Absinthe was born in Couvet, Switzerland at the end of the 18th century as a digestive centered around the medicinal plant wormwood - artemisia absinthium, the herb absinthe takes its name. Suited and booted, with Radomir (my local assistant and translator) I approached what we considered, after much tasting and travelling throughout the country, to be the best of the independent brands and breweries. We had something revolutionary to offer these local enterprises across the Czech Republic: access to the UK, one of Europe’s key markets. Within six months we had signed up three good breweries, producing such beers as Lobkowicz, Rebel and our first spirit, the Czech national liqueur, (Becherovka, now, coincidentally, owned by Pernod Ricard.) My company set out to change absinthe’s status as merely an artefact of the past. Reading about absinthe is one thing. But seeing it, smelling it, tasting it, and finally experiencing it take one both physically and mentally to another level of understanding. Absinthe opens a door in time to a bygone age, bringing to life the heady atmosphere of Paris in the thirty years of decadence and enlightenment which led up to the Great War of 1914. There is one last stage before we are ready to bottle La Fée: A sample is couriered to Marie-Claude Delahaye (in Paris) and also to George Rowley, who test each batch, using their extensive experience of tasting Absinthe and also their knowledge of the original master recipe. Vincent van Gogh - One of the world's most revered artists, is believed to have enjoyed a fair share of absinthe in his day

Grande Absinthe (Wormwood), Genepi (Alpine Wormwood), Star Anise, Fennel, Coriander, Green Anise, Southern, Wormwood, Hyssop Already busy importing Czech beer, Rowley wanted to do the same with a drink he came across in Prague called Hill’s Absinth (notice the missing ‘e’). While speaking to the producers he learned they’d been privately supplying musician John Moore – of The Jesus and Mary Chain fame – who had similar designs on the UK market. By the time the ban took effect, absinthe had already acquired mythical status through the painters, poets and bon viveurs of the belle époque who venerated it in their art. Its theatrical service gilded things, too: the ornate water fountain, that special spoon with its sugar cube, the louching effect of the liquid (turning opaque with the addition of water) and the unmistakable receptacle that held it.What follows is my journal; a celebration and first-hand account of the first years of absinthe’s return, from the launch of La Fée Absinthe Parisienne, a Grand Wormwood distilled absinthe bottled in Paris which, in 2000, restored traditional absinthe distilling to France for the first time since the 1915 ban continuing to this day.

French government issue absinthe to soldiers in North Africa, to ward off disease. Returning troops contributed to making the drink popular in the cafes. La Fée is the only Brand to have the endorsement and direct involvement of the French Absinthe Museum and Marie-Claude Delahaye. A unique quality control procedure that applies to both our Absinthe Supérieure, Parisienne and Blanche. Established in 1705, the Cherry Rocher distillery is located in La Côte-Saint-André ( Isère), in the Rhone-Alpes region of south-east France. Known for producing fine fruit liqueurs, the company continue to work primarily with fruit and herb based spirits and liqueurs. Since 2007, Cherry Rocher has distilled La Fée Absinthe Parisienne, and since 2011 La Fée Absinthe Blanche for the La Fée brand.

Oscar Wilde - Famed author and playwright of such works as 'The Picture of Dorian Gray'. Drank absinthe at Café Royal, London Once experienced, the local Czech product is the first step to a true appreciation of the finer points of real lager or beer. Unfortunately, consumers in Britain have become so accustomed to the sterility and blandness of lager that is treated to achieve a twelve-month shelf-life, they are often unaware of what they are missing. Marketing hyperbole maintains the illusion by extolling the virtues of “crisp” and “clean” beer, while the original, full-bodied character of the beer is lost in translation. Fortunately, there would be no such difficulty with absinthe, being a spirit with such a high volume of alcohol that it makes pasteurisation irrelevant. La Fée captures the aroma and taste that great writers and artists such as Rimbaud, Toulouse-Lautrec and Vincent Van Gogh enjoyed at the end of the 19th century”. Marie-Claude Delahaye Today, the Green Fairy’s enduring allure is imbued in La Fée’s branding and the novel serves it has created to bring absinthe to a wider audience. Rowley’s first-ever customer – a certain Johnny Depp – has no doubt helped to shift a few cases, too.

La Fée X•S Suisse, officially released in 2007, is a La Bleue produced in the town of Couvet in the Val-de-Travers region of Switzerland. Each distillation takes place in small copper stills which have the capacity to produce just over 100 bottles. It has a wine alcohol base. John Moore is a musician and writer who’s many talents include coaxing ethereal sounds from the musical saw and writing blogs for newspapers. In his article for The Idler he describes stumbling across absinth whilst on tour with his band in Prague, and finding himself drawn to its romance and hedonistic appeal. La Fée distil a range of six different absinthes: Parisienne, a traditional French style Verte (coloured/green) absinthe; Blanche, a traditional Blanche (white/clear) style; Bohemian, a modern, Czech style absinthe; La Fée X•S Suisse and La Fée X•S Française, which are two “extra supérieure,” wine-based absinthes; and La Fée NV, a lower strength absinthe for "modern drinking." La Fée is the only Brand to have the endorsement and direct involvement of the French Absinthe Museam and Marie-Claude Delahaye. A unique quality control procedure that applies to both our Absinthe Supérieure, Parisienne and Blanche. It was widely propagated that absinthe’s principal ingredient, wormwood, had hallucinogenic properties, which made you do irrational, impulsive things. Nonsense, of course, but that disparaging one-liner remains in hearts and minds, even today. In reality, absinthe was merely a contributor to the alcoholism that pervaded Europe at the time.I created this light and refreshing alternative to a rum mojito as an easy way to enjoy absinthe. Great as an aperitif or for hot weather, an interesting fresh change to a standard mojito or gin and tonic. Great drink, easy to make"

The solution, I felt, was simple: I would export only beer with a maximum shelf-life of six months, which would retain its body and integrity. If it could be done locally with milk, with only three to seven days’ shelf-life, I surmised that it was logistically possible to export a drink that was good for six months, affording the consumer the luxury of true-tasting, fuller-flavoured Czech beer. It worked! Whether chaperoning the World Bank, which was financing industrial operations on a grand scale for the first time in a former eastern bloc country, or a British supermarket seeking presence in the Czech market: I was conscious of the gap, not only between the then Soviet mentality and the western approach to business, but also to the potential impact of, and importance to our clients of local cultural differences. During its acquisition of the K-Mart operation in the Czech Republic, the Tesco due diligence team, for example, was most astonished to see Carp (the traditional Christmas Eve dish here) being sold live in store and then often being kept in domestic bathtubs for several days to purge them of the muddy taste characteristic of bottom-feeders. Another important distinction was the lower percentage of supermarket floor space around 30% – allocated to food retailing. Tesco is moving substantially towards that ratio in the UK (though live carp is still conspicuous by its absence) and it will be interesting to see how the company handles its current move into the USA, a market which La Fėe too is entering. We had already come across John’s name during our own research while reading an article he had written in an early edition of The Idler. At the time absinth was only available in a few Prague bars, and if any other source existed in Prague or the rest of Bohemia, its profile was low to the point of invisibility. Although I had been working and playing in Prague since 1993, I had not come across any noticeable presence of absinth while I was there. Parisienne is distilled at the traditional 68% abv following an authentic 19th century recipe and louches perfectly when water is added. University, they carried out 1st commercial tests for him since 1915 ban, proving absinthe with thujone, was within EU limits to imbibe, enabling absinthe return at The Groucho Club, Soho, London, November 1998.This starts with colour (soft green with a hint of yellow), then adding water to establish the depth of louche. Then taste and aroma of the botanicals that are released by the drop in abv through dilution to drinking strength (12% to 16%abv). In the event any aspect is not to our exacting standards, the distillery is advised of any fine-tuning required, a rare event as our experience has grown since our returning the distilling of traditional absinthe to France over a decade ago (May 2000). This article contains content that is written like an advertisement. Please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links, and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view. ( June 2014) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) They teamed up: Moore on the PR and Rowley, among other things, on the creation of a template to legalise the drink in the EU (the Czech Republic was not yet a member). ‘I went to three labs in the UK and not one of them could do the proper chemical compound analysis – crazy!’ says Rowley. But with the help of Prague University, the analysis tools were created to do a proper commercial test. NV Absinthe Verte by La Fée is a modern, lower abv (38%) French absinthe, aimed at the bar, club and all round party scene. Its lower alcohol content allows for greater flexibility with serving options, or allows it to be drunk neat or over ice. NV Absinthe Verte is distilled with Grand Wormwood, and uses a grain alcohol base. [ citation needed] Cherry Rocher Distillery [ edit ] Each distillation of La Fée Parisienne Absinthe Supérieure is personally quality taste tested by Delahaye and Rowley