Fee Verte = Green Faery
Absynthe makes the tart grow fonder. -- Ernest Dowson
FairyFireWater.COM, has vaporized... *poof!*
"The giant Big Business is a great tyrant!
He seizes all the men for slaves,
and leaves the women to make shift as best they can for -
all that makes life worth living."
-- Aleister Crowley
...continuing:
"The word
[absynthe] is from the Greek apsinthion.
It means "undrinkable" or,
according to some authorities,
"undelightful."
In either case,
strange paradox!
No: for the artemisia absinthium draught itself were bitter beyond [mankind] endurance;
it must be aromatized and mellowed with other herbs.
Chief among these is the gracious Melissa,
of which the great Paracelsus thought so highly that he incorporated it as the preparation of his Ens Melissa Vitae,
which he expected to be an elixir of life and a cure for all diseases,
but which in his hands never came to perfection.
Then also there are added
mint,
anise,
fennel and
hyssop,
all holy herbs familiar to all from the Treasury of Hebrew Scripture.
And there is even the sacred marjoram which renders man both chaste and passionate;
the tender green angelica stalks also infused in this most mystic of concoctions;
for like the wormwood itself it is a plant of Diana,
and gives the purity and lucidity,
with a touch of the madness,
of the Moon;
and above all there is the Dittany of Crete of which the eastern Sages say that
one flower hath more puissance in high magic than all the other gifts of all the gardens of the world.
It is as if the first diviner of absinthe had been indeed a magician intent upon
a combination of sacred drugs which should
cleanse,
fortify and
perfume
the [mankind] soul."
Absinthe is traditionally prepared from a distillation of neutral alcohol, various herbs, spices and water.
Traditional absinthes were redistilled from a white grape spirit (or eau de vie), while lesser absinthes were more commonly made from alcohol from grain, beets, or potatoes.
Distilled absinthe employs a method of production similar to that of high quality gin.
Botanicals are initially macerated in distilled base alcohol before being redistilled to exclude bitter principles, and impart the desired complexity and texture to the spirit.
The distillation of absinthe first yields a colourless distillate that leaves the alembic at around 72% ABV.
The distillate may be reduced and bottled clear, to produce a Blanche or la Bleue absinthe, or it may be coloured to create a verte using natural or artificial colouring.
Traditional absinthes obtain their green colour strictly from the chlorophyll of whole herbs, which is extracted from the plants during the secondary maceration.
This step involves steeping plants such as petite wormwood, hyssop, and melissa (among other herbs) in the distillate.
Chlorophyll from these herbs is extracted in the process, giving the drink its famous green colour.
This step also provides a herbal complexity that is typical of high quality absinthe.
The natural colouring process is considered critical for absinthe ageing, since the chlorophyll remains chemically active.
The chlorophyll serves a similar role in absinthe that tannins do in wine or brown liquors.
After the colouring process, the resulting product is diluted with water to the desired percentage of alcohol.
The flavour of absinthe is said to improve materially with storage, and many pre-ban distilleries aged their absinthe in settling tanks before bottling.
As i continue to explore the world of the Fee Verte, here are listed all the organic producers:
Faery blessings -- celeste
Mermaids are the faeries of the sea, so it comes as no surprise to see, a mermaid fan of the famous wormwood drink.
Absinthe Jade 1901 tasting notes by Marc Thuillier [Absinthes.com Blog]
Absinthe Jade 1901 is a reproduction of the most popular absinthe of the Belle Epoque: Absinthe Pernod Fils. Elaborated by Ted Breaux after analyzing an authentic pre-ban Pernod Fils, and with the savoir faire we know of him, the 1901 came into life in 2006, and I still remember that back then, I had congratulated Ted for having produced something so close to the original (100 years of ageing less of course). It's been 14 years since, so let's see how the 1901 is today.
Color: pale green but also golden yellow depending on the light.
Aroma before water: the typical Pernod Fils profile is there, with a dominating green anise and a touch of caramel.
Louche: gradual at the very start, but then really quick to form. Once louched, the drink is opaque and of a beautiful light green.
Aroma after water: a little acidity comes out of the glass now. And surprisingly, apart from the anise, nothing else stands out.
Taste: notes of Pernod Fils are right there in mouth, thanks to the anise, the roundness, the mellowness, and the woody and caramel touch. A very young Pernod Fils in fact, the one that nobody has ever been able to taste in his life.
After taste: the little annoying acidity/acridity comes out at the very end of the sip. The wine alcohol base (or something else) is no longer the one from 2006 and you can feel it a little on the palate.
Conclusion: I had not tasted the 1901 since a very long time, since the era when it had a different name by the way, but it's been a pleasure to have a glass of it again, even if it's not exactly the one from my memories, but my palate has also changed a lot since, I am more picky nowâ...
How to enjoy absinthe Jade 1901
This absinthe, just like all the other Jades in my opinion, needs oxygenation, so open the bottle, drink 2-3 glasses from it, put a cork on it, and forget about it for a few months.
...full article w/ purchase info...