The Green Hour

A young man was in the tasting room today. He was very excited about the still. It seems he is a fan of absinthe. Posed behind the tasting bar, I asked him if I would have made a good subject for the many artists who portrayed absinthe during the height of its popularity.


Perhaps like this? Or with a hat?
-The Absinthe Drinker, Pablo Picasso -Absinthe Drinker, Edgar Degas



I rather like this one...


And this is quite good. She looks nice and cool.

The main ingredient of absinthe common wormwood (Artemisia absinthium). This woody perennial is related to numerous scrubby plants that grow well in hot, dry climates. Among them are french tarragon (A. dranunculus), A. 'Powis Castle', California sagebrush (A. californica), and beach wormwood (A. stellerana).

Common wormwood grows well throughout the West, grows to 4 feet tall and 2 feet wide. It needs plenty of sunshine, little water, and excellent drainage. So far, so good. Other potential ingredients include star anise (Illicuim verum), fennel seed (Foeniculum vulgare), Angelica (Angelica archangelica), Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis), Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra), peppermint, coriander, lemon balm, dittany, and juniper. I think I see a garden evolving...

An excellent article by Jack Turner about absinthe appeared in the New Yorker last year. He describes the resurgence of interest that prompted my customer to suggest we should be in the absinthe business. (You can read it here). Why not?



Oh yes, Look what it did to Toulouse-Lautrec.