pierreverte

HR Giger is in the second Lion Spirits absinthe series by the Matter Distillery called 'Brevans', created in 2007.

It would appear, with VDT-made absinthes HR Giger and Libertine, this Swiss distributor is preparing for the time when those absinthes that already exist under those names will no longer be able to be produced under the IGP regulations - I'm surprised they haven't yet commissioned a Pernod or Marteau absinthe: http://www.absinthedistribution.ch/en/news/hr-giger-absinthe

As Matter's US importer, and supporter since 2005, this potential loss isn't lost on me...

Australian customs and subsequent alcohol importation laws are very difficult to work with. Shipping is expensive. Market is small. Final retail price is very high compared to other spirits, beer, wine on the market. Risk of any worthwhile return on investment is high. In the end, it would be a charity effort, and not a business decision, for any small US producer to ship to Oz on their own. The only possibility is to piggy-back on larger shipments of other spirits. This is now, and has been for years, been under consideration. Unless someone in Oz wants to suck it up and finance the whole she-bang, without expecting a profit, and even expect a loss, to bring these products to their domestic market. Any takers?

So, would he just continue to distill, but do so under the auspices of making something that wasn't named absinthe? Matter AG is far more diverse from just making absinthe. Even if he couldn't make absinthe any longer, he would still do much more than just merely survive. The distillery was created in the early 1920s,and didn't make absinthe until 2005. The distiller, Oliver Matter, is one of the most talented and patient men I know in this business. There will be considerably more products to come out of that distillery that will reinforce his skills and set standards for their type.

>This could put Matter and others out of business.< Actually, it wouldn't put Matter out of business, but would be very annoying...

>It would be nice if we actually had codified standards in the USA or most of the rest of the world for that matter. I wonder if La Fee's newfound accuracy isn't a reaction to emerging (or expected) requirements in some of the rest of the world.< Artificially colored absinthes are not legal in Switzerland, thus the original La Fée could not be sold there, until this interpretation. Considering the VDT constantly has to remind the world that their region is the 'birthplace of absinthe', it is not surprising that a product endorsed and consulted on by the foremost French absinthe historian, which shares a portfolio with a VDT absinthe, should at least be legal in it's mother country.

So, are any of their absinthes legally imported into the USA?

It is amazing how many people will whore themselves out to get free booze, recognition or swag...no, actually, it is not amazing at all...see you'all at Tales....

Check La Fée's awards at the bottom of the page...San Francisco Spirits Competition 2008 Double Gold...they didn't win that medal, Vieux Pontarlier did...

20ml is a standard modern bar-dose for 45% pastis in France, so 15ml for 65 - 72% absinthe is an not unlikely dose (except for us). Some of the topettes we attribute to absinthe were actually for vermouth, which would have been doled out in higher quantities.

There's myrrh in (high quality) Fernet.

not retired, just commercialafied...

When Amer Picon was originally made, it was only 15%abv., by 1911, it was up to 40%, then down to 16% or below for WWI, went eventually back to I don't know what, then had to drop to below 16% during WWII, and has after hovered from 21 to18%, there hasn't been an original recipe in well over 100 years. Plus it should contain calamus, which is not allowed in the USA. Just sayin... 1911

By vermouth you would drink by itself. There aren't many choices yet, but that will soon change.