Pernod Absinthe Returns After 93 Years

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed)
Oct 20th 2008 at 2:02PM

Back in March my colleague Deidre Woollard wrote about the absinthe craze ushered in by the end of a longstanding ban against the supposedly dangerous spirit. The hype has died down somewhat, and while faddists move on to other obsessions leaving true enthusiasts to enjoy themselves, the original absinthe maker, Pernod, has finally re-introduced their famous original.

Pernod Absinthe (right) is a revival of Pernod Fils, arguably the most authentic absinthe ever produced with a recipe that's over 200 years old. The company stopped making it in 1915 when the French government banned absinthe, later coming out with a wormwood-free version. The original is a high-proof sprit distilled from Grand Wormwood, fennel and anise - exactly the same as consumed by the likes of Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet, and now, us.

Tags: Absinthe, France, Monet, Pernod, Picasso

Filed under: Spirits

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Reader Comments (Page 5 of 6)

Michael Oct 26th 2008 11:12PM

Speaking of Van Gogh, he even at one point wrote of Tobacco prbably driving him mad, as he smoked he pipe often and in that time it too had a reputation,
so between the pipe and the drink some thought this contributed to his behavior.

Tabby Oct 26th 2008 11:16PM

Do you know what absinthe tastes like? Just the smell is disgusting. I've heard all the hype of the 'Hollywood' elite having parties including the illegal absinthe 'on the sly'. I have never tried this drink and never intend to. Just another way to hype a product and make it sell. I suppose they figure if the public thinks it does something 'fabulous' to your mind, etc. and it's illegal the public will buy it. Like swine to the troughs....they idiotic public will fall for everything.

Tabby Oct 26th 2008 11:17PM

Air 23 Air JordanS Oct 27th 2008 12:04AM

Hmm, I want to try this!

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Laura Oct 26th 2008 11:44PM

Denise - that wa what the French were telling everyone back in the early 1900's to stop people from drinking it - when the grape (wine) crop was destroyed people went to drinking absinthe and preferred it.

None of the people (well mostly all, maybe a few) aren't insane - that are on this board. I'm certainly not and I've probably drunk more absinthe than you have Diet Pepsi... I'll take absinthe anyday... if you fix it wrong it will give you a headache, or stomachache... but done right, you can f$%k all night and not have a hangover... been there, done that. YAHOO FOR ABSINTHE!!!!

Laura Oct 26th 2008 11:48PM

Tabby, don't comment on what you don't know anything about. If you like anise (licorice) this is not a bad drink... and it does exactly what everyone is saying it does... part of one of the morality arguments.

I used to drink this stuff during my "goth days" with others of my ilk who thought we were vampires and into drinking human blood (turned out we were neither), but absinthe played a very heavy role in our socializing. I still like it with ice water, and a sugar cube, optherwise it's horrible.

laura Oct 26th 2008 11:50PM

Tabby - yes I do, and I think it's delicious... see my response below...

laura Oct 26th 2008 11:52PM

Yes but the wormword is mixed with isopropyl alcohol... that isn't recommended for human ingestion.

laura Oct 26th 2008 11:56PM

Michael - get the little Domino dots, and do the louche, whatever is leftover you can pop in your mouth or mix it into the swirling goodness of the absinthe and water... it's up to you... I always ate it (OOPS WAY TOO MUCH INFORMATION - LOL)

John Oct 27th 2008 12:18AM

The absinthe craze is now over, now that it's being reported on AOL. You know how these things go -- a few brave pioneers/artists/hipsters start something, gradually more and more people catch on, and finally it's reported in the mainstream media, meaning it's dead.

I tried three brands of absinthe, each from a different country, a few years ago at a party. It didn't really do anything for me -- but that's just what the green hobgoblins told me to say.

Jengochu Oct 27th 2008 12:19AM

Good grief, if or when this gets popular in the U.S. I will not be out driving past 10:00pm! It's risky as it is already with all the drunks out there driving. It's going to be much worse with drunk and hallucinating people driving out there as well. Not good, not good at all!

chris Oct 27th 2008 12:35AM

Geez, I guess you guys aren't much for art historians! Van Gogh cut his ear off because he had epilepsy, which effects the central nervous system through the cornea and the ears. causing frequent hallucinations, seizures and a bunch of other nasty stuff. Its a big reason why he was ill so frequently and why he used the color yellow in his paintings as often as he did .

Fran Oct 27th 2008 12:38AM

Seems odd that the wormwood content level would be what makes it legal to import or not, considering that you can buy dried wormwood herb in bulk in health food stores. Taken in moderation as an infusion (you wouldn't want to take any more anyway, as it tastes as vile as valerian tea), it has the medicinal effect that its name suggests: It's a time-honored vermifuge.

Everything I've ever read about the history of absinthe suggests that the intoxication & aphrodisiac stories were grossly exaggerated. People got sick from it due to the impurities that were added by unscrupulous distillers, same as with bathtub gin.

Angie Oct 27th 2008 12:51AM

Actually Van Gogh cut off his ear because he became insane because of a raging case of syphyllis! He was also depressed over unrequited love for another artist who also happened to be male! Enjoy your absinthe dont worry about cutting off your ears!

Trina Oct 27th 2008 12:50AM

Just look at the painting L'Absinthe by Degas. That is how absynthe makes you feel!

angie Oct 27th 2008 12:55AM

Chris sorry to dissapoint but it was syphyllis not epilepsy! Check out the biography channel...they had a whole program devoted to Van Gogh! No one in the midst of an epileptic fit could manage to cut off their own ear...you would know if you ever saw one trust me!

Linda Oct 27th 2008 1:00AM

This is the stuff George Smith was drinking on his Honeymoon and went missing overboard. They said he was wasted. mmmm

billy Oct 27th 2008 1:24AM

absinthe is illegal to sell in the united states but is not illegal to have...go to absinthe. com and you can buy the original with the wormwood ..and theyll ship it to your door....but absinthe is not illegal to have just to sell it

mike Oct 27th 2008 1:49AM

Absinthe is traditionally a distilled, highly alcoholic (45%-75% ABV) beverage. It is an anise-flavored spirit derived from herbs, including the flowers and leaves of the herb Artemisia absinthium, also called wormwood. Absinthe has a characteristic natural green colour but can also be colourless. It is often called "the Green Fairy". Although it is sometimes mistakenly called a liqueur, absinthe is not bottled with added sugar and is therefore classified as a liquor.[1] Absinthe is unusual among spirits in that it is bottled at a high proof but is normally diluted with water when it is consumed.
Absinthe originated in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. It achieved great popularity as an alcoholic drink in late 19th- and early 20th-century France, particularly among Parisian artists and writers. Due in part to its association with bohemian culture, absinthe was opposed by social conservatives and prohibitionists. Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine, Arthur Rimbaud, Vincent van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, and Aleister Crowley were all notorious "bad men" of that day who were (or were thought to be) devotees of the Green Fairy. Absinthe was portrayed as a dangerously addictive psychoactive drug.[2] The chemical thujone, present in small quantities, was blamed for its alleged harmful effects. By 1915, absinthe had been banned in the United States and in most European countries except the United Kingdom, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Although absinthe was vilified, no evidence has shown it to be any more dangerous than ordinary liquor. Its psychoactive properties, apart from those of alcohol, had been much exaggerated.[2]
A revival of absinthe began in the 1990s, when countries in the European Union began to reauthorize its manufacture and sale. As of February 2008, nearly 200 brands of absinthe were being produced in a dozen countries, most notably in France, Switzerland, Spain, and the Czech Republic.[3] and it is now back in the United states

Loan Modification Oct 27th 2008 2:11AM

I cant wait to try this stuff. I've read about Absinthe and can't wait to see if it lives up to its hype at all. Is it anything like Barcardi 151?

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