The Wheat of Virgin Spaces

There have been several developments since my last post, amongst them a most interesting thread at the Wormwood Society.

Here’s what I think is the way forward:

This debate isn’t (or shouldn’t be) about nationality. It’s about the STYLE of absinthe. Czech-style absinth is made in several countries outside the Czech Republic, including Germany and France. French-style absinthe is made in several countries outside France, including, recently, the Czech Republic.
Quite simply, the category needs to split formally, and permanently in two.

The one category – following in the 19th century Franco-Suisse taste tradition – should be called ABSINTHE. The other category – following the late twentieth century Eastern European style – should be called BOHEMIAN ABSINTH.

“Bohemian” pays tribute both to the Czech origins of this style of absinthe, and also of course to absinthe’s history. It’s a word with very positive connotations for the consumer. Those who make Czech-style absinths would be far better off creating their own category and aggressively marketing it, than trying to piggy-back on the Franco-Swiss tradition - where they will always be at a relative disadvantage (a disadvantage that’s growing all the time, as more high quality French and Swiss producers gear up).

There are many parallels for liquors in the same broad category being produced and marketed under different but similar names:

“Whisky” is made all over the world, but generally denotes a spirit made according to the Scottish tradition. “Whiskey” denotes Irish or American whisky. “Tennessee whisky” denotes a category that undergoes charcoal filtering.

Gin, genever, Plymouth gin are all different categories of what’s broadly the same juniper-flavoured drink.

In none of these cases do consumers regard the one category as inherently “better” than the other. They simply regard them as different, each to be judged on its own merits. Why should absinthe be any different?

“Absinthe”:
1.    Should be at least 45% alcohol, or 90 degrees proof.
2.    Should contain grande wormwood AND anise.
3.    The predominant flavour should be anise, with an underlying wormwood bitterness.
4.    Should also contain at least most of the following herbs: fennel, hyssop, melissa, petite absinthe, peppermint.
5.    Should be natural-looking,in colour.
6.    Should louche – ie turn a milky colour – on the addition of water.

“Bohemian Absinth”:
1.    Should be at least 45% alcohol, or 90 degrees proof.
2.    Should contain grande wormwood. May have a pronounced wormwood-derived bitterness.
3.    May contain other herbs, but these are not essential. Anise, if present at all, should be used sparingly.
4.    “Exotic” colours – blue-green, neon shades, black, red etc all permissable.
5.    Need not louche.

A wonderful work by the late 19th century French master Jean Beraud was sold on auction in Fontainebleau earlier this week. Absinthe features prominently in many of Beraud’s painting of cafe life, and this piece is no exception. Price realised was EUR 60 000, plus 17% commission and fees.

This is a question I’m often asked. Here, in brief, is the answer:

There’s no reason why absinthe shouldn’t be made in the Czech Republic, or anywhere else for that matter. It’s not a product based on the agricultural products of a single region, in the way that say Cognac is.

But:

1. Most Czech absinthes don’t taste like historical French or Swiss absinthes, and in fact make no attempt to do so. My feeling is that this should be pointed out to the consumer more clearly than is now the case, perhaps by adopting a standard name like “Bohemian Absinth”.

2. Most Czech absinthe is dishonestly marketed at least to some degree. I use the word “most” deliberately - I don’t mean “all”, but equally I don’t mean “some”. This dishonest marketing includes:

i. Pretending there is an historical Czech absinthe tradition, worthy of comparison with the French or Swiss traditions. There isn’t. Of course it was drunk in the 1900’s in Czechoslovakia. Of course it was made occasionally by jobbing distillers in Czechoslovakia. These two factors don’t add up to anything remotely comparable to an “absinthe tradition” in the French or Swiss sense. In these countries it was part of the fabric of life, drunk by millions, immortalised in thousands of books, poems, paintings, journals, sketches etc. The people who drunk it in other countries did so precisely because they wished to emulate French customs, not because it rose out of a native tradition. To my direct knowledge, absinthe was also made in decades past in: Mexico, Cuba, Nicaragua, Argentina, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Italy, Algeria, Morocco, The Caribbean, New York, Chicago, and no doubt dozens of other countries and cities. It would be ludicrous to pretend that any of these places is the “home of absinthe”. It’s equally ludicrous to pretend that the Czech Republic is.

ii. Claiming that absinthe originated in Czechoslovakia, or that it originated spontaneously in several different European countries. This is rubbish. Absinthe as a herb, was made into various medicinal concoctions and drunk for health reasons in every country in Europe, from (at least) Roman times onwards. Absinthe as a DRINK however - the green coloured mixture of wormwood, anise and fennel - was invented in the Neuchatel region of Switzerland sometime between 1760 and 1790. There is overwhelming evidence that this is the case, and no evidence to the contrary. By “no” I don’t mean “very little”. I mean not the tiniest, minutest, shred. It’s a Swiss (and later a French) drink, that for a few decades - 1860 to 1915 - swept the world.

iii. Making bogus claims about thujone. Many of the stated thujone concentrations on Czech absinthes are false. I know this, because I’ve had them tested. Every Czech manufacturer I’ve ever spoken with has alleged that his rivals lie about thujone, and indeed about everything else claimed on their bottle.

iv. Making bogus claims about the effects of absinthe. It’s not an hallucinogenic, not even a mild one. It’s not an aphrodisiac. Saying it is, is simply an attempt to mislead the consumer.

In short, I’ve no problem with Czech absinthe. I’ve a problem with the dishonest way much of it is marketed.

It’s important to add here, that in many cases it’s not the actual producers themselves who are making these spurious claims, but their agents, distributors and onine marketeers. So I’m not pointing fingers here at the Czech absinthe industry per se, but simply at those associated with it who misrepresent the product. Their are several people known to me personally in the Czech industry who are sincerely trying to make the best product they can, and to market it in an open and honest way. At the moment they are in the minority though.