Two years ago, I attended Tales of the Cocktail and was delighted to sit in on a session that, due to its subject matter–absinthe–carried a touch of danger and intrigue.
Last year, I attended Tales of the Cocktail and, in addition to a reprise of the absinthe session, I was served a drink or two made with Lucid, at that time the only legal absinthe on the market. I also attended an absinthe dinner at a restaurant where we were seated in a private dining room, shielded from the view of other diners partially because we had our own setup of fountain and absinthes, all of which were still on the prohibited list.
This year, absinthe is everywhere; the flood I’d anticipated last fall while writing a feature on the spirit for Imbibe (it’s here, as a PDF) has come even larger than I’d expected. In the months to come we’ll see some of the most spectacular absinthes I’ve ever tried come onto the US market, along with, it should be said, massive amounts of crap.
To help you wade through this steaming pile to find the pony on the other side, on Friday, July 18, I’ll be co-moderating a session at this year’s Tales of the Cocktail titled “Cocktails with a Kick: Absinthe Returns to America.” Joining me as co-moderator will be my good friend Gwydion Stone, founder of the Wormwood Society and producer of Marteau; and the uber-talented Jim Meehan, bar manager at PDT in New York.
With Gwydion picking up the story of absinthe and Jim talking about the ways he and his colleagues are mixing it today, I’ve got a big job ahead of me. Fortunately, I love absinthe, and I love absinthe cocktails, so it’s been a pleasure to dig into the vintage bar books in my collection to find the most interesting and most unusual cocktails in creation. It’s also been fascinating for me to dig through old books and news archives to find references to absinthe, both the ways bartenders were serving it, and the ways it was portrayed in stories and tracts.
I won’t go into detail here — that’s what the presentation is for, after all — but if you’re in New Orleans for Tales, be sure to join us at the Hotel Monteleone on Friday, July 18, at 12:30pm for “Cocktails With a Kick”. Plus, we’re serving lots of good booze, so that should be extra encouragement; you can buy tickets here, and I hope to see you there.
Any idea if absinthes besides Lucid are slated to get distribution in Washington state?And if so, how soon?
Don’t forget about the Wormwood Society Absinthe Soiree on Sunday night-I’m told there will be several different absinthes available for tasting, including some that aren’t yet on the market.
To part answer Jason’s question: my blog lists 27 US approved or in process absinthes (or similar!).
Of course, they may not all get to Washington State immediately!
Thanks for the note, Alan — Jason, Alan’s the guy to know, and I recommend you click on his name to see the list of everything that’s coming down the pike.
In Washington, the only other one I know of on the shelves right now is the Grande Absente, which in my opinion is dragging down the category. I also saw that peculiar lime-green wormwood vodka at a liquor store on Crown Hill last weekend that made me very suspicious.
Hi Paul, Thanks for the nice words (and sorry to butt in!).
I’m even sorrier that I won’t be in New Orleans over the next few days but the permission to launch La Clandestine came through too late for this year. We’ll make up it for at TOTC 2009!
Meantime this year’s program (I must remember to spell that US-style) looks great and I will enjoy it from afar. Keep blogging for us all!
Jason – if you are at all near Seattle go to the 4th Ave WSLCB store (#101) – they have several new absinthes in.
I can’t vouch for any of them though.
(bdp -at- bdpnetworks -dot- com)
[…] summer at Tales of the Cocktail, I spoke about the history of absinthe as a cocktail ingredient as part of a panel that also included Gwydion Stone, founder of the Wormwood Society and creator of […]
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