Potent Postings

It’s been a little over two years now since absinthe has become once again legal in the US. There are now something like over 20 brands available in the American market.

Personally, I’ve only tried two. One shall remain nameless b/c my mother taught me if I had nothing nice to say, blah, blah, blah…..

The other… well the other completely changed my hastily made, and narrowly-based, opinion on absinthe.

I had the fortune of being introduced to Stephen Gould from Maison de la Vie, Ltd. by my very good friend Scott Suskowicz of DuoHome in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio. Through a happy accident, Stephen walked into Scott & Tim’s store one day last spring and began telling them of his adventures in absinthe formulation. They gave him my contact info and Stephen and I began corresponding.

This past winter, Stephen and I finally hooked up over lunch. (At the fabulous Peppermint Thai Cuisine, by the way.) He was kind enough to bring a pre-production sample of his upcoming REDUX Absinthe. I just couldn’t help myself and had to at least smell it before I could whisk it home with me to try.

I was amazed. Stephen has done a tremendous amount of research on authentic 19th century absinthes and used many herbs in his blend. The smell alone was so different than my first experience with that “other” brand. This smelled like what I always thought it would smell like. Herbaceous, earthy, anise tones but not overwhelmingly licorice-y.

Later on, when I had the chance to taste-test it, I was equally blown away. Simply terrific and tastes like my imaginings of how it “used to” taste during it’s hey-day. It has a wonderfully golden hue and is a true pleasure to sip.

REDUX Absinthe should be coming into production shortly, although I do not yet have the official date. Stephen is also working on some very exciting ideas for eaux de vies and aguardientes.

So how many absinthes have you tried and which are your favorites? Here’s a link to a SurveyMonkey page from the Absinthe Review Network. They want to know what we all think of absinthe - both those available here in the US and abroad.

So absinthe is back… and from what I am seeing, looks like it’s back with quite some style!

From what I can tell, there seems to be (at least) 9 new offerings to the American market since October 2007. That is huge. Four of them are Czech, four French and one from Switzerland.

Seems like everywhere I look these days I am seeing ads and information on absinthe. I remember not too long ago discussing with a friend how someone had “smuggled” a bottle into the country for her. And sitting ooh-ing and ah-ing over it like it was some rare relic. And at the time it was!

Now… there is no need to smuggle. And the wild and romantic tales of the “green fairy” are being roused for another go-round.

The one I am most anxious to try is Lucid. It has not come to my state yet but I have heard from the manufacturer that Southern Wines and Spirits has the contract and I am hopeful it will be arriving soon.

It comes as no surprise that I really wanted it for HoS but alas… the big boys got it. Nonetheless, I love the story behind the brand, and the fact that they have been a huge force is bringing absinthe back to the states. I guess I will have to mail order rather than waiting for it to arrive in Ohio stores.

I am impatient that way.

So just in case you’ve been in a cave and haven’t been “in” on the beginning of the 21st century absinthe wave… Here are some articles you may find interesting.

How To Drink Absinthe
Wikipedia Article on Absinthe
Absinthe’s Second Coming
Le Fee Verte
Demystifying the Storied Drink