Absinthe: Another Swiss Original

[72doug2,2S]

Legal in the US, anyone try it yet?

Kübler Absinthe Superieure is a brand of absinthe, distilled in the Val-de-Travers region of Switzerland also known as the birthplace of absinthe'.[1] Kübler Absinthe was first produced in 1863[2] and was the first brand to be sold legally in Switzerland after the national ban on absinthe was lifted in March, 2005.[3][4] The legalization of absinthe in Switzerland is largely due to Kübler's lobbying efforts.[5] The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau approved the formula for Kübler Absinthe in 2004, and approved the product for sale in the United States in May 2007 after three years of discussions among Kübler, FDA, TTB, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.[6] These discussions proved to be instrumental in opening the door for many brands of absinthe to be legally sold or produced in the United States.[7][8]

Kübler was launched in 1863 by J. Fritz Kübler in Môtiers, Switzerland and is presently a part of the Altamar Brands portfolio. Môtiers is the capital of the Val-de-Travers, the birthplace of absinthe. This region sits near the eastern border of France. Fritz opened the Blackmint Distillery in 1875, and received numerous awards and medals in competitions around the European theater before the Swiss government banned absinthe in 1910.

In 2001, the Swiss ban was lifted and the brand was revived by Fritz's great grandson Yves (a fifth generation Kübler), who runs the present day distillery only a few miles from its original site in the Val-de-Travers.

Crafting Process

The principal ingredients in Kübler Absinthe are the herbs grande wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) and anise. Kübler uses a grain neutral base spirit distilled from Swiss wheat and also includes hyssop, lemon balm, coriander, star anise, fennel, Roman wormwood and mint. All ingredients are analytically certified to the standards of the Swiss Expert Committee on the Unification of Pharmacopoeias.[citation needed]

Kübler Absinthe is distilled using the same traditional method that has been used for over one hundred years. Following the initial maceration is a slow distillation process. Neither sugar nor artificial coloring is added to the finished distillate. The end product is an all-natural, genuine Swiss clear or 'La Bleue' absinthe, and is bottled at 106 proof (53% ABV).

Kübler Family Tradition

J.F. Kübler, the patriarch of the family, started the Kübler Absinthe tradition (1863). It continued until the Swiss absinthe prohibition was enacted on October 7, 1910. On October 10, 2001, exactly 91 years and three days after the start of the Swiss prohibition, Yves Kübler's first objective was reached: the distillation and sale of his first 500 liters of Kübler absinthe in Europe.

In March 2005, all federal Swiss absinthe laws were repealed, giving Yves the right to continue the tradition his great grandfather created. Kübler Absinthe is now available in many markets, including the United States.

Anyone have these in a collection?

[vash]

JP911 and i tried it in Mexico. he was running around trying to buy a bottle! we were already hammered, but i was still reasonable. i dragged him into a bar to do ONE drink. we were so drunk already, i dont know if it even did anything to us.

tasted like licorice.

[TechnoViking]

I went to an Absinthe bar in Breckenridge last year. They make a big production out of it, dripping the stuff over a sugar cube in front of you. Kinda cool because it's different.

But I had a hard time getting into the very strong licorice flavor. It stays with you...

[svandamme]

none of the current Absynthe producers makes the one that'll get trippin'.
These days, it's just green booze , that's all ..

[onlycafe]

is there still wormwood in it?

[72doug2,2S]

Originally Posted by TechnoViking

I went to an Absinthe bar in Breckenridge last year. They make a big production out of it, dripping the stuff over a sugar cube in front of you. Kinda cool because it's different.

But I had a hard time getting into the very strong licorice flavor. It stays with you...

So, is this like Greek Ouzo? I bought a bottle of Ouzo in Athens in 2001 and I think I still haven't finished it yet.

Perhaps the "production" efforts would make it more appealing. There's an artsy fartsy history that has a certain appeal to some. That, and it has been banned for the last 100 years for the misunderstanding of a trace psychoactive drug called thujone. (Green Fairy, Green Devil)

Do they drip Absinthe over the sugar and spoon, or ice water over the sugar and spoon into the Absinthe?

[vash]

ice water over the spoon/cube into the absinthe. turns it milky.

taste just like ouzo..maybe less intense. i watch a poor guy drink (i think it is armenian or turkish) Raki...it is just like Ouzo..pretty much drank the half bottle to himself. he was GONE! GONE!

[pwd72s]

To create demand, ban it. It's human nature to seek the illicit..

[MT930]

It will make you crazier than a rat in a coffee can. (The good stuff anyway)

Which is fun on occasion.

[svandamme]

Originally Posted by onlycafe

is there still wormwood in it?

It's thujone you're looking for ,that's the supposedly psychedelic chemical in Absynthe.. But modern day varients contain concentrations that are just to low to trip. And even with higher doses, it's debatable how much tripping it could produce.. convulsions, proven.. but keep in mind that absynthe is 80+ % vol.. Chances are , many were just ****faced out of their mind from the alcohol, rather from the Thujone itself..

There are better ways to trip...

[cashflyer]

Originally Posted by onlycafe

is there still wormwood in it?

According to Wiki...

Lucid (brand) Absinthe Supérieure is a traditional, French-made absinthe verte (green absinthe), whose formula was first approved in 2006. It was granted a COLA (Certificate of Label Approval) in the United States on March 5, 2007, making it the first genuine absinthe to gain approval for legal distribution in the U.S. since 1912.

Lucid is produced in France for the Viridian Spirits company of New York. It is distilled using traditional French methods. Lucid contains less than 10 ppm thujone[citation needed], because the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau mandates that any finished food or beverage tests less than 10ppm (equal to 10mg/kg) thujone in order to be considered legal (i.e. "thujone-free") pursuant to 21 CFR 172.510. Speculation about the extent to which thujone is important persisted for more than a century, but any lingering notions that thujone was an 'active ingredient' of absinthe has been conclusively debunked by modern science.

The Lucid brand recipe includes Grande Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), along with green anise, sweet fennel, and other herbs, and was developed by T.A. Breaux, an absinthe expert and historian.

[herr_oberst]

There are a ton of great Absinthe posters for sale, I have this one matted and framed on my dining room wall - and I don't even drink beer, let alone Absinthe

[72doug2,2S]

I read somewhere that pure Artemisia oil "oil of wormwood" is deadly poisonous.

Past reports estimated thujone levels in absinthe as being high—up to 260 mg/kg of absinthe.[68] More recently, published scientific analyses of samples of various original absinthes have disproven earlier estimates, showing that very little of the thujone present in wormwood actually makes it into a properly distilled absinthe when using historical recipes and methods. Most proper absinthes, both vintage and modern, are within the current EU limits.[69][70][71][72]

Tests on mice showed an LD50 of about 45 mg thujone per kg of body weight,[73] which is much more than could be consumed in absinthe. The high percentage of alcohol in absinthe would kill a person before the thujone would become life-threatening.[73] In documented cases of acute thujone poisoning as a result of oral ingestion,[74] the source of thujone was not commercial absinthe, but rather non-controversial sources such as common essential oils, which can contain as much as 50% thujone.[75]

Wiki

[gtc]

Yes, but it's not half as bad as "eye of newt."

[72doug2,2S]

Funny how essential oils at 50% thujone get an easy pass, but commercial drinks, that we now know contained harmless levels of thujone, became villainized.

Also funny is my mother who sells essential oils and is a complete teetotaler, unless it's pure vanilla in milk.

[Embraer]

I drank absinthe for weeks, regularly during my stint backpacking across eastern europe. you have to be a heavy drinker for YEARS to ever feel the psychoactive effects of it, if at all.

it tastes like a cross between creme de menthe and jaegermeister.

any of the stuff you're going to buy in the US is lackluster, at best.

[RWebb]

I use it on oysters.

[john70t]

The gf brought back a few bottles of Ouso and Kitron fron Naxos, but I haven't tried it or Absinthe.

Best wierd drink I've tried was an overdose of fresh unfiltered Shochu in Kyoto(I think that was what it was).

[Aurel]

Reminds me home. Val de Travers is my familly birthplace, but I never tried absinthe.

[ChkbookMechanic]

I use absinthe when making cinnamon apples... makes them quite tasty.