I Made A Historic 1700's Absinth
I'm excited to make Absinthe. But not just any old absinthe. This recipe is 250 years old! Today I'm making historic absinthe from the 1700s.
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"Brandy" Recipe (this is scalable):
95 L (25 gal) of water
14kg (30,9 lb) of sugar
1kg (2.2 lb) of raisins
1kg (2.2 lb) of oats
Macerate for 24 hours starting at 170 f / 76 c
2 L of 170 proof / 85 % "brandy"
90 g of wormwood
53 g of anise
53 g of fennel
26 g of mint
53 g of Lemon Balm
5 g angelica seed
Proof the maceration down to 40% ABV and pot still it. Take a small amount of "foreshots".
Collect down to 60% abv and keep as "hearts"
60% - 40% can be kept to distill again with the next batch of brandy
40% and down can be kept to distill again with the next botanical distillation.
Separate 48% of your hearts and heat to 140 f / 60 c and colour with:
2 g of hyssop
3 g of spinach
I macerated for 12min. You should either macerate much longer or double or even triple the amount of coloring botanicals as my absinthe was not colored heavily enough.
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Because I lost 3L of the upper hearts my spirit was under proofed. I took some of the lowest hearts and redistilled them. Then blended them back into the highest abv hearts I had. Just don't spill your spirit and you won't need to do this. Sigh. Be careful people!
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Hows it going, team? I screwed a few things up! Apologies for the 1kg = 1.1 lb blunder. Its fixed in the description I cant fix it in the video :( Alan has some constructive feedback also (his screen name is One Piece At A Time Distilling Institute). - Petite Wormwood is a majour colouring componant. But its very hard to find. It will give a darker color - Spinach would be dried and give better colour
Try nette leaves, high Chlorophyll content, and Chlorophyll is very soluble in a 50%-60% alcohol solution by heating to around 40 to 50°CELCIUS. Nettel gives a strong green colouring with a negligable Taste, so perfect for colouring Absinth.
PineNeedles give also a good color but they have a nice but strong Taste, for those who like a more medecinal taste
@@claudesilverio677 Makes me wonder whether rosemary would work as a colorant, or would it be too overwhelming in the aroma.
I havent tried it for colouring, just added some to the maceration. Love the taste, smell and its good for your circulationsystem.
His reaction at the end between the two. Amazing what near 300 years of refinement can do to a recipe, also kind of sad over what has been lost.
Your absinthe looks pretty similar to the rare traditional stuff that you can find when you know a farmer in the valley where it comes from, congratulations! :)
I was just about to say something similar. My mate moved to Chexbres and Jessie's looks like the local hooch his local farmer gave us. Although his was definitely not wormwoody but really aniseed and lemon.
Happy to hear that the lad did good, I hope some day I can get my hands on something like what you’ve tried 🙏
and of course the yanks have to bend tradition to their will 😑 it's not something like rat-soup/bug soup that might kill/sick you just keep adding more sweetness why ? that's not how the french/OG like it and it's ok if it's not your thing but please don't ruin it for the curious people who want the real 1800's french recipe and pass off a modified modern 2022 USA imitation as 💯real and imported
Lol I love wormwood n thugone I make my in a pressure cooker n my recipe is extremely old
@@richardprice5978 I believe he says he is from New Zealand. He certainly doesn't have a USA accent.
In Antibes, France there's a bar that's half underground and shaped as a dome made of chiseled rock, we simply called it Absinthe Bar since all they served was Absinthe. The variety was spectacular! Their concentrates were however so powerful and difficult to source that you would be limited to only 3 shots worth per sitting. I went 3 times and all 9 servings blew my mind. Their pickled onions and garlic was also some of the best I've ever had and made for an epic lil side dish. Good memories! If anyone reading this ever visits France, go find that place, you will not be disappointed!
Sounds good thanks!😁😜✌️
Real Absinthe is not an alcohol buzz at all .... I had like a nice LSD trip
@@philliplawson7853 an experience like that i found in Oregon Spirit, it's made by Oregon Distillery Co.
@@philliplawson7853 I had the chance to drink some in the 90's...after I tried lsd...and I agree with you!
I live near Antibes and Cannes...was it near the port?
I always thought the thujone in Absinthe would instantly turn me into an Avant-garde artiste and allow me to hang with the Bohemians, but all I got was bogans
drink ozo and save a few bucks
You're confusing thujone with a pack American Spirits and a worn copy of On the Road, but that's ok, we all make that mistake.
Bahahahaha. Yeah actually. I knew a few bogans and / or heavy metal dudes into absinthe. Is that a thing?
Too much thujone will lead to renal failure so I’m told
@@StillIt Ha !
Absinth Rouge is a thing. Finish it with hibiscus for colouring (it does affect the flavour in a good way) and potentially some rose petals. I just use a touch of rose-water in addition to my mineral water when proofing it down off the still and then add-in the hibiscus for colour.
Ohhhhhhh thats a interesting direction to take things
Hibiscus. What a wonderful flavor.
That sounds like a strong Sorel, but with different botanicals and no Rum for the alcohol 😉
@@MeteorMark Yep!
Mmmm... Sounds SOooo GOooD!💚🌺🌹
Swiss bloke here... I can't drink alcohol anymore due to my current PTSD medication but that doesn't take anything from the pleasure of watching your experimentations. Thanks for that!
In regards to color, Petite Wormwood is also a major coloring and aroma component, although it's very hard to find. I suspect if you used it you would likely get a much darker color. The spinach would likely darken as well if the spinach were dried. Lemon balm also gives great color!
Yes the petite wormwood is great for finishing. It has a stronger sweeter more wormwood aroma than the absinthium species. The petite is also less bitter and contributes alot of colour to the finish. Yes both species of wormwood are hard to find there are 3 species of wormwood grown the most common is the decorative one known as grand or tree wormwood which you'll find in people's gardens and in nurseries etc which does work for absinthe but doesn't smell or taste as nice as the petite or absinthium(also known as grande) species. I ended up going to the Adelaide botanical gardens and making friends with the botanist there so I could have cuttings of the petite and absinthium species plus hyssop and other herbs that were hard to find. I ended trading a bottle of my absinthe for the plants lol as the botanist there was super interested in what I was doing.
@@jakeevans7075 Petite gives a bit of a "fruity" nose as well. I finally have a small colony in my garden.
@@hipgnosis2 yeah like a fruity floral sweet smell it's a very unique smell and flavour
Love the aroma of lemon balm .
@@jakeevans7075 "Grand" or "grande" wormwood is the common name for the absinthium variety; I think you're thinking of Roman wormwood, Artemesia pontica, which is commonly used as a ground cover, and was often used for the colouring step in historic absinthes.
The Green Fairy appreciates your hard work and dedication!
Your on screen conversions to us Americans is both hilarious and appreciated
When he says "Freedom Unit" got me 😂
Very cool video ! Maybe you can try this receipe next time : “Have a still that holds 24 bottles of good brandy. To these 24 bottles add a bucket of fountain water. Then put: Two pounds of green anise Two pounds of fennel Half a pound of big absinthe A pound of Gaula campana Distill over low heat without leaving the still. Before distillation, the substances can be left to infuse in the eau-de-vie for 24 hours. As the extract is distilled, two large, wide-mouthed glass jars are required; we put this liquor in it and then we share the following drugs which we infuse in it to give the green color: A quarter pound of lemon balm Half a pound of small absinthe Half a pound of hyssop It is left to infuse for four days in the heat of the sun, or on a stove if it is in winter. We then go through a felt hat; we squeeze the herbs tightly with both hands and put them back in the still for another cooking. » Translated directly from old french, hope you understant everything. This is the Doctor Ordinaire's original receipe. Have fun ! PS: Absinthe come from Val de Travers, in Switzerland, but it's not in Swiss Alpes ( believe me, I'm writing from there actually ;-) )
Great job Jesse, not a bad go at all for the first try! It has been awesome working with you!
Thank you! Great video, admirable work! As a dweller of the Swiss Alps, I should add a correction: Absinthe does not come from the Swiss Alps but the Swiss Jura mountains which are outside the Alps at the northeastern end of Switzerland. The Jurassians, as the Jura dwellers are called, are the proud makers of the (illegal until 2005) green fairy. I would not want to take that honor from them or make them angry. Otherwise they might curse the green fairy. I have tasted many kinds of original Absinthe moonshine. There are different colors from clear to yellowish-green to deep green. I prefer it whitout water but its richness in flavors comes out both ways. So I sip some pure then add water to enjoy the rest. I do agree with the Ouzo comparison.
Absinthe is one of the "coolest" spirits around! The entire mystique around it gives it such a fun allure. Personally, I'm just a sucker for the liquorice flavor.
Couldn't agree more!
One bottle imported from Europe trashed 5 to 6 my friends father who was an alcoholic. Lemme tell you his mom was pissed. I , like a fool, took two shots like ah it's okay and passed out cold. I handled two shots of pure grain so thought I'd be fine. It just seemed to me like I was extra drunk for much longer than normal. Nothing fancy, and my friend said it was the highest concentrated brand. I think we were 18. Wonder how other people feel on it.
The big thing is that distillation takes away the bitterness of grande absinthe leaving only the aromas! Absinthe (real) is therefore never really bitter. If you see a bottle of "absinth" with a wormwood twig in it, don't buy it, it's fake.
Ya, that's why I would advise to drink it the traditional way. Use a fountain with ice cold water and the spoon with a sugar cube. Great activity to do when hosting a garden party on a hot summer day. You can spice it up even more by giving the whole party including the food a French flavor. It's something your friends will appreciate and remember.
if you like the Liquorice flavor with a cool twist, try Ouzo. it's a Greek liquor that is clear, but if you put it over ice or mix in water, it goes cloudy white.
In the written recipe you have listed mint twice. the second 53g one should be lemon balm.
My man! Thanks updated :)
Also 1.1lb is 1/2 a KG
Man...I don't even drink any sort of alcohol, but this still was very enjoyable to watch. Excellent presentation of all of the details and historic tidbits.
As for production of the the expected green liquor, next time press the mixture of the spinach and hyssop before removal, this will draw out more color and make it greener.
Always remember the old saying: "Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder"
For the spilled product you could soak up the spilled product with a towel and wring back into a container to run through the still again!
True I could have!
I'm so freaking stoked I found this channel! I'm moving to the mountains and plan on building a still
hahah cheers mate
Come to west virginia I'll help ya build a still
You know you don’t have to live in the mountains to build a still.
@@chrishubbs8633 no but it happens to be where I live. And I build stills too sooo....
@@chrishubbs8633 no shit man. I'm already there. Feel better?
I drank a bottle of Czech Absinthe my Buddy's GF smuggled in...and it was AWESOME!!! Imagine a field of wildflowers concentrated into a sweet liqueur...with plenty of Thujone! It was great served traditionally, or straight.
I just made a version of this recipe, the product was pretty good, i fouled up the order for wormwood so i ended up with 50gm not 95 as the recipe says, i halved all the ingredients, so i macerated for 12 hours then distilled through my air. still, all cuts except the tails where added there was no really bad tastes, i added half the tails as there was a earthy, woody, herby taste which added to the subtle back ground tastes Final product 79 abv, gonna leave it at that strength. I had a sample 10 ml just with 3 ice cubes, wow, it tasted like a strong pernod with the extra back ground licurice and botanical taste, the product leuched well, love it, nice one Jesse. For colour, i used some of the spirit and crushed up 3 large spinach leaves until the colour leached out and filtered through cotton wool back into the jar, got a lovely pale green looks fantastic. Hope this helps anyone havin a bash at this.
If you wanna try some REALLY nice spirits i'd recommend you Žufánek destilery from Czech Republic. His main focus is on fruit spirits traditional for our region but he also makes Junipers, Gins and Absinths which are reaaaaly nice. His top of the class is Žufánek DUBIED 1798, 70% Absinth by original recepie. My top choice is Ořechovka (Wallnut spirit) made by macerating June harvested green wallnuts in 52 % Plum Spirit. Try it you are not gonna regret.
I feel in love with Absinthe when I was stationed in Germany. Sadly after returning to the USA I never found one that delivered the profile and character as I found in Europe. So here I sit, wishing I could have a drink with you.
well thank god for the internet and globalization!! Surely, you can have whatever you drank in deutschland delivered to your front door, even by drone if you wanted
Call the absinth bar in antibes France ✌️😎
In 1973 I was stationed in the Azores, I discovered Absintho De Abstracto. I was dark brown and very potent. Tasted like a hot branding iron.
Distilling without a very closely controlled licence is strictly prohibited in Sweden. But if I could, I would be making something like this. I love diving into old recipies and trying to recreate them. It's the feeling that you're experiencing something that someone else who lived hundreds or even thousands of years ago also experienced. That almost breaks my brain - in the best way.
You have Grön Opal! Best modern absinthe ever made (alongside with La Faucille).
You don’t need no license🤫
@@andrewaustin6020 It's funny how distilling alcohol is such a taboo but drug growers kinda get a pat on the head. Lost tax money is the only explanation.
@@WeightlessBallast where do drug growers get a "pat on the head"? and which drug? and where?
It's historical research not distilling. You have no intent to distill but to research a simple recipe for historical value.
My favorite spirit, made in a traditional way by my favorite distilling creator. What a happy Sunday.
Ah man, cheers!
I made an absinth batch with homegrown / foraged herbs and culinary solvent (pure ethanol) for extraction....turned out pretty good. Needed a lot of herbs to get the essential oils for the louche.
The louche comes mainly from anethole and that in turn comes from aniseed...maybe make sure that your anise is not old and dried out, try grinding it with a manual coffee grinder and see if it puts up any "resistance" or is it easy to grind (in the latter case it would be bad).
@@WeightlessBallast that was exactly it, my first batch didn't louche but in the second I put more star anise, more fennel and ground the hell out of it with my mortar and pestle and that did the trick. Next time I will use the coffee grinder. I think the fennel seed puts out a huge amount of oils too as it's kinda like anise.
I use white portwine to make my basic alcohol for mazeration. I mazerate the herbs from my garden from spring to Summer as they come, in a jar. End of Summer All is one jar and i still IT in Winter. I dont color it but age IT with some tastet birchwood which gives a nice color. I dont use Anis or fennel so it s more a sage mint lemonbalm and elderflower with a worm wood Taste. I use two different wormwoods and sage to push the Level of thujon (alpha and betathujon) which makes It more narcotic. The strongest but the most bitter(very high thujon content) is Alchemilla millefolia
I like your thinking!! 🤠👍
@@worldtraveler930 It's Achillea millefolium
1:43: "The region of Swiss Alps". Well, not exactly - it's the nearing slightly lower "Jura" mountains that border the Swiss plateau, and notably "Val-de-Travers" swiss region right at the border with France. That's why The first industrial factory for it was built right across the border, in Pontarlier, France (and still In Jura mountains). (yes, I live in Switzerland and come from France, how did you guess?) But the dedication is really impressive - thanks for making the video!
It's called a gin basket. It goes on the colom above the cap before the condenser. It works for both absenth and gin.
Absinthe is by far my favorite alcohol. This looks fantastic.
Niiiice. I definitely think I am falling in love.
Jessie good day to you; i started distilling this year (Absinthe,Gin, Whisky and Rum). Your channel helped a lot with the basics and i am extremely grateful for all the insights that you give. Talking about Absinthe, i am Swiss and i tried my fair share of them, the recipe you have seems very solid but the problem with Absinthe is simple: it does not have a recipe, only guidelines. Every family had/has his own recipe and the few that "get out" are the ones easily accessible. For a thought experiment, imagine Absinthe as your quest to use a lot of useful herbs and distill them. I found many recipes with chamomile, hyssop, star anise, small absinthe (artemisia pontica), nettles etc. If you want we can have a chat about that, it would be my honor. Best regards
Great video and congrats on 300k subs! Enjoying this video with some homebrew, which wouldn't be possible if I never found your channel. Thank you for the support, community and continued inspiration! I love these videos.
Thank you for taking up the task to recreate this green fairy. I count myself fortunate to have been born long ago to an old family (not wealthy, just knowledgeable) from parts of Europe. Many of the oldest ones had long memories of making and drinking Absinthe. I remember, as a child, having a taste of an Absinthe cocktail made the original way with carmelized sugar and spring water. They were a bunch of knowledgeable herbalists and farmers. They grew it, brewed it, distilled it, and had the old ways of preparing it for drinks. Looking at the modern instructions, I feel sad at the loss of knowledge, caused by a long stretch of ignorance brought on by prohibition. My grandmother stated that the best was made by starting with a fine spirit base of very potent potato vodka. Her family made that for hundreds of years. Another elder showed me how to mix the cocktail. He had the lacy patterned spoons, and decanters. The modern instructions are what you might tell a child to keep them from setting fire to your home out of inexperience. But this elder months before his death, showed me when I was a child. He wanted the history and knowledge kept. The complex flavor was exquisite. Absinthe was never as dangerous as the prohibitionist claimed. But imbibing too much of any mix of alcoholic beverages to excess can be an unhealthy, foolish act.
I just wanted to ask, why are you not teaching others about the "old school" way of doing this? I understand being careful, but share the wealth of knowledge and the experience and product could get respect and possibly catch back on to bring life to something that was treated so badly.
@@ashleybarlow4951years ago, when I tried to show a group of fellow bartenders the old way to prepare the cocktail, several complained I must be wrong, because the new "approved recipe" was "safer to make." Less chance of fire, they stated. I never heard of a capable bartender causing a fire. "The approved new version" eliminated a sugar cube, a flame, and tasted nothing like the classic. But several of the others wanted to see the old way. So we recreated it. We had some of the classic tools, but had to adapt to not having all of the old tools. Caramelization of a sugar cube in absinthe on the spoon before adding spring water was a major component in the taste. That is the original reason for the lacy spoons. It burned off a little of the alcohol, too. But not too much. The final coctail was a beautiful opal green color, and tasted deliciously unique. My favorite was made with one of my deceased relative's well hidden old bottles of absinthe that survived the prohibition of the liquer. Wish we had those original recipes. I remember one other odd note in the old man's information. The liquor was not made from grapes. That might have been a reaction to the original provincial ban coming from the vintners who didn't like the fashion change in that time to absinthe as a favorite. Sale of wine went down, apparently, due to the artsy folks preferring absinthe to wine. The few bartenders who were interested in this old knowledge also preferred the flavor and aroma. My pure luck to have such an old relative who had experienced making this cocktail long ago in Manhattan, serving it at a literary cafe. Writers, artists, poets, and their following preferred this absinthe coctail back then, to any other beverage. I agree, we should honor and keep our history.
can you type up the recipe
2 things will add to your louching effect. 1) Looks to me like you took a LOT of distillate at the beginning. Way more than 5ml. There's a lot of the louching stuffs up-front. 2) It gets stronger as you make more batches and re-insert your feints into the spirit-run and the tails into the actual macerate and oils build-up. Oh, also, more aniseed will give more louche, but you were going for something more historical so perhaps it louched less back then.
Thanks a but load for the tips my dude!
48 is a multiple of 12, which was used for essentially ever as an "everyday counting" base (because you have 12 finger segments you can point at with your thumb), so that measure might just been "some amount of dozens" originally and nobody bothered to round to 50%.
Can't wait to see more vids on absinth, keep up the good work, congrats on 300k sibs
Absinth just bursts with flavor I can see why people loved it back in the day. Great video
The angels have collected well that day. Thanks for the donations. 😇
20+ years ago, while in the American Army, I knew a guy obsessed with absinthe. He traveled Europe buying bottles. While stationed in Germany he set out to find pure absinthe. He made me try dozens of absinthes. Its good, the drinking method was fun and full of pomp and circumstance but we never had any psychedelic effects. It was a very fun/clean drunk. Maybe thats where it gets It's cred. In those days the Army wore BDU greens, and I'd sometimes call him my "green fairy" as he served drink after drink trying to perfect his technique 😅
Not only is your channel fun to watch but listening to your voice makes me miss New Zealand. This is a fantastic channel.
I dont have a still but I really enjoy learning how you do it
Back when I used to drink a lot more, I had an absinthe phase. I ended up getting a bunch of little samples, all different shades and colors. That's where I found Blue Absinthe, which I liked more than any of the greener ones (good, just not a drink I'd drink often). I remember it being a lot milder than the greens, not as pushy with the flavors. More subtle, which is more my style. (My DOC is gin but not the dry ones.) I never knew what it was, tho. Until now. I did try to look it up but it was towards the beginning of Google beginning to suck, so I never did find out. Thanks for doing this! Answered questions I forgot I had.
Why is it called "Blue Absinthe"? And did you find blue? It seems there is many flavors, do they determine a literal color? Or just metaphorical?
Thanks! I wondered about this beverage and you did a wonderful job explaining it.
Soooo STOKED! It's been well worth the wait! Thanx for doing all the hard work and research so that we peasants may stumble less in our pursuit of the green fairy. Here's to the first of many absinthe adventures🤳🏻
My daughter is really into fermentation and will probably try this. I myself truly love absinthe. Thanks for such an informative and thoughtful presentation. You do a really great job.
I've been looking around for the spirits to make Absinthe, I was stoked to see this. I found a seller that sells the herb mix. I can't wait to give it a try ♥
12:57 - Several of the reasons Absinthe had such initial renown was because medicinal herbs and the elixirs crafted from them were considered a form of healthcare, and at that time only the wealthy could afford to casually be consuming healing drinks on a routine basis. In addition, considering you are going to be adding so much of these, what were in the day, expensive herbs into distilling the spirit the crafter would not skimp on either the source fruit or labor involved (its going to be high priced and cater to the wealthy, might as well really cater to the wealthy). So this resulted in good quality, high proof, crafted flavors bottled and served with some taste and flair. Over time this then created the air of prestige around the drink that persisted for a long time. It became cheaper to make and fell out of fashion for awhile. And then like all things that were niche and fall out of popular fashion.... the "hipsters" took over. In the Late 19th and early 20th century these crazy new fangled artists, writers, poets, and painters played on the old prestige around the drink and made it their secret little obsession. Of course as artists were keen to behaving strangely and telling vivid tales with strange new ideas the public decided that absinthe must be responsible for this wild behavior and strange art. The general population looked down upon these wild and crazy "bohemian" ways, and created cautionary tails about drinking absinthe. "It'll drive you mad", "You'll see strange hallucinations", "The herbs they put in those have mystic properties", etc. The artists reveled in the mystique and even played into it to some extent. And this old public perception is why several decades later it was banned again as potentially being dangerous, and then like most things turned out to be mostly fictional fear mongering that persisted over almost 2 centuries.
Absinthe is a fantastic and unique buzz... Definitely not a hallucinogen (trust me, I've tried,) but instead: a very subtle and enjoyable stimulating affect. I'm a big fan, and due to the complexity of it's production, I've never considered making my own! Cheers to you!
The way i describe an absinthe buzz is that its like youre body is is drunk but your brain is sober
whats the deal with the hallucination thing and the drink?
Thanks Jesse, a highly informative and genuinely interesting video! I feel like this caters to everyone, both professionals and home distillers :)
I made a compound absinthe from a kit I bought from the Renaissance Festival. It is amazing. Solid black/green in color, but the louche makes it milky white. Strong wormwood favor. The base spirit I used was a 100 proof corn moonshine
When I was a teen I brought a bottle of green absinth each with my mate, we just had shots, I don't remember towards the start of the night apparently I burnt my fingernail clean off trying to melt sugar because we didn't understand the melting of sugar with normal water. But I somehow remember towards the end of the night we couldn't walk or move much, and I was begging everyone to take me to a sink, they didn't so I had to just vomit all over myself, then my mate also drinking it with me vomited on himself because of that. We both had to sleep in our own vomit because we just couldn't move. My finger hurt like hell for weeks.
I hope you revisit this one on the future. Loved this episode and love some good absinthe. Hoping to get into the craft soon. Got a still just need the space to work it in
Sounds like you're really starting to "fall in love" with the whole botanical/herb mix and balance with all the possibilities it can create, part of the absinthe research hunt and discovery. It really seemed to light a fire under your clear to see passion for this adventure! Congratulations on your success and looking forward to seeing what you do with it next! But I also have a question that just might also be a suggestion to spark another hunt...in the same vein of botanical alchemy from history, have you ever heard of or tried Benedictine? An age old monk favorite?
You will not fully know the quality of your absinthe until the Green Fairy tells you how good it is, so the question really is.. did she?🧚~ la fée verte ~🧚🇨🇭
Thanks for the hook-up with Alan, Jesse, he hooked me up with some great resources for beginners. I'm fermenting juices now, but I hope to up my game to mashes and start distilling soon. Thanks for all of the encouragement and great content. GBY, Brother.
@@theworldisastage1984 Thanks for the heads up. Home Distiller it is.
@@theworldisastage1984 Rockin Rockies, got it, thanks!
@@theworldisastage1984 That's on the YT channel, or a discord or something...?
@@theworldisastage1984 Great, I'll hit you up!
Alan, Jesse and Cyrus at Still in the Clear will definitely guide you in right direction. I've got few videos too. Keep trying and be patient you'll get there
I am glad you made this video. I've played around with making absinthe quite a bit as I love the earthy Herby sweet note wormwood imparts into it making it alot more interesting to me than ouzo. I am originally got my recipe from mine from an old French winemaking book that had an absinthe recipe in the back (in french) I had to get my friend to translate it for me. It used alot of the same ingredients as yours plus lemon balm and orange peel. I found growing fresh wormwood is soooo much better than dried. The fresh is much more complex and sweeter. Also alot of the original recipes use 2 different species of wormwood. The absinthium for the original maceration and Distillation and then what's known as petit wormwood for the colouring maceration which is alot more sweet and Herby compared to the absinthium species.
the sweetness you talk about from the commercial absinthe comes from star anise , ive made multiple different recipes for absinthe and the best one ive found is in dale pendells Pharmako/Poeia book (recipe can be easily found online )
I just bought a bottle of Absente. Then this video Pops up. Cheers!! And Thanks.
great video and grest with historical facts. Thanks for taking the time to make the video and share it.
So happy this day finally came. More herbaceous absinthe sounds great to me. Grande wormwood is a fairly common weed around where I live, and I love rubbing the plants and smelling them. Roman wormwood is unobtanium unfortunately. I'd recommend trying the Pontarlier recipe next, if you can get Roman wormwood. It should grow well in NZ. It's frequently used as an ornamental.
A double infusion, along side the double distillation helps with the colour and flavor. Great vid. I love that you kept it as traditional as possible. Thank you :)
If you want to save money on making Absinthe, consider growing an Herb Garden. The wormwood, lemonbalm etc can all be grown in your yard. This time of year is a great time to plan your Absinthe Garden!
You're channel has really come a long way! Well done
This video just inspired me to make up a Xmas rum brew. I can't wait till Xmas.
Hello from an undisclosed location on the other side of the globe! Very well done! I have been drinking real absinthe for 20 years now, actually I rarely drink anything else alcoholic. I make absinthe in a copper pot still of 2,5 liters and nowadays I have to make my base alcohol myself, too. I cultivate my own absinthe and angelica (of which I use the root), buy anise (Turkish origin mostly), fennel (maybe central European) and lemon balm from the local supermarket. Hyssop, calamus, petite wormwood and some other experimental ingredients I have bought online. I make both blanche and verte, but the coloration step renders a not very persistent color: it turns brown quite soon but that does not affect the taste. I wouldn't use mint anywhere in the process because then it would be just a herbal mint spirit IMO. Mint schnaps in itself is quite nice, nevertheless. The coloration step is also a bit wasteful because the coloration herbs suck quite a many drops of the precious liquid in them. Licorice/liquorice root can also be used in the coloration step. J de Brevans or was it Duplais praises it in his book as something that cannot be overdone (I'll check the source later). To be continued...
It was neither but J. Fritsch, New treatise on the fabrication of liquors with the latest procedures, 1891. Source: The Absinthe Encyclopedia by David Nathan-Maister.
Artemisia absinthium itself (fresh leaves at least) can be use for coloring: it gives an almost unnatural emerald green color. But yeah: it degrades (I suspect due to light) to a yellow color after a few weeks.
@@Mr_Yod And traditionally no A. absinthium was added after distillation as it would make the distillate bitter again. Today I made a 55% verte coloured with lemon balm and A. pontica and it tastes OK. The colour is nice bright emerald: 50 ml of the clear distillate was put in a coffee pot with said herbs (total amount of distillate 300ml), heated to circa 40 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes, then poured through a sieve (no paper filtering as I do not mind the sediment) and after cooling down added back to the distillate. I'll report next weekend how it developed.
@@WeightlessBallast I always thought that original absinth WAS bitter, hence the tradition of the sugar cube melted with cold water
@@Mr_Yod Most likely because sugar would not dissolve very well in undiluted absinthe. And according to some, sugar or syrup was added to other alcoholic drinks as well in bistros, before the cocktail era. True, even real absinthe is bitter, in the same sense that tea is---bitter may be an incorrect word but I'm not native English speaker. Astringent? A side note. The "Czech absinth revival" in the 1990s was a marketing ploy that had no relevance in the history of absinthe. They basically made wormwood-infused strong liquor that had to be made somewhat more drinkable and cool-looking by burning sugar above the glass--not a way of preparation anywhere in historic times, just a modern invention. That is why absinthusiasts refer to Czech 'absinth' (German spelling) instead of 'absinthe'. Nowadays there are serious makers of absinthe in Czechia, Germany and other countries, unlike 20 years ago. My favorite is the Swedish Grön Opal.
Two things. 1, please do this again. Would definitely watch a whole new video of you making absinthe a second time. B, how much would you have to charge for that bottle to break even? 3, love your channel. Thanks for the content.
Randomly found you via this video, man i really feel like i could just sit there and have a beer with you! Very well done video. I've been brewing mead and melomel for years. But may have to try my hand at a spirit! Cheers from the US
To put on bottom to stop burning you can just bend a couple coat hangers to fit and keep bag off bottom !!!
Love Abainthe. I used to prepare it traditionally, would read Keats and get my melancholy on with the green fairy. I’ve been wanting to make it for a long time. The recipe I saw was a Louisiana recipe using sugar spirit as a base, using the botanicals to distill and then adding them back in a very fine muslin sock to colour it. As a rule to be absinthe it should have the anise, wormwood, and sweet fennel. What else you put in can vary depending on the recipe. Usually it’s green herbs but you could always experiment.
One route related to Absinthe, could be to try to make Malört snaps. Malört is the Swedish name for Wormwood. As I understand it, the flavors are different because snaps is usually made by steeping herbs in pure spirits, vodka or brännvin, and since the ABV is lower, different chemicals steep out of it. (I wonder if redistilling malört snaps would make it more absinthy ? )
That would be a fun "meme" spirits Jesse! Redistill Malort with other botanicals! Rabbit hole....and go!!!!!!
First of your videos I have seen. I’ve been missing out if you’re doing cool stuff like this. Nice work bro. Subbed
I'll have to add a caveat to that previous statement. I was fortunate to have a distiller make true absence for me once and the euphoric experience that it gave me was almost like me eating a mushroom. It opened my eyes to a world that was hidden behind a veil and really helped me find peace in my soul
Hard to tell with the goofy green light but I believe the louche on yours is much more pleasing to the eye. It looks like green abalone shell, all shimmery and pretty.
Better too little coloration than too much. Also I was about to ask whether the spinach was dried but it looked like fresh. What will the oxalic (sp?) acid in the leaves do, by the way, isn't t there some in spinach?
These videos always come at the right time! I was just thinking about making some.
First time seeing your channel & while I rarely drink I love the craft & history behind many beverages whether we are talking beer, mead, whisky, tequila or absinthe. I love your energy & information. Great beardless folk have no idea how hard it is to work with a long beard. I look forward to checking out your other content. This video sure makes me want some Absintge & even more finally getting into distillation as all I have done us fractaldistillation making apple jack.
I never realized until I started buying some, that it wasn’t supposed to make you trip, but rather just make you feel groovy due to the herbs having relaxing properties.
Pretty much, no real basis to it making you trip. But there may be something to be said about it giving you a "lucid buz". More to explore later with Alan :)
Yeah, there's some mild hallucinogenic properties of the wormwood, however you need massive amounts. For absinthe to make you trip like the myths around it, you'd have to be pretty much on deaths bed requiring a stomach pump to save you from alcohol poisoning ;)
@@DGPHolyHandgrenade I went to a few Green Fairy parties and the it definitely felt like a pre ecstasy buzz.
@@DGPHolyHandgrenade the reason that there are stories of people tripping from it are from copper based compounds that were used in cheap absinthes to color them green back in the day that were literally poisoning the drinker. The thujone from the wormwood gives it a very slight stimulant property in comparison to a standard alcohol but not like a hallucinogenic experience
@@noodlelynoodle. copper poisoning doesnt tend to create the "absinthism" effects documented. What was discovered though is that because it was an ethanol extraction that it did compound the effects of severe alcoholism, which does induce hallucinogenic effects. From a relatively recent scientific paper "Thujones’ purported hallucinogenic and epileptogenic effects have been disproven except at extremely high concentrations, and “absinthism” has been largely proven to be a result of alcoholism." The point remains though....wanna trip, absinthe isnt the way to go.
While I can't (easily) distill legally where I live, I've considered making an extract version using high proof grain alcohol. I've only had absinthe once, but I enjoyed it tremendously. I have also had beers made with many of the same herbs to flavor and bitter them, which I also thoroughly enjoyed - a pleasant departure from hops.
It only illegal if you get caught.
@@nojuanatall3281 where I live, they're looking for it. We have a strong history of bootlegging in NC.
Awesome video! ❤ and loved the podcast.
Thanks for your time and imput its always appreciated
My pleasure!
Fascinating journey to go on! I'm not sure about the anise seed, but all of those other botanicals should grow well in the average temperate herb garden (as Switzerland is/was). That might be more affordable, though not as quick.
Definitly not as quick because its actually better dried, generally for 2-4 years. But yes DEFINITLY cheaper. Also much more satisfying I would guess!
@@StillIt two to for years? Really? For herbs? I don't know. I only use them for cooking but 24 hours in a dehydrator, our 3 or 4 days hanging in the pantry is enough for that.
The story of the absinthe murders was responsible for the misconception that it was responsible for hallucinations, and violent behavior. These tall tales were invented and inflamed by the man who was charged by the wine makers to put a halt to absinthe sales because absinthe was preferred to wine during that period in time.
dont trust internet "debunkers". I used to party a Lot.. generally alcohil makes me hypersocial and fun. I bought some commercial absinthe to try and did so twice. Both times it made me angry and hyperviolent to the point i rwcognised it was happening. Im sure it has different effects on different people but, like tequila, it definitely has more and different effecta than just alcohol Also: at no time in hostory has absinthe been more popular than wine
Dude that was awesome, I love absinthe and I love distilling random things. I only have an air distiller and I just play things by gut. Started fermenting pineapples as a kid, now I distilled plum wine and even did lemons. Making absinthe looks like something right up my alley. Oh I tried fermenting and distilling chilli once, what a balls up.
Awesome Jesse!! Can't wait to try this!
Its pretty fun. Make sure to learn from my mistakes and check the pinned comment up top :)
Finally Absinthe, try honey instead of sugar it rounds out the flavor naturally, or pure cane sugar if you're using it. But oh yes Enjoy. Oh yeah also add Mugwort it's great
Dude, I even had mugwort here as a replacement for Petite wormwood. Then I just forgot it! Oh well, next time haha. Thanks for the tip on the sugars.
@@StillIt the high thujone affect is stronger and increases the lucid effects old school absinthe. Also mugwort makes a great tea at night it increases rem sleep and add color to dream cycles. Medicinal effects it was originally a digestive love the green fairy it's the black Irish in me. lol made some oh yeah 😎
My thoughts. Absinthe is meant to be drunk with sugar, it is missing out on what Absinthe truly has to offer to drink it without sugar. On your palate the sweetness of sugar sits directly across from the bitterness of wormwood creating a tension from which the flavour notes of the other botanicals can announce themselves. Further, each glass of Absinthe conditions your palate, so what you experience from the next glass of Absinthe is affected by the last glass you had. Of old, Absintheures would compile sequences of Absinthes (called a round) which they shared for each others enjoyment. Some Ansinthes were noted as being a necessary precursor to the announcement of notes from subsequent Ansinthes in the round. A very simple round. 1) Absinthe L'Originale (la Bleue) 2) Mansinthe (Verte) Please be aware that if you go 1) then 2) and then 1) again, expect that 1) will not be the same, it is in fact now 3) and so on. How much sugar? how long is the piece of string, that said, the balance is the test, the point at which the sweet is balanced by the bitter and the bitter is balanced by the sweet, giving the tension. You will know you are on the right track the first time a flavour note jumps off your palate at you. The least to achieve the tension I have experienced is 1/2 a cube and the most 3 cubes. NB. some attempts at "Absinthe" get this utterly wrong and no balance/tension can be achieved, take you purchase of that "product" as a learning experience sink it and move on. How much water? the formation of the louche is the trick. Be aware that even the most straight forward genuine Absinthe will have a large price tag compared to other liquors. Other observations, the anise (or star anise) acts to dull/mask the alcohol burn, plus, the sugar and I suspect the wormwood mask the effects of the alcohol. Also, as cigars are to tobacco, so Absinthe is to alcohol. Absinthe you sip and roll that sip all around your tongue and mouth getting every iota of flavour out of it i.e. it's a mouth more than a gut experience. So done right it tastes real good (poem in a glass) doesn't taste like alcohol (oh yes it is) and you don't feel drunk (oh yes you are) and "let's have another round" is a much more long term undertaking and sounds even better than it usually does (see the previous two points). Enjoy.
Douche bag
This is pretty legit. I worked at "Absinthe Bar and Brassiere" in SF as a bartender for years. We had to get a full education on Absinthe, to work there. In the U.S. wormwood, Absinthe is actually illegal, and you aren't allowed to serve it. Any Absinthe here (Unless illegally imported) isn't really Absinthe, but more like Pastis. You are making the legit stuff that Van Gogh drank, before he cut off his ear. Any viewer of this should know, that this video, is as legit as you will find. ❤
All the herbal ingredients apart from anise are easy to get here where I live in the UK. Angelica grows wild here in hedgerows and fields. Mint is grown in a lot of peoples gardens and horse mint and water mint are easy to find growing locally. Wormwood grows abundantly over a park not too far away from me (I have about 3 or 3 kilos of dried wormwood leaves and flowers that I collected a couple of years ago), and fennel grows abundantly there too. Lemon balm grows in a lot of peoples gardens here, and is extremely easy to grow.
I think the reason for the 48/52 split comes from one of two places, either it has its roots in Sacred Geometry and Western European Christian Mystic Esotericism, OR its because if you do a 50/50 split on the colouring it becomes too green and doesnt look right, and to be honest in my opinion its probably a combination of the lot. Great video Jesse, really reminds me of somethings i found doing research into older Gin and Genièvre practices.
Very close and correct on the Christian mysticism, 48 is an Angelic number representing abundance and health etc.
As you know this has been my siren song. And now that I know the old style ways to do it. I think mine will be a lot better. Now to get more botanicals. 😂
Why do I get the feeling we are forever going to be saying "where did all the botanicals go?"
You had a great way to quickly age by heating and cooling. I just bought an electric mason jar vacuum seal,works perfectly. You can actually see the colors change and bubbles come out of the wood😊
Way to go brother! That was awesome to see. An interesting other liqueur to investigate would be Arak. Seems a very similar journey. I may have to try both side by side. Great video!
I don't even drink these days, but this was a pretty cool YT recommendation. As a cannabis grower, I follow several cannabis growing content creators. It's interesting to me that YT hates those creators, yet not distillers. Cannabis is so much safer, in growing it and consuming it. It's legal to grow cannabis in quite a few states in the US now too. Yet, YT rarely allows these channels to monetize. Usually, once they show their plants, no more monetization. Cheers/💨happy stilling and growing all you creators of your preferred stress relief! Love when peeps get their head meds outside of corporate society!
I was at a curiosity shop the other day, and they had an absinthe fountain that was gorgeous with a full pour kit and glasses. Very cool!
Be careful that those are not just re-pops being sold as old!!!
@@MostlyInteresting i have definitely seen those around! This one had glass that needed cleaning, tarnished silver accents and a very weathered box holding the four absinthe glasses, so I’m pretty sure it was an authentic set, the price tag accompanying it was certainly that of an antique!
@@Im_The_Dude Just be careful out there and don't get ripped off!
I think I may actually need to keep an eye out for one now.
thank you sir for that informative video! :D i have always been curious about 'historic absinthe' compared to modern ones. i learned a great deal about it! :D
I loved the 1700's. The parties were insane.
As an American, I just can't get my head around celsius for temps for some reason, but I much prefer metric for weights and measures. Just so much more precise. I love your outlook on everything and you present such a positive attitude to your craft that is appreciated!
The easiest way to think about it is 0°C is freezing point of water 100°C is boiling point for water
@@thrash208 in a practical sense the Celsius system works fantastic when you live in a place that has freezing temperatures, especially if this is a frequent occurrence. Or if you work with particularly high or low temperatures as part of your job I find F is nice when you live in an area that is primarily 60-100F range and the granularity is nice in assessing indoor/outdoor comfort.
Just find your channel, really enjoy your videos, great work bruh!
I like your honesty. Alot of people would have just bought store absinthe to make up for the loss.
After seeing how you made the botanicals has me thinking.... what about adding doing a similar spirit where the botanical have sarspirilla root or even marshmallow roots to add some other flavors.....
Dude, get out of my head! I have been planning a rootbeer spirit haha
@@StillIt I used to collect sarsparilla root in the wild and chew on it. Has many medicinal properties and one of them being it kind of numbs your mouth. Do you think that could transfer into the spirits? Also try a batch with marshmallow as well, maybe you can get a root beer float. I can't wait to see what you do with the root beer!
@@StillIt Root beer in USA used to be made with sassafras root. But sassafras contains safrole which is carcinogenic so the food and drug administration prohibited it a long time ago. People drank root beer and sassafras tea all the time so I don't know how dangerous it actually was. My suspicion is they also wanted to control the safrole which is used to produce illegal substances.
This really looks proper, good absinthe is more of a yellowish lighter color (Like Hill's Absinthe Verte - not the regular Hill's Absinthe, that is cheaeted and sweetened to boot). edit: You can make a quick and dirty cheap absinthe look-a-like by buying 95% spirits and throwing in wormwood (it is sold as tea in some pharmacies and eko shops), mint and anise. I also add a splash of lime and a spoon of honey. Leave that for a week, strain. Tastes pretty good and hell of a lot cheaper.