Pernod Absinthe Recette Traditionnelle 70cl 68%

Description

Pernod Absinthe Recette Traditionnelle is a superb French Absinthe, bottled at 68% ABV, and is a return the original recipe that was enjoyed across France until Absinthe was banned in 1914.

Henri-Louis Pernod founded the first commercial Absinthe distillery in the French town of Pontarlier in 1805. Absinthe had become a phenomenon as the tradition of The Green Hour grew. Known in French as as L’Heure Verte, The Green Hour was a popular custom of drinking Absinthe at 5pm. By the early 1900s, France was consuming 36 million litres of absinthe per year and due to an increase in the alleged fatal and violent side effects of drinking Absinthe and “absinthism” it was banned.

Pernod Absinthe was relaunched in the 2000s complying with the legislation of the time as “Pernod aux Extraits de Plantes d’Absinthe”. In October 2013, Pernod announced a return to their original recipe, sourced from a 19th century manuscript, with the release of the Pernod Absinthe Recette Traditionnelle (traditional recipe). This meant that there was a move away from the grain based spirits used previously and a return to a grape brandy (un-aged brandy or eau de vie) from the Languedoc region in the South of France. The wormwood, one of the key ingredients, is sourced from Pontarlier, a commune in the Franche-Comté region near the Swiss border in eastern France. 

At Pernod’s new distillery in Thuir, the wormwood and the green anise are distilled after maceration in a neutral wine spirit base. The ‘heart’ of the distillation is then macerated again with a combination of botanicals including star anise, Melissa, petit wormwood, hyssop and more secret plants that give it’s beautiful green colour. The colour is now 100% natural (previously a green dye was added). The use of traditional methods, grape spirit, careful maceration of a secret recipe of aromatic herbs and plants brings a subtlety and complexity to the final product that many other Absinthes simply don’t have.

On the addition of water, Pernod Absinthe, like Anise based drinks such as Pastis, Ouzo or Raki, goes cloudy on the addition.