Spirits

[VoiceOfReasonPast]

Vitam-R? Is that correct?

1) That's more of a niche thing I'm pretty sure you can't get in a regular super market
2) It's the main ingredient of malk, you fucker

[Kugelfisch]

Vitam-R? Is that correct?

Nobody outside of a small area in East Germany has ever heard of it. For good reason. It's awful.

[VoiceOfReasonPast]

... is sold primarily in Reformhaus health-food stores

Basically a fancy curiosity for old-fashioned vegetarians/vegans/general nutritionfags. Marvelous.

I'd say a more iconic type of German spread would be lard or the most clasic Mett.

[ebin namefag]

I don't want to read about my Germans spreading.

[Kugelfisch]

It's about time I talk about Absinthe again.
For now, I'll focus on the two most readily available ones but a little preface first.

The burgers for once have it worse here. The supposedly psychotropic ingredient thujon is limited in the USA.
It's no big worry, as not many Absinthes exceed the limit, but it means that some European ones are not going to be available in the US.
I don't get Hotpockets, you don't get strong Absinthe. The most odd deal the world has heard of.

As for drinking, all you need is ice cold water and a way of adding it as slowly as possible.
That point is actually crucial and not just a ritual! The fogging up, or louche, as it's called, will be much thicker and the flavour will be much stronger.
The most convenient way is a brouilleur. Basically just a metal cup with a few holes you out on top of the glass and put ice cubes into.
You can make one with tin foil layered up to be strong enough for the weight and poke holes into it with a needle.

As for sugar, don't bother. Absinthe sugar cubes are not as compact and smaller. It's because ice cold water is really bad at dissolving regular sugar cubes. Most Absinthe don't require any and the ones that do it's easier to just use a tiny bit of cane sugar syrup.

So, let's review two that I have finished two bottles of!

Pernod Absinthe Recette Traditionale
Since the limit on fennel was lifted in France several years ago, a limit that outlasted the ban on Absinthe in general, Pernod could finally make their original recipe Absinthe again.

It's easy to see why it was so popular. It has a very sweet fennel note, requiring absolutely no sugar and being the sweetest Absinthe I ever had. The vermouth is pleasantly flowery. The anise is extremely prominent!
Not only do Pernod use green anise but also star anise. That adds to the sweetness and creates a thicker louche, does however not taste as good as pure green anise and numbs the mouth more.

I've killed a bottle of this when I had a severe toothache. Its easily drinkable, very pleasant and the ideal beginner Absinth.
It numbs the mouth fairly severely but is otherwise so easy-going and sweet that I'd recommend it to anyone. I've gifted samples of it and always start anyone's introduction into the world of Absinthe with it.
It's a fair baseline for a true, French Absinthe.

Available in all areas!

Alandia Absinthe Verte
"Green Absinthe" is a fairly basic name for an Absinthe. It's meant to be the absolute baseline for vermouth-prominent Absinthe to judged against and its my favourite Absinthe so far!

Alandia is a German company that has their own Absinthe made by traditional distilleries in Fougerolles in France, the birthplace and centre of the world for Absinthe.

They make lots of Absinthes there. All of them proper, all of them with their own character.
If you're European, there's no way to avoid Alandia. They contract the best distilleries and work with them to create several of the world's best Absinthes!

So for an Absinthe meant to be the absolute baseline and be named after the company, something very good had to be made.
That is exceedingly the case here!

Made from a neutral alcohol base, this Absinthe is meant to put the focus on the vermouth.
The anise also had to be exclusively green anise and lots of it.

It's vermouth forward in the best of ways!
A rich, very herbal and flowery vermouth is the main protagonist here.
It's backed by vegetal but subdued, sweet fennel.
Green anise, etheral and fresh but sweet creates a top aroma, a very thick louche and numbs the tongue rather pleasantly.

But the main focus is always the vermouth!
It's a kind of spicy, rich, herbal floweriness that is difficult to describe. An Absinthe to indulge in the l'heure verte (the green hour) with, that is bright green in the bottle and stands as the be all end all example of what a proper Absinthe is that all others should be measured against - and likely fail.

No sugar required!

Available via Alandia directly or amazon, also with the matching glasses and sugar, if you like.
Get the blown glasses instead of the pressed one. It's prettier and much thinner without a seam. The two buck upcharge is more than worth it!

No clue about the availability for the Americas. Dunno if they ship there. I'd try and gift anyone interested a sample, though.
To me, it's the Absinthe all others are measured by.

[VoiceOfReasonPast]

Absinthe goes great with binging shit.

[rabidtictac]

I've never had absinthe, and I can't remember if I've ever even seen it at the liquor stores here.

[Kugelfisch]

I've never had absinthe, and I can't remember if I've ever even seen it at the liquor stores here.

If you have, you haven't.
Because Absinthe was banned for a good while, there is no regulated definition of it.
So you can just take any neutral grain alcohol, add flavouring and green food colour and call it Absinthe.
I can all but guarantee you that anything on the shelves isn't proper Absinthe anyway.

It's an abomination but regular practice in Čzeská. They also introduced the dumb ritual of drenching a sugar cube and lighting it on fire.
It's something to impress in bars with spectacle but has no bearings in actual 18th century Absinth culture.


Actual Absinth is a macerated spirit.
Herbs don't have enough sugar to make alcohol via fermentation or brewing. So instead you take neutral grain spirit or wine spirit and just throw the herbs in them to soak up the flavours.
You distill that and get a clear spirit with the herbal flavours.
To make it green, you throw in other herbs and later just filter them out, no further distillation because you'd end up with a clear product yet again.


So a proper Absinthe is always macerated grain or wine spirit with at least vermouth, fennel and green anise, then distilled and then again macerated and filtered with other herbals.
Which ones you chose at either part of the process is entirely up to the distillery.

It must focus vermouth! French ones are usually very anise forward, Čzeská ones (the few proper ones) are usually very low on anise.

If you like anise even a little bit, give Absinthe a try!
There's also Pastis, the replacement product Pernod et al have been making for literal centuries rhat focuses in the anise. It's mostly star anise. I like it but green anise tastes better and it is woefully missing the flowery, herbal note of the vermouth.
It's like half a drink.


*By the way, I say "vermouth" intentionally. The English word for it is absolutely retarded, because its nothing but total dents over the years going full Idiocracy on it because they either couldn't or wouldn't pronounce either "vermouth" or "Wermut".
You'd sooner cat h me dead than me ever saying or writing that 45 IQ term.

[rabidtictac]

I like anise, although I remember drinking ouzo and that flavor got a bit overwhelming after a while.

[Kugelfisch]

I like anise, although I remember drinking ouzo and that flavor got a bit overwhelming after a while.

Ouzo is mostly star anise. Same reason it fogs up so readily.
Green anise is more subtle.