Ordering Absinthe.. expertise needed.

[fettoken]

Stumbled on an online store with some absinthe-brands, but without prior knowledge or experience i would like to ask you guys n girls what would be considered "good stuff".

http://www.absinthe-dealer.com/

Or if you might have any other online pages that are better for ordering said liquid.

Thank you in advance!

 

[Olgaline]

Swiss/French from the Val-du-travers region.

Might as well use a Scandinavian site though..

 

[Scouse]

I thought Absinthe wasn't what it once was under EU rules. Used to be hallucinatory but they changed it, so it's not really the same drink.

 

[SilverHood]

I thought Absinthe wasn't what it once was under EU rules. Used to be hallucinatory but they changed it, so it's not really the same drink.

That's the case in the USA, don't think that's the way it is in Europe anymore. Real Absinthe has to made with Artemisia absinthium (wormwood) to be the real deal.

 

[Scouse]

Yeah @SilverHood , it's either wormwood or sometimes it was brewed with heather IIRC. But AFAIK there was only a couple of countries in the EU that still did that, and they were knocking it on the head a few years back.

CBA looking it up tho

 

[Olgaline]

For EU countries it's 35 mg/kg.

 

[Raven]

I had some a few years ago, fucking rancid stuff, whether or not its the real deal I have no idea.

 

[Olgaline]

Most people have that experience @Raven
However, it's more likely to be due to the high alcohol % and "expectations" and most likely a mix of both.

 

[CorNokZ]

Here's some expertice for you: Don't.

Buy some proper booze you will actually enjoy

 

[Olgaline]

Good Absinthe can be awesome..However,
unlike @CorNokZ you just have to avoid the cheap coloured and un-distilled stuff.

 

[CorNokZ]

I've tried a drink from a €100 bottle of absinthe in France, and I still thought it was shit. At €100 I can find you a bottle of booze I can almost guarantee you will enjoy more than absinthe.

Some people like the whole story behind 'the green fairy', but the high alcohol percentage and the "expectations" ruined it for me.

 

[fettoken]

Had a damn good drink made of that stuff, liked the licorice flavor so going to have a go. Note to self: stay away from the colored stuff.

 

[CorNokZ]

Had a damn good drink made of that stuff, liked the licorice flavor so going to have a go. Note to self: stay away from the colored stuff.

Green is good when it comes to absinthe. Just don't go for the neon food-colour dyed green. It should be a natural green. Think you can get clear absinthe too, but not sure. Should ask @Olgaline on that matter

 

[BloodOmen]

I always just use thedrinkshop personally when ordering things my wife can't find at the shop.

http://www.thedrinkshop.com/products/productlist.php?text=absinthe

not sure if they deliver internationally tho

 

[MYstIC G]

Use them to get the Snow Leopard vodka that I like, very good site.

 

[fettoken]

Place is taxed to fuck, but better pay to get good stuff tbh.

 

[Olgaline]

Think you can get clear absinthe too,

You can, if you want the green stuff you should "as a rule of thumb" look for the ones that have a clear green "hue"
at the end of the day though, I'm not sure it's all that important, as long as you avoid brands like habsburg absinth

 

[fettoken]

http://www.thedrinkshop.com/products/nlpdetail.php?prodid=4020 ?


and


http://www.thedrinkshop.com/products/nlpdetail.php?prodid=3295

 

[Olgaline]

Good classic choice, cheaper in DK though
http://www.juuls.dk/get/3623.html

 

[fettoken]

Good classic choice, cheaper in DK though
http://www.juuls.dk/get/3623.html

How's the shipping and toll from Denmark you recon?

 

[Olgaline]

depends, where to ?

 

[fettoken]

Sweden. I mean, will it get intercepted in customs you recon?

 

[Olgaline]

I cant think of any reason why it should
add to cart and you can even order it in swedish on the site.

Edit:
hmm...aparently they dont ship to Sweden
"Sorry. Due to local laws we cannot ship wine and spirits to Sweden"
Systembolaget 4thewin again it seems.

Kinda odd tbh, I've recently sent a shipment of rum to Göteborg without incident

 

[fettoken]

Hmmmmm. That is indeed odd. How the hell did you go around that?

 

[Olgaline]

Tbh, I think it's due to shipment costs...nothing more.
As far as I'm aware, Sweden is still part of the EU and schengen agreement.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Could always check tallinn, see what the costs of travel are compared, if they have what you're looking for etc.

 

[Lakih]

@fettoken talk to Systembolaget, they are actually very good at finding and importing weird stuff. Get an account on their website and make an inquiry. doesn't cost you anything.

 

[DaGaffer]

What exactly is "absinthe" these days anyway? I assume its no longer the stuff that drove artists mad in the 19th century, but beyond that I don't have a clue. I had a taste of it at some booze festival in London about 10 years ago, (thought it was rank) but I kind of assumed it was some kind of faux-absinthe dreamt up by marketers.

Strangely I do like pastis...

 

[Olgaline]

What exactly is "absinthe" these days anyway? ....

That's not all that strait forward to answer, without having to go into a lot of detail, which tbh I cba and and not well enough informed to do so.
But I'll give it a quick guide go:

Two basic styles:
1. Traditional/Western style aka. France, Swiss, Spanish. Anis based (like pastis), can be distilled or cold mixed
2. Eastern/Bohemic style. closer related to bitters, often dry and cold mixed.

Cold mix or Distilled:

Distilled absinthe employs a method of production similar to that of high quality gin. Botanicals are initially macerated in distilled base alcohol before being redistilled to exclude bitter principles, and impart the desired complexity and texture to the spirit.
Absinthe distillation, ca. 1904 The distillation of absinthe first yields a colourless distillate that leaves the alembic at around 72% ABV. The distillate may be reduced and bottled clear, to produce a Blanche or la Bleue absinthe, or it may be coloured to create a verte using natural or artificial colouring. Traditional absinthes obtain their green colour strictly from the chlorophyll of whole herbs, which is extracted from the plants during the secondary maceration. This step involves steeping plants such as petite wormwood, hyssop, and melissa (among other herbs) in the distillate. Chlorophyll from these herbs is extracted in the process, giving the drink its famous green colour. This step also provides a herbal complexity that is typical of high quality absinthe. The natural colouring process is considered critical for absinthe ageing, since the chlorophyll remains chemically active. The chlorophyll serves a similar role in absinthe that tannins do in wine or brown liquors. After the colouring process, the resulting product is diluted with water to the desired percentage of alcohol. The flavour of absinthe is said to improve materially with storage, and many preban distilleries aged their absinthe in settling tanks before bottling.

Cold mixed absinthe:

Many modern absinthes are produced using a cold mix process. This inexpensive method of production does not involve distillation, and is regarded as inferior in the same way that cheaper compound gin is regarded as inferior to distilled gin. The cold mixing process involves the simple blending of flavouring essences and artificial colouring in commercial alcohol, in similar fashion to most flavoured vodkas and inexpensive liqueurs and cordials. Some modern cold mixed absinthes have been bottled at strengths approaching 90% ABV. Others are presented simply as a bottle of plain alcohol with a small amount of powdered herbs suspended within it. The lack of a formal legal definition for absinthe in most countries enables some cold mixing producers to falsify advertising claims, such as referring to their products as "distilled", since the base alcohol itself was created at some point through distillation. This is used as justification to sell these inexpensively produced absinthes at prices comparable to more authentic absinthes that are distilled directly from whole herbs. In the only country that possesses a formal legal definition of absinthe (Switzerland), anything made via the cold mixed process cannot be sold as absinthe.

Strangely I do like pastis...

Pastis is basicly Absinthe style anis spirit without the wormwood that emerged some 17 years after the ban on absinthe....