Happy National Absinthe Day! I hope all of you folks are imbibing appropriately. For this festive occasion, we here in Austin get to celebrate by having our very own, homegrown absinthe!
Hell yeah you heard me right. Local Austinite Graham Wasilition has been working for years to perfect his recipe for Tenneyson Absinthe Royale and masterfully leap through the hoops of State, National, and International liquor laws.
He won't actually be making the beverage here in Texas. That pleasure goes to the Pernot Distillery (yes I spelled it right, geez) in Pontarlier, France. Since Wasilition is a bit of a romantic and Pernot is surrounded by wild wormwood plants squarely in the heart of traditional absinthe country, I guess I can let it slide.
His import and distribution center, as well as the rocking brand-vibe, will be housed here at home.
You know you're totally intrigued...
The process isn’t quite complete, so it’s still technically illegal for Graham to bring any of the product back to the U.S. So we definitely haven’t seen it. Or tasted it illicitly. If we had, I can assure you that it isn’t crafted in a classic Swiss style with an unusually crisp clearness that makes even the limpid Kübler look milky.
It certainly doesn’t have an engaging and complex nose of anise and mint and taste like sweet juniper with a long citrus finish. Nope.
He bottles in May and is hoping for a June release. Keep your fingers crossed, and if all goes well we can collectively toast the addition of an exceptional new absinthe to our still tiny domestic market.
Good luck Graham!
