Ghost Town

Absinthe Verte

Absinthe appeared first in Switzerland in the 18th century, and reached the peak of popularity around 1900 in France. Unfortunately, the temperance movement turned the extremely popular and relatively harmless spirit into the ultimate alcoholic witchhunt.

Before the history, the drink. Absinthe is a spirit bottled between 45-75% ABV, made from distilled spirit, grande wormwood, green anise, fennel, and other herbs. Unlike scotch, bourbon, brandy, gin, and other spirits there is no formal definition of absinthe except in Switzerland. Generally absinthe is produced like gin, where herbs are infused into distilled alcohol. Verte absinthes are green from the whole herbs which are macerated in the alcohol, giving it a natural green from chlorophyll.

Absinthe was given to French troops as a anti-malarial, which rapidly spread the drink from its Swiss origins. By 1860 5pm was called l’heure verte due to the drink’s popularity. Unfortunately, the burgeoning temperance movement set their sights on Absinthe. Absinthe is usually bottled above 45% ABV, often between 65 and 80% ABV. Therefore, a smaller amount of absinthe can cause greater drunkenness than other drinks, which probably combined with its popularity to create a bad reputation.

Opponents also cited absinthe’s thujone content as dangerous. Absinthe does contain trace amounts of thujone, which in extremely high concentrations can cause muscle spasms. Additionally, various artists such as Vincent Van Gogh and Oscar Wilde suggested absinthe had psychoactive qualities. However, there is no evidence thujone is psychoactive. Any psychoactive effects from absinthe consumption instead probably came from poisonous contaminants in cheaply made absinthes. Instead of aging the product properly some producers would put copper salts or antimony trichloride in the product to give it a vibrant green color and improve the louching respectively. This is toxic and causes heavy metal poisoning. Additionally, due to absinthe’s high alcohol content, alcohol poisoning would occur long before any effects of thujone were felt.

Despite absinthe’s relatively harmless nature, when Jean Lanfray, a Swiss farmer murdered his family the murder was blamed on absinthe-related madness. Lanfray was an alcoholic who had a large quantity of alcohol including a single drink of absinthe. The press spun the murders as being entirely due to the absinthe, when it was almost certainly due to the excessive wine and brandy consumed. The resulting court case and publicity lead to the Swiss banning absinthe, followed by most of the rest of the world.

Legalization began in the 1990′s, and by 2007 it was legal in the United States, and in May 2011 France lifted their 1915 ban.

The first absinthe we’ll test (and after trying this, we’ll test more for sure) is Vieux Pontarlier. It’s a highly rated verte absinthe, and seemed like a good place to start.

Vieux Pontarlier ($65/750mL) has a bright lightweight anise flavor that floats over the top of the other flavors. As it is louched it releases wonderful aromas reminiscent of wood, herbs and the complex flavors involved in the drink itself. The nose is herbal and woody, reminiscent of a complex lumberyard. There is a strong grape flavor upfront, followed by waves of complex spices flowing over your tongue. The back has a woody flavor with the lightweight anise still through the finish.

Unlike scotch or bourbon, Vieux Pontarlier is better drunk naturally, not rolled around the mouth. When drunk normally, the flavors present and disappear in a pleasant order. When held in the mouth, the flavors mix together and overwhelm the tongue with too many light complex flavors.

This is absolutely delicious. The only alcohol I can legitimately compare in flavor and enjoyment are top notch scotches and brandies/cognacs. If I only drank one alcohol again, it just might be Vieux Pontarlier.