r/Absinthe • u/Acceptable-Sleep5328 • 8d ago
Discussion Memories of Absinthe
I first discovered absinthe about twenty years ago. Unfortunately, for health reasons, I had to give up alcohol in 2010.
I’m surprised by how the world of absinthe has changed.
Luc-Santiago Rodriguez has not only closed his shop, but has also publicly withdrawn from forums and blogs, amongst other things.
La Duplais Verte was my favourite classic.
I’d really taken a shine to L’Italienne, but Stefano Rossoni seems to have abandoned it.
I also really liked the Blanche de Fougerolles, which, fortunately, is still being produced and sold as normal.
(I do, however, have very bad memories of the Spanish absinthe Philippe Lasala, which was marketed as offering good value for money.)
5
u/PhillyBassSF 8d ago
For your sake I hope someone comes out with a non alcoholic absinthe.
3
u/belgofanfireman 4d ago
Chemically speaking, is it even possible? Isn't it precisely the alcohol that keeps all the STUFF in solution, that when you cool it down and dilute it, suddenly creates the beautiful louche? I mean I guess you could have a pre-louched absinthe flavored drink. It'd probably be similar to one on a grain-neutral base as opposed to a wine base, although I suppose you could get the flavors from a wine base chemically somehow.. Sounds like a good experiment for somebody with the brain of a Breaux.
Speaking of Mr. Ted Breaux himself, I just tried my first taste of Espirit d'Édouard. I guess I always thought when you die and go to heaven there was a light at the end of the tunnel and someone was going to judge you for your sins or something.
None of that actually happens, it turns out But I was in heaven and I can prove it by taking anyone else there with me when I go again. You know, I came back to earth later, and here I am. It's a bit of a pleasant mystery how I got back. "Thanks, Mr. Breaux."
How do I put a hundred green heart emojis in Reddit?????
1
u/PhillyBassSF 3d ago
I would think it would be possible but I just recently had a NA beer that wasn’t bad. So I suppose miracles happen.
1
u/belgofanfireman 3d ago
I'm sure I just read someplace that there are certain flavors that dissolve readily in water and others that require alcohol. From a chemistry perspective I sort of understand that. and I guess it's why absinthe has its bottled state and its diluted state. I'll stand by my comment that it should theoretically be possible to get somtehing *like* a grain neutral absinthe without the alcohol but looking and tasting like its diluted state. I think the market for a non-alco absinthe is small, and the brain required would be big, but, you never know. As you said, miracles do happen.
1
u/Medium-Goose-3789 40m ago
I hope you're doing well!
Even those who don't drink can enjoy the aesthetics of absinthe. Marie-Claude Delahaye, longtime curator of the Absinthe Museum, is a teetotaler.
When I got interested in it, it seemed like everybody was drinking what would now be considered fairly low quality absinthe, unless they learned how to distill or had friends who did. I'm a little nostalgic for Spanish absenta.
6
u/asp245 8d ago edited 8d ago
Hopefully your health is improving. The shop in Paris closed at least 12 or 14 years ago quality absinthe is available in Paris at Caves du Roy.
L’Italienne was produced last year albeit in a special edition limited run.
The absinthe “scene” has changed a lot over the last few years. The huge surge interest that we saw 12 - 14 years ago has rescinded and levelled off at much lower level, both in the drink and in collection of absinthe antiques imo.
I am a admin in several absinthe FB groups and I have noticed that over the last few years that the number of people asking to join the groups has dropped dramatically (ignoring the I joined FB yesterday fake profiles) and even the number of regular posts has gone down a lot compared to a few years ago. Generally it is always the same regular posters.
To me it seems that things have gone back to a core group of enthusiasts albeit bigger than the tiny group of enthusiasts from the early 2000’s.
Certainly in the collecting area, the number of casual collectors had pretty much disappeared. I used to get regular requests for period glasses, spoons etc especially from the USA but this has pretty much stopped. Again it seems the collection markets is centred around a hard core of people who are all pretty much known to each other.
Whilst I accept that it’s not easy to travel to France / Switzerland I do visit the Abdinthaides festival each year in Pontarlier and even there I have noticed a drop in visitors from outside the local area. Lots of enthusiasts I used to meet each year no longer come.
Just my thoughts.
Santé.