Vieux Carré Absinthe is produced by Philadelphia Distilling, but it takes its name from the New Orleans French Quarter. The first bottle of Vieux Carré Absinthe was released in December 2008, making it the first legal absinthe to be distilled, bottled and sold on the east coast in nearly 100 years. Vieux Carré is batch-distilled in a custom copper pot still from ingredients like grand and petite wormwood, star anise, melissa, fennel and spearmint. The spirit is greenish-yellow and very aromatic, with aromas of fennel/anise, mint and citrus. Absinthe is rarely consumed straight, but downing the 120 proof Vieux Carré neat douses...

Pernod began producing absinthe around 1800, when Henri-Louis Pernod founded what’s believed to be the first absinthe distillery. Pernod Absinthe remained one of the more popular spirits in the genre until 1915, when absinthe was banned in the U.S. and many European countries. During the ban, Pernod sold a non-absinthe anise-flavored liqueur, or “pastis.” Once the ban was lifted, Pernod again introduced a true absinthe to the market. Pernod Absinthe has the bright green color that’s generally associated with absinthe, a color that distinguishes it from its yellow-tinged pastis. On the nose it’s quite chemical, with some vegetal notes and an...

Once per month cocktail fiends band together to create a booze-soaked collection of cocktail recipes for Mixology Monday.  This month’s host is Sonja of Thinking of Drinking, who chose absinthe as the theme.  From Sonja – The topic for February is Absinthe. That much maligned, misunderstood, mistreated spirit, suddenly plentiful again in the US and other parts of the world. Absinthe played a role, whether large or small, in a variety of great cocktails from the 1800s and early 1900s – the Sazerac, Absinthe Suissesse, Corpse Reviver No. 2… I’m getting thirsty. So let’s celebrate absinthe’s history, and it’s future,...

If each trip out of the house during the holidays—always with the best of intentions to get your shopping done—results in you huddled over a drink at a nearby bar, hiding from the crazed mass, then you may be in luck.  Turns out that Sazerac Company has recreated the original Herbsaint recipe, dating back to 1934, and has bottled it behind a vintage label.  So now a trip to the liquor store is all you need to please your friends and family.  If that doesn’t say Merry Christmas, then I’m not sipping an Old Fashioned at 2:30 in the...

This aptly named cocktail traces its origin back to the days when drinking in the morning didn’t have a stigma. When cocktails were breakfast drinks and every man, woman and likely a few children started their day with a smile and a stumble. Around the turn of the twentieth century, “Corpse Reviver” was a general term similar to “hair of the dog” that denoted a beverage meant to absolve your sins from the previous night’s bender and bring you back from the dead (or at the least, a bad hangover). The below recipe is adapted from Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails by...

Tuxedo Cocktail Recipe 2 ounces gin 1 ½ ounces dry vermouth ¼ teaspoon absinthe or anise liqueur substitute ¼ teaspoon Maraschino liqueur 3 dashes orange bitters Combine all ingredients with ice in a mixing glass. Stir well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry or twist of lemon....

While the origins of many cocktails are heatedly debated, clouded in  mystery or just plain lost in a boozy fog, the source of the Sazerac is one thing drinkers can agree upon. Born in New Orleans in 1859, the Sazerac was named by John Schiller, proprietor of the Sazerac Coffee House. While Schiller’s version used cognac as the base spirit, the cocktail evolved to replace cognac with rye whiskey and include a dash of absinthe on top of the traditional sugar and Peychaud’s bitters. After being banned in the United States for nearly a century, absinthe was legalized in 2007, but...