Absinthe

Ten absinthes in two hours - on a Sunday morning with only a croissant for breakfast no less. That's what I unwittingly agreed to when my friend Peter Schaf, the absintheur, invited me to serve as a juror at the Absinthiades, the annual absinthe festival in Pontarlier, the birthplace of French absinthe near the Swiss border. It had sounded like just good times: a weekend mountain getaway from Paris to meet up with Peter and David Nathan-Maister, another dear expert friend, to taste a few absinthes, and no doubt eat plenty of the local Comté and Morbier cheeses . We'd been there for the summer festival, so I expected something similar, like a county fair, but instead of judging apple pies, I thought we'd casually cast votes on absinthes.

There was a public jury made up of townsfolk that Saturday, but I ended up on Sunday's professional jury. I was the lone layperson amongst the Who's Who of the absinthe world, including Peter, David, and their friends Ted Breaux, Markus Hartsmar, and Markus Lion - all terrific guys too.

During the judging, I made good use of the giant sand-filled spit buckets but my mouth still went numb and I did experience the infamous lucid intoxication - then again I was just terrified that I might pass out. I did stay surprisingly sober, and even managed to scribble some hopefully comprehensible notes.

Back at the Emile Pernot distillery, in a historic moment David opened a rare 1910 bottle of absinthe, an Edouard Pernod 65, which he generously shared. We also tasted samples of Ted's new PF 1901, his recreation of the most famous pre-ban absinthe, and 1797, made from the first known written absinthe recipe, dated to that year.

Markus L. also unveiled a prototype of Mansinthe, commissioned by absinthe fan, Marilyn Manson. The unnaturally green Mansinthe, sans wormwood and therefore legal in the US, was to have been released last December. Manson had said, "We hope to have it out in time for Christmas so parents can give it to their kids as a present."

In the meantime the kiddies will have to try to get their hands on the absinthe macarons and chocolates I had at the Absinthiades - those are an addiction of a different kind.

Comments

[daniel]

very cool, AND pictures! nice

[Susan in Hong Kong]

Hi Louisa,

so would you say the hallucinagenic effects of absinthe are more similar to acid or mushrooms or ecstasy? :)

ttyl,
susan

[Louisa]

Daniel - thanks

Susan - yes ;)

[Tony]

I've never had absinthe... but wouldn't removing the wormwood kind of defeat the purpose of drinking it? Or is there some inherent taste to the drink that still makes it worthwhile?

[adrian]

this mean we're drinking together soon?

[reznorfan15]

well, absinthe is typically about 140 proof, so i'd say you can still have a good time with it even without the wormwood.

[Satans Concubine]

I've had La Fee Absinthe...I't like an intelligent drunk. Kind of weird..You get drunk but can talk about politics. I love it. Tastes like liquid black licorice. Te spoon La Fee sends is awesome..It's the shape of an eye that says La Fee.... I love it!!

[andy]

ah yes. absinthe.

ive had the full effect of the wormwood.

i was not expecting to see hands comming out of the ground and purple clouds decending and resting on top of my head. lol

[salsa]

Susan: actually, absinthe does not make one "trip" at all; any effects (other than those from the alcohol) are very subtle and quite pleasant. Please follow the links on my site if you'd like to learn more, especially the FAQ's:
http://www.feeverte.net/faq.html
http://www.wormwoodsociety.org/ABSfaq.html

Santé!

[dan]

where can i order this from?

[lisa]

love your blog.

am heading to paris next week and will be making a pitstop at cantada ii. any other places worth exploring?

[Carla]

I've been drinking absinthe regularly for a couple of years and I've yet to "trip" in an acid sort of way. It's much more subtle. Colors become brighter. My thoughts seem to become clearer. And my writing definitely improves. My favorite by far is the La Valote W. Bovet, but La Fee does a fine job for regular use. I've had some rather nasty experiences with Czech absinths, other than La Fee's Bohemian style, which is quite good if you don't like the taste of black licorice.

I create cigar-box purses and jewelry using only absinthe artwork. If interested, I post at Carla120956.etsy.com.

[Lisa Brendle]

Really enjoyed this blog and learned something too. If you were intoxicated on the samplings you still held the camera damn steady to take the pictures. You're amazing!!!

[Louisa]

Lisa - LOL! We'll have to have some together next time. Absinthe gives me that "clear-headed drunkeness" - at least I think it does. ;)

[Chad Edward]

Louisa: Why just a croissant when you knew you were going to throw back absinthe all afternoon? I suppose an empty stomach makes the morning after clean-up easier...

The Paris episode of "No Reservations" was on Travel Channel yesterday afternoon. Still the best episode, right before Cleveland with Ruhlman. Great work!

To Salsa: You can order Ted Breaux's absinthes at: http://vintageabsinthe.com. They ship to the U.S. I'm not sayin' it's legal; but, it's available.

[Louisa]

Chad - I could only choke down a croissant that morning because the night before I'd gone out with the absintheurs for a big blowout dinner and was still recovering. And yes, I was a little concerned about adding, uh, fuel to the fire. ;) Fortunately I learned that I do really well on absinthe - at least I think I do. If I don't I've not yet been shown photographic evidence otherwise.