Coming Soon: Philadelphia Absinthe
Joining a handful of U.S. manufacturers who have jumped into the absinthe game since the federal ban on the so-called “Green Fairy” was lifted about a year ago, Northeast Philly’s Philadelphia Distilling, makers of the shockingly good Bluecoat Gin, say they will begin bottling their own version at the end of next week, making this the first time that the heady brew has been manufactured (legally) on the East Coast in nearly 100 years. Expect Vieux Carré Absinthe Superieure ($55) on shelves just before Christmas.
December 5th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Another thujone free absinthe pretender for America!
December 5th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Don’t be an idiot, Drafte.
You sound like a Czechsinthe pusher.
December 6th, 2008 at 10:07 am
There is a chemical in traditional absinthe called Thujone, this chemical is banned in food products by the FDA. This one chemical is what makes absinthe illegal to sell. Generally Thujone comes from an herb called wormwood that is used in the production process of absinthe.
Companies and the liquor industry have found that by filtering out this chemical they can legally sell their brand of absinthe in the USA.
Seeing dollar signs many distillers and companies are now on a public relations campaign to downplay the role of Thujone and gain acceptance of this form absinthe by the American public. Many are writing articles or launching sites that promote this new view of absinthe in an effort to gain acceptance. Some make statements such as that of Lucid one of the leading brands to enter the us market states “Prohibition is finally over” giving consumers the perception that laws have changed. They are eager to promote the fact they use Grand Wormwood but downplay the removal of Thujone.
Others are even trying to state that their absinthe may contain Thujone or subvertly imply this. The truth is that any absinthe sold in the USA will be determined by the FDA to be “Thujone Free” but some distillers are noting that the test used by the FDA for detecting Thujone has some level of error, or tolerance, some have put it at 10ppm Thujone but my understanding of this is there is no defined level and the test by the FDA is subject to subjective influences such as the use of the sense of sight and smell to detect Thujone.
In the end whatever absinthe you find on the shelf will be “Thujone Free” according to the FDA
December 6th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Speaking as someone for whom the initial appeal of absinthe was admittedly its roguish character–which depends, of course, on a putative abundance of “psychoactive” thujone–I can understand the reticence of people like Drafte to accept that, in fact, neither historical nor most good modern absinthes include an excess of the compound. But I have a harder time understanding the persistent inability of this selfsame contingent to accept the fact–now demonstrated to the satisfaction of the scientific community, and thus with a greater degree of accuracy than ought to be required by disgruntled lay folk–of thujone’s relative insignificance to absinthe, especially in light of the liquor’s other manifest qualities.
Those who still cling to the old myths, in stubborn contravention of fact and with something like the zeal of conspiracy theorists, really ought to look elsewhere for their highs. Absinthe is simply a strong, and in the best cases tasy and complex, spirit, and more than acceptable on those terms. I for one am thrilled to see its renaissance in America.
December 6th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Oh–and lest I be required to demonstrate the validity of my claims, and thus find myself forced to return time and again to an unproductive conversation, I ‘d encourage the interested consumer to have a gander at the studies collected here:
http://www.wormwoodsociety.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=104&Itemid=215
Consensus, as I say, seems to point toward a historically insignificant quantity of thujone in absinthe. And, to take a particular, and frankly peculiar, point of Drafte’s argumentation:
the test by the FDA is subject to subjective influences such as the use of the sense of sight and smell to detect Thujone.
An eloquent refutation is at http://www.wormwoodsociety.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=258&Itemid=215 .
December 7th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
The links to the disgraced Wormwood Society – actually just a website that promotes the owners brand, consulting services, and associated propoganda – is telling.
Note this was already covered by Time Magazine:
“But the biggest controversy surrounding the liquor–once dubbed “one of the worst enemies of man”–is about not its resurgence but rather its authenticity. Enthusiasts claim the thujone-free brands, which contain less than 10 parts per million (p.p.m.) of the chemical, are made with the same relatively small amounts of thujone as the old brews. But scientists wrote in the British Medical Journal that absinthe bottled before 1900 packed up to 260 p.p.m. of thujone–which may not sound like much, but consider that only 15 parts per billion of lead in drinking water is enough to scare regulators.
“They are playing pretend,” study co-author Wilfred Arnold says of the liquor’s new cheerleaders. “It is nothing like the old stuff.”**
Thursday, Nov. 29, 2007 Time Magazine
December 7th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
Drafte, you and your comrades have been refuted.
Anyone who knows anything about absinthe knows where people like you are coming from.
In fact, I bet you’re pushing your own absinthe hence your pro-thujone propoganda.
Folks, take Emerson’s advice. If you’re looking for a high, go find yourself some drugs.
If you think you’ll find it in absinthe, sorry, but you will not.
Neither will you find your high in Czechsinths or fauxsinths.
Any “absinth” that pushes thujone is pulling your leg.
December 8th, 2008 at 8:50 am
“The body feels the effects of the alcohol, but the mind stays remarkably clear.”
Any idea why that is, Lokahi? This was a comment on thujone bearing absinthe of course.
What does the TTB say about products sold using the name absinthe:
“TTB’S POLICY REGARDING THE USE OF THE TERM “ABSINTHE”
Thujone-Free.
We approve the use of the term “absinthe” on the label of a distilled spirits product and in related advertisements only if the product is “thujone-free” pursuant to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) regulation at 21 CFR 172.510″
Note the way they use the term “absinthe” with commas! In fact they do not even allow distillers to call the drink absinthe, but only as part of a novelty word. That is the law in the US.
As for thujone…convenient isn’t it that it doesn’t matter anymore…….$$$$$$$
You are one of those self-important poseurs who hang around at the Wormwood Society making snide remarks. Nobody takes you seriously, although you do provide a high level of unintended comedy.
December 9th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Distilling technology has improved quite a bit since Van Gogh cut off his ear. At this point you’d die of alcohol poisoning before you’d get off on miniscule amounts of thujone. And thats just fine. Doesn’t make the new absinthes useless for cocktails though. There’s a litany of old-school libations that call for absinthe and I, for one, am happy to have it available to me again.
December 9th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
A good call on the cocktails, Cellar Rat. My Sazeracs are a great deal more interesting, these days, than they were with Pastis vel sim.
December 10th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
do you people have jobs?