The big news in the absinthe world last week was the thrilling announcement that Viridian, makers of Lucid, one of the first absinthes back on the US market, is going to import two very prominent labels beginning this fall. Alan Moss, who we interviewed earlier, has a very nice blog post listing upcoming labels and, at the end of the post, reveals that La Clandestine, the Suisse Bleu absinthe he promotes, is coming to America finally!

And he also mentions at the very end the inclusion of Nouvelle-Orléans, from Ted Breaux's Jade Liqueurs to Viridian's stable of imported absinthes. Both of these have great reputations as absinthes and we can personally attest to the wondrous Nouvelle-Orléans and have had La Clandestine next on our list of absinthes to purchase. Looks like soon we will be able to get it locally and avoid the stiff shipping charges!

Viridian Press Release

David Nathan-Maister, the absinthe connoisseur extraordinaire, also known as Oxygénée and proprietor of the amazing Virtual Absinthe Museum, is offering up a taste of something extraordinarily rare - some pre-ban absinthe. Yes, we're talking about real absinthe dating from the 1880s, freshly decanted from the original bottles. You buy it in small and stunningly expensive amounts- like US$300 for 30ml (or about two small tasting glasses). But even so, these go fast. When we hit the lottery and retire to our French seaside villa, we will stock up on all of his fancy offerings!

If any of you actually do grab one of these, please feel free to post a tasting here on In Absinthia. We will just have to live vicariously at these rates.

Vintage Absinthe For Sale: J.V.& Ca Neufchatel (Doubs) circa 1880

An extraordinarily early Swiss bottle, likely the oldest intact Swiss absinthe to have survived. Found alongside the Edouard Pernod bottle shown above in the same cellar bin. The distiller, J.V.&Ca were based in the canton of Neuchatel (here rendered in the archaic spelling "Neufchatel"), just inside the Swiss border in the area where it is demarcated by the river Doubs.

Vintage Absinthe For Sale: Absinthe Edouard Pernod - Lunel (Herault), circa 1870-1880

This is an exceptional bottle. The branch of Edouard Pernod in Lunel was sold off and changed its name to Gempp Pernod in 1880, so this bottle can be dated with confidence to prior to that date. It's the earliest intact sealed absinthe bottle yet unearthed.

It seems every country is getting into absinthe distilling, and now you can add another continent, as the Tambourine Mountain Distillery in Australia begins brewing up its own absinthe, called with almost cloying sweetness, Moulin Rooz Absinthe. Located in Queensland, this distillery whips up several other kinds of liquors, including vodkas and liqueurs, but of course here we are most interested in their absinthe.

The green color in the picture looks a little "forced", but the review thread on the Wormwood Forums seems to indicate an interesting, unique taste, yet still absinthe. Sigh. Yet another absinthe to add to our ever growing Must Buy list!

Tamborine Mountain Distillery - Moulin Rooz Absinthe

Moulin Rooz Absinthe : Australia's first premium Absinthe.

You folks in the Chicago area have a very interesting sounding tasting seminar to check out. At the In Fine Spirits store, Sonja Kassebaum will show you three absinthes now available in the US - Kubler, St. Georges, and her own Sirene. We would love to attend but unfortunately we are located nowhere near The Windy City. Let us know if you can check out these fine absinthes at the tasting!

In Fine Spirits

Sonja Kassebaum of North Shore Distillery leads a discussion covering the history, tradition, mythology and mixology of absinthe. Plus we'll sample some tastes of food to pair with absinthe and related cocktails.

Some new American absinthes are now either available or soon to the market, joining the limited release of the St. George Spirits absinthe:

• North Shore Distillery, makers of some reputedly delicious gins and vodkas, have added an absinthe to their repetiore: Sirene Absinthe Verte. They tell us they use a "fairly traditional" approach to this absinthe and we are dying to try it here at Inabsinthia. Sirene has been getting some pretty good reviews on the Wormwood Society forums.
• Speaking of the Wormwood Society forums, an upcoming American absinthe was recently announced. Todd announced his upcoming absinthe, which will be distilled in Denver Colorado. He promises green (no star) anise, fennel, veronica, grande wormwood and coriander in what sounds to be quite the enticing brew. Keep an eye on the forum thread for more info, as the absinthe and the distiller is so new, no web site has even been set up yet.