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absinthe
There are a lot of rumors and myths surrounding once-banned liquor absinthe. Seattle Kitchen host Tom Douglas had never tried it, so asked an expert to bring in some of the much-lored liquor for him to taste. (Image courtesy Facebook - Pacific Distillery)

Formerly banned liquor, absinthe, now brewing in Seattle suburbs

BY Jamie Skorheim  on March 4, 2013 @ 12:34 pm (Updated: 2:00 pm - 3/4/13 )

There are a lot of rumors and myths surrounding once-banned liquor absinthe. Seattle Kitchen host Tom Douglas had never tried it, so asked an expert to bring in some of the much-lored liquor for him to taste.

Mark Bernard, of Pacific Distillery in Woodinville, tells the Seattle Kitchen staff that Washington has a very good climate for making absinthe.

"Wormwood is actually kind of an Alpine, Mediterranean plant that's become kind of naturalized much over the world," says Bernard. "There is lots of escaped wormwood that is all over Eastern Washington. I went along the Spokane River one time in downtown Spokane and saw lots of wormwood growing. It made me want to get out my sheers and start culling it to bring it back and turn it into absinthe."

Bernard explains absinthe is made of three main ingredients: wormwood, green anise and fennel.

"They're distilled together in a traditional copper pot still, and that resulting product is known as absinthe. It further is given more herbs afterwards which lends it the green color."

While the drink is high in alcohol - Pacific Distillery's absinthe is 124 proof in the bottle - Bernard says the stories about the drink being a hallucinogen are false.

"It was a myth started way back when, 100 years ago, when the wine lobby began losing market share to absinthe in France and they teamed up with the prohibition lobby, and they started a smear campaign, and it worked. It ended up getting absinthe banned."

Absinthe is no longer banned in the U.S. but Bernard says that doesn't mean everyone is on board yet.

"The flavor of absinthe is kind of a unique and different one for the American palette to try and grasp," says Bernard. "The main flavor of course is anise seed and fennel. And many Americans don't have an appreciation for that flavor."

But as more and more people are introduced, they do see the market growing. "We go to events and people taste it and people realize, this tastes really good."

Many people mix the liquor with sugar. A special spoon, or a fork if you don't have the spoon, is held over the glass, and water is poured over the sugar. When the sugar and water mix with the absinthe, it goes from a clear green to a milky white color. For those that don't have as much of a sweet tooth, Bernard says it also tastes good with just water and ice.

Tom Douglas took his first taste in the traditional way, mixed with the sugar. He says the mixture is "delicious."

More tips for how to serve absinthe can be found at Pacific Distillery's website.

Seattle Kitchen can be heard on KIRO Radio Saturdays at 2 p.m. and Sundays at 10 a.m. Available anytime at KIRORadio.com.

Jamie Skorheim, MyNorthwest.com Editor
Whether it's floating on Green Lake, eating shrimp tacos at Agua Verde, or taking weekend drives out to the Cascades, she loves to enjoy the Pacific Northwest lifestyle as much as humanly possible.
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Comments (17)


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  • Chuck Gould wrote...
    Nevertheless, this liquor is said to lead to intestinal distress...
    March 4, 2013 1:09 pm
    and the unusual effect could be used for an automobile commercial

    Absinthe makes the fart go "Honda".

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  • William Lawn wrote...
    Chuck, you are just too funny sometimes
    March 4, 2013 2:14 pm
    Thanks for the laugh
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    Maybe, but it's NOT a laughing matter with the 'green madness'.
    March 4, 2013 2:38 pm
    Unless there has been some genetic engineering in the past 150 years, wormwood (in larger quantities) tends to induce a madness that just will not be cured - even by the best detox. ... Sure, in limited quantities it's probably safe, but then if everyone limited consumption we'd have no addictions. ........... And, as noted, recovery from absinthe is rather virgin ground.

    Some say it's what likely killed Edgar Allen Poe and, once banned & out of vogue, nobody researched it much.

    Just a warning, as even when I was a drinker I never tasted the stuff. BUT do we really need more addled brains out there? Kinda like opiates, but no known road back.

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  • ron prevost wrote...
    BTW - anyone blaming a 'wine lobby' for a ban may be hallucinating a bit themselves.
    March 4, 2013 3:02 pm
    But it is NOT a hallucinogenic in the same sense as magic mushrooms or LSD. Madness and hallucinations are different animals.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • roomtemp wrote...
    I think you may be overstating things a little, Ron...
    March 4, 2013 5:32 pm
    Various species of 'wormwood' (artemisia) have been used as a medicinal herb for thousands of years. Often used for stomach or digestive ailments. The reports of it's hallucinogenic properties are overstated. There are psychoactive chemicals in cactus too, but you don't get enough of them in a bottle of tequila to do much.

    Wormwood is toxic in high concentrations. (As are most medicines) But I'm sure you're not going to find that concentration in a bottle of absinthe.

    I have yet to try absinthe myself but I wouldn't be afraid of it. As with anything, moderation is key. It would seem the usual rules regarding distilled spirits apply...

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  • ron prevost wrote...
    Were it only the booze, this stuff (per the artical) is 124 proof.
    March 4, 2013 8:06 pm
    THAT is a pretty high concentration in and of itself. And the ONLY thing regulated is the alcohol content. Who known what concentration the wormwood - or do you want to take someone's word for it ? Like you might with southern moonshine. ....... And, again, it is NOT a hallucinogen any more than is bad whiskey, Heck, if it were, I might try wormwood (sans the booze), but all it will do is (bleep) up your mind.

    But go ahead and try it if you want. This site needs another CH ???????

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  • roomtemp wrote...
    @Ron...
    March 4, 2013 11:45 pm
    "or do you want to take someone's word for it ? Like you might with southern moonshine."

    Yes... Especially if I know the person. Do you know who picked your lettuce? Or if the guy at dick in the box washed his hands before he fondled your double bacogasm? Life is full of chance. It's no harder for me to trust them than it is a government that brings me flouridated drinking water and leaky radioactive waste storage containers. :-P

    I've made lots of beer and mead and never put a label on any of it. Not very many ask what's in it. People that make stuff like this usually do it for their own consumption and for social occasions with friends. So they're less likely to want to poison anybody. Even for commercial sellers, poisoning your customers isn't the best business model.

    124 proof is a little hot but it sounds like people usually dilute it. It sounds like something you sip slowly. I just don't see the big deal. You seem to have more issue with the alcohol than the wormwood. (both for sale all over)

    "This site needs another CH ?"

    Now you're really overstating the effects! I'd estimate something like 2500 cow patties worth of funny mushrooms, coupled with cranial trauma, to induce CH-syndrome... No worries... :-D

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  • Yadda1 wrote...
    Those darn homonyms!
    March 4, 2013 2:19 pm
    It's palate, not pallette.
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  • roomtemp wrote...
    @Yadda1...
    March 4, 2013 4:55 pm
    "It's palate, not pallette."

    I'm not sure. Looking at some of the waistlines around nowadays... Pallet might be a better fit... ;-)

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  • Yadda1 wrote...
    Roomtemp
    March 4, 2013 8:45 pm
    Well put!
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  • ohyea53 wrote...
    When I was stationed in Japan
    March 4, 2013 3:02 pm
    I "danced with the green fairy". The Japanese would put the Absinthe in a shot glass and light it with a match. You would let it burn for a few seconds, snuff it out and shoot it. You could feel the "warmth" move up from your stomach to your Noggin.. After about 3 of those babies and you would be blowing bubbles in your Yakisoba!!!
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  • Rangerhawk wrote...
    That sounds very similar to the "brown kettle" in Korea
    March 4, 2013 6:43 pm
    Although soju mixed with cough syrup (high opium %) is a totally different animal, it's effects were quite staggering! Especially to the feet which is why black troops refered to it as "the Jim Brown Kettle." Good times.
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  • Rick W7PSK wrote...
    Agree Ohyea
    March 5, 2013 5:47 am
    I as a young Navy person got taken out to the Bars of Sagambioska and given my introduction to Absinthe. one glass (yes 1 full glass) later and the Little guy with the 2X4 ended my night (THAT is a metaphor) and I woke with a terrible headache/hangover. Never touched the stuff after that.
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  • shark75 wrote...
    Let the libs drink all the trendy absinthe they want...
    March 4, 2013 3:03 pm
    A) They aren't getting any dumber, and B) it might thin the herd. Now there might be those of you out there who think I am implying that I hope some libtards get poisoned by the stuff. You'd be correct.
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  • CH wrote...
    Formerly banned liquor, absinthe, now brewing in Seattle suburbs
    March 5, 2013 2:48 am
    Moonshine Making 101 http://youtu.be/P-nGbAf81Zs Next week we will show you how to grow pot. When mixed together you can put up with Republicans some what!
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  • CH wrote...
    by the way ron prevosto [This site needs another CH ???????]
    March 5, 2013 3:30 am
    we have one! It's Me the Moron!! Want to join the club let me know and It's me the Moron will get in your head.
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  • SickofSeattleite wrote...
    pot, absinth, bikini baristas....
    March 5, 2013 5:45 am
    what's next legal prostitution?
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