Very nice black and white picture of Le Tourment Vert Absinthe. We haven't tried this absinthe yet, although the price looks right.

Interesting presentation by Obsello on the history of Absinthe in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The music is a little over the top, but the subject matter is well done and the pictures are great.

Yes, these "absinthe" lollipops are real good! They are really good, albeit quite expensive. To be expected with anything absinthe, I guess! We mentioned these last year, but the web site moved, so we thought we'd rave about them again. Enjoy!

Absinthe Lollipops!

We had an impromptu tasting of American-made absinthes the other night. Who would have thought just a couple of years ago that we could say actually say that? And not sure absinthe available here in the States, but honest-to-goodness verte absinthe made in the goold ol' US of A?

The tasting was possible because a good friend (and a real good friend!) from Chicago brought us a bottle of Sirène from the North Shore Distillery, a local gin and vodka maker who has started making absinthe. It's a very distinctive bottle and must have just skirted the very particular senses of the

TTB.

The aroma was very distinctive and very promising. A heady mix of scents really came on nicely after we opened up the sleek bottle. The green color was a little pale, but still quite appealing in the glass. As has become our custom, the first drink was sans sugar. We also tried not to put too much water in it, as it has a relatively low alcohol at "only" 60%.

The louche however was quite disappointing. Only a slight cloudiness followed and it never really got that thick. Even at its fullest point, the glass was still not completely a nice opaque opaline. And drinking was also a little disappointing, as the heady aroma did not really lead up to a real outstanding taste. It was a solid yet uninspiring taste. Nothing really stood out and there was no special tingle on the tongue either. A good, not great, absinthe.

We next tried St. George Absinthe Verte, which has been around since the wine trip to California last summer. We have had it a couple of times and it has really begun to grow on us. The color in the bottle is a little strange, sort of a greenish tinged gold, but it louches up very nicely. Again, a little on the low side on alcohol at 60%, so we keep it pretty strong and have been sticking to no sugar with it as well. There's a real nice tingle on the tongue and the varied tastes hinted at by the unusual color are carried through. It's a very nice absinthe and one we pull out often these days.

So the St. George remains our favorite native absinthe, although we have some hopes for Sirène, as its initial impressions are very much like we remember ours for St. George. It is certainly good enough for us to continue to experiment with its recipe! DrinkUpNY.com has two more we haven't tried yet - Leopold Bros. Absinthe Verte (made in Colorado) and Gwydion Stone's very own Marteau Absinthe de la Belle Epoque, from House Spirits Distillery in Portland Oregon. Also coming up in the near future is Vieux Carre from Philadelphia.

Wormwood Society Sirène Topic
Wormwood Society St. George Topic

Almost missed it folks! Viridian Spirits wants to declare March 5th as National Absinthe Day - and we're alright with that here. It was two years ago today that the US Government came to its senses and allowed absinthe back on the shelves after a long 95 years. May the louche flow freely!

BrandFreak: Absinthe might need its own holiday to remind people it's legal

Not counting St. Patrick's Day, March is pretty much devoid of holidays. But if absinthe maker Lucid has its way, March 5 will henceforth be known as National Absinthe Day. It was on that date in 2007 that the U.S. government finally gave in and made the libation legal here after about a 95-year ban.

Oh boy, now the totally ridiculous French (and nearly worldwide) absinthe ban of the early 1900s is used to defend the (ahem) "War on Drugs". This is a letter to the editor in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. And yes, as a matter of fact, the French did prohibit absinthe for nothing, merely a hysterical overreaction, fed by the wine lobby, to bad publicity. Funny he should say that now. Wonder if Mr. Casey realizes it is now legal in France and nearly everywhere else, and that he can probably buy a bottle at his local liquor store?

Don't legalize - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Amesh A. Adalja ("End the drug war," Letters, March 4 and PghTrib.com) seems to believe that allowing the legal use of drugs will stop the violence by Mexican drug gangs from spilling over into the United States.

It may, but free access to drugs by the public will bring on consequences too serious to contemplate.

The French didn't prohibit the unrestricted sale of absinthe for nothing. It endangered the well-being of the whole nation.

William R. Casey
West Mifflin