Absinthe continues its resurgence

Another absinthe story in the mainstream press makes me wonder when this trend is truly going to hit the local hipster scene. USA Today takes a look at the four labels that are currently approved in the States:

Four labels (Lucid, Green Moon and two from Kübler) have been approved by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau this year. Each contains such an insignificant level of thujone that all are said to be thujone-free, which, by government regulations, amounts to 10 parts or less per million.

Lucid ($59.99 for a 750-milliliter bottle) — made with grande wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), distilled in France without dyes, artificial additives or oils like some of the faux brands sold in the USA — is one of the two labels now available.

Kübler, (106-proof, $49.99 for one liter), also made with grande wormwood and produced in the region where absinthe was invented and produced until a ban in the early 1900s, arrived this week. Green Moon, which calls itself absinthe but is really anise-flavored vodka made with southern wormwood and green coloring, makes its debut in October.

Absente, Absinthe Refined, another brand (110-proof, $35 for a 750-milliliter bottle) made with southern wormwood and available throughout North America, was approved by the bureau in 1999. However, experts say absinthe made with southern wormwood (Artemisia abrotanum), a less bitter cousin of grande wormwood and therefore more palatable for Americans' taste buds, is not genuine.

"We've always had to fight the stigma that it's not a real absinthe," says Jim Nikola, vice president of marketing for Crillon Importers, which imports Absente, Absinthe Refined. "We did the best we could to stick to the original formula. It's a modern absinthe."

But... but is it really absinthe without thujone?

"A person would die several times over from alcohol poisoning before they would feel the effects of thujone" in absinthe, Breaux says.

Well, there you have it. It's popping up in swank cocktail clubs and could be spreading; USA Today opens their piece with this description of a nice little ritual at the Waverly Inn in New York:

Heads turned when a waiter brought a traditional absinthe fountain, filled with ice water, to a dining table here at the trendy Waverly Inn on a recent Friday night. Three stylish women in their 20s, sitting nearby, watched as the waiter placed a glass of Lucid-brand absinthe under the spigot, rested a perforated spoon on the rim of the glass, placed a sugar cube atop the spoon, then gently turned the spigot to allow the water to trickle onto the sugar cube and melt its content into the glass.

Curiosity got the best of the women, who summoned the waiter to their table, quizzed him on the concoction and ordered a round.

After the ritual had been repeated, one of the women picked up her glass, took a whiff of the 124-proof drink that smelled like black licorice and said, "Whoa!" She took a sip and exclaimed, "Perfect. Just what I need to top off the week."

Indeed...