Doubs – Absinthe

Absinthe, the wormwood spirit which was the scourge of the French Impressionists is making a re-appearance in several guises. Known as the “Fée Verte” of green fairy this aniseed flavoured spirit was banned in France and many other countries when it was recognised that it contained high levels of a drug called thujone which is an effective mind rotting substance, made doubly lethal by high alcohol content to rot the liver. In Paris in particular it was cheap and often illicit, with few controls on its lethal content. Its descendents were the Pastis (e.g. Pernod, Ricard) of today which whilst still strong spirit (40-45^o alcohol, similar to most Cognacs) is obviously nowhere near as potent as the original.

The reputed home of Absinthe is in the Doubs département in the south east corner of France adjacent to Switzerland with its main towns of Belfort and Besancon. in the Franche-Comté region.

Doubs Premium Absinthe contains distilled wormwood, and the essences of 11 mountain herbs, including anise, fennel, hyssop and lemonbalm. It has a distinguished herbal and floral character, true both to its historical French antecedents and to the preferences of the most discerning modern palette.
Its herbal complexity, smooth and refreshing taste, gorgeous green colour (which louches dramatically when iced-water is added) and well-rounded absinthe character have garnered it a growing following and a string of awards: it was a Silver Medal winner at the prestigious 2006 International Wine and Spirits Competition, the premier competition of its kind, and in tasting evaluations for the Fee Verte Buyers Guide, it has consistently achieved the highest ratings of any absinthe in its class.“
In the last decade, regulatory authorities all over the world have come to the realization that the reasons for the banning of absinthe a century ago were specious, and had little to do with any inherent danger on the product, and everything to do with the fevered prohibitionist politics of the time. Absinthe with less than 10mg/l of thujone is legal throughout the EU, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. In many countries – Spain, Portugal, the UK – absinthe was never banned in the first place. It’s been re-legalised in France and Switzerland. It’s legal in Canada, Australia, most of South America, South Africa and Japan. The one remaining anomaly is the USA, where the sale of absinthe is still technically prohibited, although it is not illegal to possess, or to drink.”

For more information on Absinthe see www.absintheclassics.com/
For more information on the Doubs département see www.doubs.fr/