Absinthe Blog

Although the liquor known as absinthe was officially discovered by Dr. Pierre Ordinaire, a Frenchman, he was in Switzerland at the time. For that reason the Swiss claim a shared ownership of the famed juice. When the thujone-containing beverage became known as “madness in a bottle”, the international community banned the sale and distribution of it. Swiss absinthe was banned in 1910. It was actually disallowed in the country’s constitution. In the year 2000 it was removed as a constitutional illegality, but remained illegal according to common laws of the land.

As of May 1, 2005, the ban was lifted in Switzerland completely. This was a direct result of the international trend to again embrace the hard beverage. The Swiss government saw an opportunity to generate revenue from heavy taxation on the enormously popular drink. Thus the legal production of traditional Swiss absinthe was reestablished. A tradition and history of quality distillation was reborn.

Swiss absinthe, along with several French varieties is known as the finest the world has to offer. Few countries, including the US, still disallow the production and sales of the wormwood-based intoxicant known to many as “The Green Fairy”. However, a distinct difference in the Swiss varieties lies in the fact that they are not macerated with chlorophyll-containing herbs which offer absinthe its green hue. These colorless varieties of absinthe are known as La Bleues. The Swiss are said to have left these varieties colorless during the period of absinthe prohibition because of the fact that is was easier to hide them as compared to their green-hued counterparts.

As with many Swiss products, the Swiss produce their absinthe with great care for quality and authenticity. They generally employ a combination of the “Holy Trinity” of ingredients: wormwood, fennel, and anise. They also utilize traditional methods of production, specifically the distillation process. True, traditional absinthe must be distilled in the opinions of absinthe connoisseurs because this mellows the extremely bitter nature of macerating wormwood and ethanol. So grab a bottle of high-quality Swiss absinthe and imbibe today! According to the Swiss, that’s how it is meant to be experienced.

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