Kübler UPDATE!

[AlyssaDyane]

I just got a phone call from the CEO of ALTAMAR BRANDS, LLC - the company resonsible for bringing Kübler to the US. He was such a nice gentleman, who seems very excited about this launching, and seems to have a love for absinthe. Here is the skinny:

 

2000 cases of 6 just arrived in the United States TODAY! They are to be released in October in the following markets:

 

Vegas - first week of October

New York - around the middle of October

Boston - towards the end of October

 

They are still working on the red tape to get going in CA. They are hoping to release in San Fran & LA towards the end of October to November time frame.

 

I am sharing with you below, with permission from Altamar Brands, the following press release:

 

"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Genuine Swiss Absinthe Kübler will be Available to US Consumers in September

The first authentic Swiss Absinthe legally sold in this country in nearly 100 years

 

Corona del Mar, California (September 4) The Blackmint Distillery and Altamar Brands, LLC announced today a partnership to bring the first authentic Swiss Absinthe to the United States market in nearly 100 years. The brand, Kübler, comes from Motiers, Switzerland in the Val-de-Travers, This is the original birthplace of the great absinthes made famous in the highest art and literary circles during the Belle Époque in the 1880s. It takes its name from Yves Kübler who now carries the tradition of distilling genuine absinthe under his family’s name into its fourth generation. Kübler will launch in New York City and several other east coast markets in late September.

 

Absinthe has a rich and colourful history. Invented in the Val-de-Travers in Switzerland in 1789 by a Swiss doctor for his patients, it was quickly adopted by the bohemian set in France as a replacement for wine that was in extremely short supply. Baudelaire, Manet, Van Gogh, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso, Oscar Wilde and later Hemingway were all absinthe consumers who celebrated absinthe as a drink that heightened the senses and aided their creativity. Although there was no scientific basis in absinthe’s rumoured effects, a legend was born. Many adopted it and its popularity carried absinthe across the Atlantic to the United States where it took root in New Orleans and achieved similar success. Known to its legions by its nickname, “The Green Fairy,” absinthe was ultimately done in by its own popularity. Numerous cheap imitations came on the market, the product became a health hazard to its consumers and both the Swiss and US governments ultimately banned it.

 

In 2004, the Swiss government overturned the ban and Yves Kübler went back into business producing his great grandfather’s original formula. At precisely the same time, he and his Export Director, Peter Karl, set their sights on the United States and after many years of factual argument, convinced the US government to allow the legal sale of Kübler in this country. “Dispelling the myths of absinthe was not an easy proposition,” says Karl, “but in the end science prevailed and with the US authorities approval, we are able to bring our original formula to American consumers.”

 

“Swiss Absinthe Superieure Kübler” is liquor distilled from herbs grown in the Val-de-Travers. Artemisia Absinthium is the primary ingredient in a formula that also includes coriander, mint, Anise and fennel among others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Altamar Brands, LLC will act as sole importer for the United States and will determine marketing and sales strategies for the Kübler brand. “The opportunity to sell the first authentic Swiss Absinthe in this country in nearly 100 years speaks for itself,” says W. L. Lyons Brown, Altamar’s CEO. “It represents the rebirth of a great category and a great product and we are privileged to be able to represent a brand at the center of the birthplace of absinthe.”

 

Altamar will launch the brand in New York City and several other east coast markets in late September and will roll out the brand in the Midwest and West at the start of the New Year. It will be sold at 53% ABV in the US at $49.99 per litre bottle."

[Brian Robinson]

Sweet! But a question, will it be released in September or October in New York? It seemed to say both.

[AlyssaDyane]

New York will be in the middle of October. The dates he told me on the phone are more accurate than the press release.

[dakini_painter]

Cool.

 

If I can't get the little liquor store in Oneonta to get any, I think a visit to some clown in NYC will be in order.

[MTgrayling]

Alyssa, thanks for posting the update. This is great news and it will be available at 53% not the 45% that was rumored. I can't wait for drinkupny to get some in.

[peridot]

Getting the 53% version here? Good.

 

I don't dig Kübler enough to pay as much as I have to to get it from overseas. But $49.99 is perfectly reasonable at this point in time. I can't wait to get a bottle.

[Hans Conried]

Although it gets a bad rap for use of star anise, K53 has always been my "iced tea" absinthe, the one I go to when just having one in the afternoon. I have also been known to throw a splash in a bottle of spring water I'll take with me on a warm day. I'll certainly be bringing it home on my regular trips to NYC, and at $49.99/L, much cheaper than ordering it.

[Gwydion Stone]

Let's hope drinkupny.com picks it up, because they don't sell liter bottles in WA.

[Joe Legate]

These are not baby steps. This is another very large step forward for 'Merican absinthe.

 

Next up?

[Fixedspiral]

It will be sold at 53% ABV in the US at $49.99 per litre bottle.

 

I can live with that...

[Selmac]

I'll take K53 over Lucid any day. This is good news indeed!

[peridot]

Exactly what I'm screaming.

[speedle]

If only it were green I could drink it. This is the blanche we're talking about, right? Otherwise I need to get excited again.

[Brooks]

Thanks, Alyssa!

[Joe Legate]

Let's not lose track of the big picture.

Whether some of us like Kübler or Lucid or not is almost insignificant. Every time a legitimate absinthe becomes available in the U.S., that's reason to celebrate. Thankfully, it was Jade Lite and Kübler, not KoS or Staroplznecky. We have legitimate absinthe knocking at the U.S. door, not Hills. Very soon, we should have exceptional absinthe being made here and available here.

 

I'm sorry if Lucid or Kübler isn't what everyone loves to have but I'm delighted with the progress. Drift back in time only a few years ago and remember what we had. I can't wait to put a bottle of Kübler on my bar right next to the Lucid.

[Jaded Prole]

Good news indeed and yes, reason to celebrate.

 

 

 

Cheaper than Lucid too.

[AlyssaDyane]

I am really excited by this. It makes it even nicer that I rather like Kübler. I find it refreshing. But, T73 is right - I guess it is a monumental step - personal tastes aside.

 

Now - should we place bets on who is coming over next? Green Moon? Yuk!

[Gwydion Stone]

I'll be interested in seeing just what that stuff is all about.

 

Related tangent: I've recently had an opportunity to taste the nearly final version of the American-made absinthe from St. George Spirits ("the Hangar One guys"). It's pretty good. What I tasted had gone totally feuille morte and louched like pre-ban.

[Trid]

These are not baby steps. This is another very large step forward for 'Merican absinthe.

 

...'merkin sold, or 'merkin made?

[Trid]

What I tasted had gone totally fuille mort and louched like pre-ban.

 

Fuille mort? What's the context of the term?

[Joe Legate]

At the moment, sold. This is a very exciting time for us.

[Trid]

Nice...kinda like Clear Creek's single malt whisky.

Is there any idea how long it took them to get the formula past the FDA?

[TheSixthRing]

I've never tried Kübler, but I have a feeling I will have by the end of January at the latest.

[shinsain]

Oh man, I've been waiting for this. I *like* Lucid, but at $60 a bottle, there's not really any comparison to Kuebler.

 

Further, just for the record, I like Kuebler more anyway, I'm just saying.

 

Either way, I'm glad...I'm just noting my opinion.

[Gwydion Stone]

Fuille mort? What's the context of the term?

It means "dead leaf" and refers to the colors of absinthe as it ages—from olive green through dark yellows and ambers to golden browns. It's not considered a bad thing, but generally one expects a new (verte) absinthe to be green. It's because they're using clear bottles.

Is there any idea how long it took them to get the formula past the FDA?

The TTB. The FDA is out of the equation, they just set the standards, TTB enforces them when it comes to spirits. Probably a few months, but it can take a while. Apparently they're waiting on label approval.

[Le Gimp]

K-53, it has a ring like a German U-Boat.

 

Das Boot?

 

And, I like the Kuebler.

[precurser]

Wow this is great news! Now I will be able to try Kübler without breaking my wallet. I have been happy with Lucid but now I will have another easily obtainable absinthe to pit it against.

[Boggy]

Maybe U-boot , Gimpy. You either hate it or love it. After the fifth you have no other choice, though.

 

And btw, it is "feuille morte", or at least it has been for ages.

[Grim]

I'll be interested in seeing just what that stuff is all about.

 

Related tangent: I've recently had an opportunity to taste the nearly final version of the American-made absinthe from St. George Spirits ("the Hangar One guys"). It's pretty good. What I tasted had gone totally fuille mort and louched like pre-ban.

They'll be having a celebration soon, too… a true-blue release party. "Absinthe-crazed" friends are encouraged to attend.

Edited September 18, 2007 by Grim

[Oscar]