech "absinthe" approvals. The two brands in question are actually owned by two Australian entrepreneurs who used to work for Jim Beam: more "big drinks company" men coming into the global absinthe business.

In late-November, La Clandestine started shipping from Nova Scotia. Most Canadians can now buy both Taboo Canadian Absinthe and La Clandestine Swiss Absinthe without having to pay high courier charges.

And so as the global economy plunges lower in December, the TTB year ends with more approvals, including approval at last for Pacifique Absinthe.

On Christmas Day, the Absinthe Review Network announced the highest-rated la bleue absinthe to date: La Clandestine.

And 2008 ended with two dramatic developments: Health Canada confirm that they are reviewing their policy on thujone in absinthe: their review may take a year but it is the most positive news of the year for Canadian absinthe lovers (especially those in Ontario).

And I pick up the first solid accounts of three global giants of the drinks business becoming interested in absinthe ... more of that later!

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Before my forecast for 2009, I want to make some new awards for achievements and services rendered to the global absinthe business in 2008.

Absinthe Photo of the Year for the Drink Up New York absinthe page featured at the start of this article.

Volte-face of the Year to Health Canada for finally starting to review their policy on thujone in absinthe. Having encouraged some of the biggest drinks retailers in the world to stock Hill's and Pernod Absinthe only (and to state that if Hill's/Pernod can produce absinthes with less than 1 ppm of thujone, so can everyone else), Health Canada appears - at last - to be having second thoughts. Either that, or they will ban sales of vermouth and of turkey stuffed with sage in 2009. And water could be next on their hit list based on the theory that more people may die from drinking water than from drinking absinthe ...

The Ban Ki-moon award for diplomacy to Brian Robinson, aka Shabba (53)


for his two or more years debating firstly with the Czech absinthe bloggers/supporters, and more recently debating the Wormwood Society on Fée Verte. More importantly, he is a first-class spokesman for the absinthe industry in the USA, and I hope he is allowed to spend more time on that in 2009 (and that he will not need to argue in the internecine inter-forum war).

Absinthe Launch of the Year award? In 2007, Lucid was the clear winner. In 2008, there is no clear winner. Pandor Absinthe hit the French market, Marteau hit some of the US market, and Stefano Rossoni's L'Italienne hit the internet shops. Obsello, St. Antoine, Prométhée, Vieux Pontarlier and Pacifique all look promising, but all lack the breakthrough impact of Lucid. So, all things considered, I have decided not to make an award in this category in 2008.

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2009 Forecasts

1. More multi-nationals will enter the absinthe market in 2009, probably through acquisition.

With Pernod Absinthe gaining distribution in the USA every month, I cannot see Diageo ignoring this sector for much longer. And two separate sources have told me that they are looking very closely at this sector. Diageo generally buy their way into a sector through brand acquisition, and there are a number of acquisition candidates. A company of Diageo's scale would most likely want to buy an absinthe that can be easily "scaled up," which probably excludes most "hand-crafted" absinthes. If I was in charge of Diageo's acquisition policy, I know which brands I would be looking at, but there's no need for me to drive their prices up by naming them here! Which brands do my readers think a Diageo should buy?

Bacardi, Brown-Forman and Fortune Brands are also possible absinthe purchasers, but might, on previous form, have other less obvious brands in their sights.

2. US absinthe prices? Impossible to forecast, with the forces of dollar depreciation and US recession/local production finely balanced. If the dollar falls to 1.75 against the Euro as some have predicted, then the price for absinthe imported into the USA could, theoretically, increase by up to 25%.

3. Absinthe consumption in the USA? Highly dependent on prices and the general recession, although there are those (myself included) who point to the good health of premium drinks in recessionary times.

4. Absinthe outside the USA. With the resurgence of absinthe (especially real absinthe) in the USA, bartenders around the world are looking at the sector with new interest. The bar trade in the UK, Australia, and Canada may be able to drive these markets away from the more artificial style of "absinthe" currently dominant there, but exchange rate issues may slow some of the demand. Looking globally, I see other markets in Europe and Asia Pacific as being more attractive, at least in the short- to mid-term. As an Asia lover now seeing bars in Thailand, Japan, India and other countries selling high quality absinthes, it is good to see that others seem to agree with me.

5. Internet sales to change dramatically. Already there are signs that absinthe shopping is changing dramatically.

Example one: Absinthe-Suisse no longer ships to the USA.

Example two: In December 2007, eAbsinthe sold 17 Swiss absinthes; 12 months later, they are only selling 4. With similar trends for other countries.

Why the change? A few possible reasons spring to mind, such as the easier access to good access locally in the USA, cheaper local prices cutting demand on the internet, and, maybe crucially, the need of those companies now selling absinthe from Europe to the USA by the container, to appear to be moving to a 100% legal operation. In this situation, it is possible to envisage a time when all internet absinthe sales from Europe to the USA will cease.

Maybe this is not the present that my US friends are looking for, but as Absinthe develops, why should the industry operate differently from Tequila or Vodka?

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Even if the world economy appears to be in free-fall, I forecast a great future for high quality absinthe. Even if 2009 is difficult, good absinthes which meet consumer needs will flourish ... in the USA and elsewhere. In October 2007, a bottle of hand-crafted Swiss absinthe cost about the same as 2 General Motors shares; in December 2008, that same bottle, with a lower price now it is available in US shops, would cost the same as 21 GM shares! Clearly, I don't want my readers to drink and drive: however, now, more than ever, is a good time to curtail one's driving habits, and switch to absinthe. But please drink responsibly!

Finally, do my readers agree with my thoughts on 2008 and, more importantly, 2009?

Santé et bonne année!

Absinthe, New York

Three weeks ago, I returned to New York for the first time since 1996. I was there on non-absinthe business, but with a weekend between meetings I went to see relatives in Brooklyn (including the branch of the family that had been separated from mine since 1900, but that's a whole story in its own right!). I also couldn't resist the opportunity to make a few spontaneous bar and shop calls and so on a Saturday night, my cousin, Aline, and I found the Brooklyn shop in the photo above.

From the outside, it didn't look like the nerve centre of one of the biggest absinthe vendors in the USA. And even on entering the store, it seemed more like one of those old-time liquor shops where the customer can't actually feel the merchandise before paying for it.

I was looking for Kamal Mukherjee, the owner of the shop, but more importantly the brains behind one of America's largest internet liquor vendors, Drink Up New York.



When I announced my name and my involvement with La Clandestine, we were immediately welcomed (almost as if we were re-meeting the long-lost relatives I had just met) and invited back-of-shop. And although I really didn't plan it this way, it was obvious to me that the non-confidential parts of our discussion could make a very interesting article for my blog. So we embarked on a fascinating exchange of information and views, more or less as chronicled below.

Hi, Kamal. Great to meet you. Could you tell us about something about yourself, your previous career and what led you to set up the current business?

I have been a computer geek and alcohol lover for most of my adult life. Setting up a website to sell booze seemed like a perfect way to bring these two worlds together. However, taking a few steps back, I was born and raised in Calcutta, India, got hooked on software at a very young age, and continued to live and work in India for quite some time. Moved to Singapore for a brief period and have been living in the USA for about ten years. During the IT meltdown in the early 2000's when many of my friends were being laid off, I managed to gather about $1,000 from my savings account and set up my consulting practice from the kitchen table of my rented apartment in New Jersey. The business picked up but there was always some uncertainty. For guys like me who had enjoyed the IT boom of the '90s, the honeymoon was definitely over. I was continuously looking for a "Plan B," did real estate investment for a while but moving from software to “hardware” was a big challenge. So the search for the dream job continued. Eventually, while hanging out with some of my friends who owned a liquor store, the idea of owning a store and filling up the shelves with world-class wines & spirits seemed more and more appealing. So in mid-2006, I pulled money from all possible sources e.g. the equity in my house, a cash advance from the credit card company etc etc, and bought a store in Brooklyn.

And at the end of 2006 www.DrinkUpNY.com was launched (managed and operated from the basement of the same building where a team of packers processes the orders for courier collection several times each day).

Without giving away commercial secrets, what is Drink Up New York's point of difference, and what are your business goals?

There are indeed a lot of online wine & spirits stores. Our focus has always been to offer products that are hard to find, give them an affordable price-tag and ship for free when the customers spend at least $100. We certainly want to be the “go to” place for alcohol lovers.

Within the spirits category, where does absinthe stack up in your overall sales?

It is amazing to see how well absinthe does as a category. There are far fewer brands of absinthe compared to scotch, rum etc, yet it outsells them all. Yes, Absinthe is our largest spirits category.

Do people who buy absinthe buy other spirits as well? If so, what types, what brands?

That happens all the time. Often people would buy Absinthe with Rye, Gin or Liquor. There is really no fixed pattern but absinthe consumers often venture into other categories.

You've been selling absinthes for more than a year now? Do you see the market for absinthe still growing, or has it slowed down at all?

We have been selling Absinthe since it became legal in the USA (with the initial launch of Lucid) and the market is yet to show any sign of slowing down. Many new brands have been introduced in the past year and each one of them is doing well. I think the USA is the last large market for absinthe (Editor note: apart from China, Kamal is probably right).

One or two other Manhattan-based shops aren't quite so bullish about absinthe sales: why are you doing better than them?

We do most of our absinthe sales via the web. Because we offer more variety and other absinthe-related accessories (spoons, glasses, etc), customers certainly seem to enjoy the "one stop" shopping experience they get with us.

How do you see absinthe trends developing? Towards more expensive brands, to less expensive brands ... or maybe the market is polarising in both directions?

At present consumer curiosity is a big factor. However, when you see customers keep coming back to the same brand again and again, there is a winner. While we all have a budget, brand loyalty is extremely important for this category. There is a very strong fan following for many of the producers. Consumers have been importing these brands from Europe for decades and now when they can legally buy them in the US, the excitement is really heart-warming.

Like all categories, absinthe will eventually plateau but we are quite a long way off that point. Lower quality absinthes would certainly flatten the market growth (so neither of us would welcome that!). Some of the (higher quality-focused) US spirits producers have already started working on Absinthe. This is really a very exciting time for the Absinthe category, both as consumer and member of the trade.

Any time a new drink comes out from a known US producer, it creates a buzz. Absinthe is no exception. We have seen that with St. George and I'd expect this trend to continue with the upcoming US brands as well. (Editor note: of course Lucid is also owned by a US-based company although it is produced in France).

How can suppliers work with you (and people like you) to grow and develop the category?

We are the first point of contact for end-users and for the most part customers don’t hesitate to provide feedback. Keeping close contact with the retailer is always a good practice. When there is a customer complaint or concern, provide us with the information and tools so that people don’t lose faith in the brand.

What should the industry be careful about?

There is indeed lot of mystery about Absinthe as a product. We must always discourage the drug myth.

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For me, this was a great first meeting. I told Kamal that I had worked in India for three years (1996 to 1999) while selling brands like Remy Martin, Cointreau, The Macallan and Krug Champagne. Afterwards I recalled meeting in 1996 with the owners of probably the biggest liquor shop then in India (Shah in Mumbai). They and Kamal share the same entrepreneurialism, sure, but also gave the same warm welcome that is second-nature for some, but alien for most of us in the West.

Of course I've also got a background selling absinthe over the internet, although we have now closed US sales from the the shop I was most recently involved with (absinthe-suisse.com). So it was really interesting for me to see how Kamal has taken over this business so well ... and apparently so effortlessly!

As far as absinthe is concerned, it is great for the industry to know that Kamal obviously cares so much for the sector. With his internet business, he probably interacts with more absinthe consumers each day than most "absinthe salesmen," so his knowledge, enthusiasm and passion for the category is crucial. The USA absinthe business is already off to a great start, thanks to professionals like Kamal. Now if only we could hand-craft a few more like him ...

I've asked Kamal if he would mind answering any questions my readers have, so if you have questions to ask him, this is the place to do so. I doubt that he will reveal confidential figures but his views of and vision for absinthe are fascinating to explore. Over to you.

The Most Visited Absinthe Websites?

The above analysis from compete.com shows the approximate number of visits made from the USA to some of the top absinthe sites found by searching Google.

It shows absinthebuyersguide.com and eabsinthe.com having 52% and 36% fewer visits in June 2008 compared with June 2007; with absinth.com and originalabsinthe.com up 66% and 17% respectively.



The biggest changes are the big drop in visits to absinthe.bz (down more than 60% on last year; advertising featured in my previous blog story) and the appearance of drinklucid.com in the top three (nearly 9,000 visits in June 2008, and catching up fast on the two leaders). At the same time, while FeeVerte.net has been stable over the last year, the other main forum, the Wormwood Society, is catching it up fast and is now receiving almost four times as many US visits as last year.

Knowing that the graphs are difficult to read, here is a summary of visits made from the USA to each of these sites: June 2007 > June 2008. And remember that these are approximate numbers only.

Absinth.com 6,634 > 11,027 (+ 66%)
OriginalAbsinthe.com 8,345 > 9,743 (+ 17%)
DrinkLucid.com 2,844 > 8,886 (+ 212%)
FeeVerte.net 6,524 > 6,547 (+ 0%)
AbsintheBuyersGuide.com 12,419 > 5,929 (- 52%)
Wormwood Society 1,485 > 5,909 (+ 298%)
Absinthe.bz 15,668 > 5,758 (- 63%)
eAbsinthe.com 4,832 > 3,105 (- 36%)

So what do these trends reveal?

1. While Google position is important, drinklucid.com fares well with a relatively low position: consumers are increasingly likely to be searching for specific absinthe brand names nowadays.

2. Interest in real absinthe seems to be increasing rapidly, with Lucid and the Wormwood Society the fastest growing sites. It is fascinating to witness the changes in consumption mirrored by - or maybe even led by - a change in sites visited.

3. In the next few months, it seems possible that drinklucid.com will become the most highly visited absinthe site in the USA.

4. Of course there is still one absinthe page that probably gets even more visits but I cannot reveal its figures. No, it's not this blog and it's not false modesty or confidentiality that is hiding my reader numbers! It's the Wikipedia page on absinthe: visit numbers unknown.

Any comments on all these numbers from my IT-minded readers? Any other interesting (and free!) site statistics?!