Realizing Where is the Birthplace of Absinthe?
Many Absinthe aficionados want to know more about
the drink of the Green Fairy and its history. So, let’s discover where is the birthplace of Absinthe.
Legend has it that Absinthe was developed by Dr Pierre Ordinaire, a French doctor from the Swiss Val de Travers town of Couvet. Ordinaire developed Absinthe as being an elixir or tonic for his patients and it was thought to have extraordinary benefits on his patients.
The crucial ingredient of Ordinaire’s elixir was the herb worwmood, artemisia absinthium, a plant titled after the goddess Artemis. Wormwood had been used for thousands of years in medicine so it was a good choice for Ordinaire’s tonic. Wormwood posesses a compound known as thujone and it was this compound that triggered the banning of Absinthe during the early 1900s. Thujone was claimed to be psychoactive and also to lead to psychedelic effecs similar to THC in cannabis. We now know that thujone is just not like THC and, even though it can effect the GABA receptors within the brain, one needs to ingest considerable amounts of thujone for this to happen and Absinthe only is made up of really small amounts.
Couvet is in the Swiss canton of Neuchatel in the Val de Travers region. It’s renowned for being the birthplace of Absinthe and also for being the home of the distillery of bootleg Absinthe distiller as well as artisan, Claude-Alain Bugnon. Bugnon was presented with an Absinthe recipe by a friend that his aunt, distiller Charlotte Vaucher, has been using since 1935. Bugnon decided to use the recipe to distill his personal bootleg clandestine Absinthe during the Absinthe ban. He was the first Absinthe distiller to inquire about the Swiss government for a license to distill Absinthe in 2004. In March 2005, the Absinthe ban was removed and Bugnon can legally distill his Absinthes and La Clandestine was put on sale.
Bugnon’s distillery “C A Bugnon Artemisia Distillerie Artisanale” now distills his excellent array of Absinthes utilizing the best standard Absinthe herbs and alpine plants. His array includes:-
La Clandestine Originale РThis was the initial Absinthe to be distilled by the Artemisia distillery in 2005. It is made from 10 diverse herbs, which includes wormwood and anise (or anis̩) and is a winner of a gold medal in the Concours Nationale des Spiritueux Suisses. La Clandestine is 53% abv or 106 proof. La Clandestine is really a classic Swiss La Bleue (clear) Absinthe.
La Clandestine with wine alcohol base – This is just like La Clandestine but is manufactured using wine alcohol that was made use of by Pernod in the nineteenth century but is not a conventional base for Swiss clandestine Absinthes. Bugnon describes this Absinthe as giving a “roundness in the mouth”.
La Capricieuse – This Absinthe is a stronger Absinthe which has a higher alcohol content (72% abv, 144 proof). It is based on the recipe for La Clandestine however with a higher alcohol content.
Recette Marianne – Bugnon made this absinthe as he desired to be in the Absinthiades in Pontarlier, France. France still have rigid rules overseeing Absinthe – Absinthe drinks can not be labeled Absinthe as well as complying to EU legislation relating to thujone, they also have to possess low fenchone levels. Fenchone is definitely the chemical found in fennel, a classic Absinthe ingredient. Bugnon made this low fenchone Absinthe particularly for the French market also it won the Golden Spoon award at the Absinthiades in 2005, 2006 and 2007. It has an abv of 55% (110 proof).
Angelique Verte Suisse – This is a classic Swiss verte, or green, style Absinthe and it is made using 12 herbs such as wormwood and angelica. It has got an abv of 72% (144 proof) and was launched by Bugnon in 2007.
Bugnon’s Absinthes are obtainable to buy on many sites including his very own absinthe-suisse.com.
You could make your own personal Swiss style La Bleue by utilizing the Absinthe Clear essence coming from AbsintheKit.com. This essence could be ordered online for $3.95 for 20ml that produces one 750ml bottle of Absinthe or as part of a kit to create 14 bottle of Absinthe for $29. AbsintheKit’s essences are created by distilling natural Absinthe herbs and you just have got to mix the essence with vodka or everclear to create a correct wormwood Absinthe.
So, where is the birthplace of Absinthe? Couvet is definitely the birthplace of Absinthe as well as being the place to find some very nice modern day Absinthes.
