Absinthe - The Green Fairy

DIFFERENT TYPES OF ABSINTHE

Verte: ”Verte” is French for green. The classic color of absinthe, even those who know nothing about absinthe associates it to its green color. When the absinthe is distilled it is as clear as water, to make it green you put additional herbs in what can be described as a GIANT teabag and soak it in the distillate. The chlorophyll from the herbs is what gives the absinthe its green color, and a more complex taste and aroma. Read more about absinthe verte here.

Blanche/Bleue: This is absinthe that has only been distilled and not gone through the extra step of coloring. It is not really white (”blanche” is French for white) but totally transparent and often sweeter than vertes. In Switzerland, where blanches is generally more common, they call it ”la bleue”, French for Blue. This is due to the alleged blue tint it gains once it louches. Personally I think a good portion of imagination is needed in order to see it, but who am I to question the Swiss? Although the rest of the world says blanche, so decide for yourself. Read more about absinthe blanche/bleue here.

Rouge: A bit less common type of absinthe is the red one (”rouge” is Frenche for red). It is colored the same way as vertes but with, for instance, hibiscus flowers instead of green herbs. There where one or two red absinthes during the pre-ban era, but it was nothing common. I would say it’s more common today, but not all is colored with natural herbs, some unfortunately uses food colorings. Read more about absinthe rouge here.

Amber: This style is a matter of discussion, not all recognizes amber as its own style of absinthe. The main idea is that these absinthes are naturally colored in a natural yellow or amber tint, not to be confused with a verte that have turned a shade of dead leaves due to exposure to sunlight. A couple of examples of an amber absinthe is Valkyria´s Midvinterblot and Awen Nature´s Absinthe Safran. Read more about amber absinthe here.

Oxygénée: It´s hard to say that this is a special style of absinthe, there have only ever been a couple of them, ever. This is an absinthe which have oxygen added to it before it is bottled, you see, in the early 20th century one argument to get absinthe banned was that absinthe absorbed oxygen from your blood, hence being an unhealthy drink. This was bullshit, of course. The reaction to this was an oxygenated absinthe that was supposed to be healthier because it would actually enrich the blood with oxygen. This was, too, bullshit, but fight fire with fire, bullshit with bullshit, as they say. Although, one perk that DO come with oxygenated absinthe is that it will mature even before you open it (more about this below), must be a dream after being stored for a decade or two. Oxygenating absinthe is ultimately a quite unnecessary process so many think it is not worth the effort or money to do it. We do have one modern absinthe though that IS oxygenated: Jade Liqueurs´ Jade Terminus Oxygénée.

True Blue: This is not a recognized style what so ever, that is because it have so far only been done once, ever! There are some absinthes dyed with blue food coloring, but no one have (to my knowledge) ever made a natural colored blue absinthe. Until I did it! It is called Absinthe Rêve - La Méduse Bleu. Of course the coloring herbs is a secret, but they ar botanicals and used just like the coloring herbs in a verte. Read more about true blue absinthe here.

Other types: There are a lot of fakesinthes that can be both green, yellow, red, blue and black. Most absintheurs would not bother buying these because they are not real absinthes, and they keep to the genuine ones. But I can see why someone wouldn’t want to pay around $100 for booze you are going to make colorful drinks from. There is also some absinthes that are ”cold distilled” and those are actually just macerated and not distilled. As I´ve said before, they are not real absinthes and if you only macerate wormwood you will get a result that is very bitter indeed. Better not explore those. 

DURABILITY AND STORAGE

Absinthe is not like whisky which you should finish the bottle within a year, or wine that should be finished within a matter of days, a bottle of absinthe can be open for a looooong time and usually (always?) gets even better with time. If it is genuine absinthe. Open a bottle today and it will taste much better in 3 months. To my knowledge genuine absinthe will never go bad, not even a hundred years in a opened bottle, permitted that the alcohol doesn’t evaporates. The oxygen helps the absinthe mature and develop a rounder, more complex taste and aroma. Especially the first months after distilling the absinthe will change character quite a bit, that is why Svensk Absint AB lets their absinthe rest for 3 months before bottling it. You can compare it to allowing a good wine to breathe before drinking it. This maturing process is actually part of the reason why pre-ban absinthe from the 19th century tastes so good. Imagine a one hundred years old oxygénée! *a puddle of drool is gathering at my feet* This is the reason why I have stored away at least one bottle of my favorite absinthes to be opened at some very special occasions, my 50 year birthday, retirement, hypothetical wedding or if I ever have a kid. Then I want something special to celebrate with!

If you want to do like me, you need to know how to store your absinthe correctly. It should be kept standing up, because if the absinthe touches the cork it will dissolve parts of it in time and spoil the absinthe. This goes for natural cork and artificial, I’m not sure though how it works with glass stoppers (I´ve seen that on some bottles, Absinthe Loch Ness for example). They have a small plastic ring at the top so you should probably play it safe and just keep the bottle standing up. Also, don’t keep the bottles in a too cool space, room temperature should work fine I’ve heard. If it’s too cold there will be crystals forming in the absinthe, something to do withe the essential oils and they are almost impossible to solve again, or so I’ve heard. This happened to my Vit Opal, I think Systembolaget had kept it to cold and now I have some crystals I can’t get rid of.

Green absinthes with natural coloring should be kept in a dark place, otherwise the light will accelerate the decomposition of the chlorophyll and soon your absinthe will have the color of dead leafs. This will not effect the taste but the Green Fairy would no longer be green. This is why green absinthe usually come in green or brown bottles. The decomposition is also slowed by the alcohol, hence vertes are often stronger than blanches. The same thing applies to naturally colored red absinthes.