Portland-Made Absinthe

[dave]

Found this while fucking around on the Web. Marteau (this is from 2008)

Still haven't tried Absinthe, so I'm understandably curious. Anyone out there been a guinea pig?

[Chops]

Hey I'm headed to Portland. In a few weeks I'll see if I can find a bottle to sample and let you know. Chops!

[dave]

Righteous! Have a super time. Be sure to go to the New Old Lompoc on NW 23rd, they'll tear down the building at the end of April for a skyscraper (it will later be in the 'scraper-2013).

[Steve]

Absinthe is also distilled in Alameda, CA at St. Georges Spirits. They've been distilling it for 5 years now. (same place as where the Hangar One Vodka comes from) I'm curious to give any of it a try. 

I was told by a friend that the only place where you can get the actual mind-bending absinthe that was consumed by Parisian artists and writers back in the day, is in France. I figure Alameda's got to be a close second.

I'll look it up later, but I also believe it's not that difficult to make your own. Yikes! Or at least some demented rookie version.

[dave]

Hey, Steve, here is a home-made version.

Let me know how it turns out.

Cheers, Dave

[Steve]

Okay, at best I can make a decent cup of coffee or tea. therefore I opted out of opening my own distillery.

I found myself in Oakland over the summer and remembered Alameda as being the home of the St.George Spirits distillery. I stopped in and picked up a bottle each of their Hangar One Vodka, Breaking & Entering Bourbon and Absinthe Verde. Far better than anything I could have come up with. The absinthe is brandy based and... well you can see all the herbs and what not that goes into it. It has that distinct licorice flavor from the star anise. Not overpowering but stil there. a single ice cube turned it from clear to milky and definitely helped release the botanicals of the herbs. And its 60 percent alcohol by volume.

No sugar cubes or flames. I was there far too early for the "tour" but I definitely need to get back there. okay, that's all i have to report. 

[dave]

Graci for being the guinea pig, sounds yummy!