In France it is now legal to print “Absinthe” on the label of the Absinthe bottle. In the last years it was only allowed to label Absinthe as “Spiritueux aux plantes d´Absinthe”: A spirit made with the herb absinthe, as the spirit “Absinthe” itself was still prohibited in France. This new law, in fact the last step of legalizing Absinthe in France, has created some action in France. The newest addition is the Absintherie Bourbonnaise, located in the town Vichy. We found a pic of their Absinthe online. We will let you know, when we have sampled it. It claims to be authentic, the bottle looks nice, but how about the content..? The kid seems to be quite curios.

I’ve been collecting antique absinthe memorabilia for a while now and have some glasses, spoons and other stuff, but have never seen one of these before. It’s an antique lighter that has an engraved advertisement for Premier Fils absinthe on one side. When I got it, it needed a thorough cleaning and was missing a few items. It lacked a flint, flint spring and wick. I canabalized and old Zippo lighter for the spring, which had to be cut down in size, and good friend Jeannie Van Buren was kind enough to supply a new Zippo wick and flint. In the second picture you can see that it is now in functional condition. If anyone out there has another absinthe  advertising please let me know.

When you look for a description of Burlesque at Wikipedia it reads: “Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.” Sounds like a lot of fun and indeed it is. In our homebase Cologne, some girls grouped up and started a Burlesque team, they are called Pepperellas and perform throughout Germany. Lately Pink Champagne, one of the artists, made her own party and asked us to support the event with some Absinthe and accessories. Of course we were there and lend them one of our party approved Absinthe Lady fountains. Here are two pics of the Lady Absinthe fountain in action. Absinthe was served in shots, everything else would have been to work intensive at the event, but at least the Absinthe was served by a Green Fairy! In may they have a new event, we will be there! 

Last weekend my good friend, iconic artist and absintheur, Dave Sklar dropped by to join me for the Green Hour. He brought his nephew Ben, also an absintheur, here on vacation, along. Talking to Ben I came to find out he’s a vocalist and musician in a group with the interestingly unique, if somewhat hard to remember, name of  Aruvius Thud. I asked him what type of music they played and he stated that it was kind of classical/folk. Well,  last night I sat down with a very fine absinthe and gave them a listen. I must say that I was very impressed. Yes, there are elements of classical and folk music, but these guys have created a style and sound that is unique to themselves. I would describe their music as serenely beautiful, interestingly atmospheric, and at times a bit hauntingly melancholy. I can honestly say that I’ve never enjoyed three songs that I’ve never heard before as much as these. This is the  perfect music to enjoy while imbibing the Green Fairy. The Seattle Washington based trio is comprised of Ben Sklarfowler (harp, guitar, bozouki, vocals), Jeff Brown (guitar, vocals), and Ryan Bak (bass, vocals, brown notes). The next time you’re having an absinthe and want to hear some great, original music go to:

 and give the three songs there a listen. Dim the lights, light a few candles, mix yourself an absinthe, and enjoy the ethereal sounds of Aruvius Thud.  I am confident you’ll love what you hear. And if you do, please go to their Facebook page and let them know. I’m sure they’d appreciate it. They will be releasing a CD in the future and I will post an update as to where and when you can get it. Cheers all

You will find a new Absinthe Set at ALANDIA: The Republic of Strength Absinthe Set. It includes the bestsellers Strong68 and Gold68 plus the freshness Absinthe République. This set is also suitable for a special Absinthe recipe: On last years Absinthiades a blended Absinthe won the first price. Blended Absinthe is a mix of different Absinthes. So basically you can mix any Absinthe you have in your bar to create a new one. We have made a test and mixed one part Strong68 with two parts République. The bitter taste of Absinthe Strong68 mixes perfectly with the fresh character of République. Give it a try, it tastes pretty good. Although we prefer to drink the Absinthes individually, this is a legitimation to drink more than just one glass   

Here are some pics of our test:

A friend of us, Danilo Vogt, took  an old polaroid camera and started to shoot some absinthe photos. The photos have their unique charme, as they transmit the aura of history. Check them out and start to like them on Facebook!

Absintheurs, 2011 is a special year, ALANDIA celebrates its 10th Absinthe anniversary!

Back in 2001 we started to sell the first bottles of Absinthe, after we got aware of the product through a trip to Spain. In Spain Absinthe was never banned, therefore you could find Absinthe bottles in the shelves of the local liquor store. As we were so fascinated by the product and the history of the Green Fairy, we decided to make this piece of history availabe for everyone. We founded ALANDIA and began to import Absinthe from around the world! Soon ALANDIA started to develop its own Absinthe brands. Strong68 and Gold68 were born and soon many other brands followed like Suisse La Bleue or Maison ALANDIA and Epoque.

Now, 10 years after the founding year, ALANDIA is the leading Absinthe shop in the net and we want to thank the whole Absinthe community for the support. You guys are the real kings and queens, thanks for your loyalty and motivating feedback through the years! Without you we wouldn´t be where we are right now! 

All the best and many wishes,

Your ALANDIA Team!

We already voted on our ALANDIA Facebook Fan Page, now we start the poll as well in the community. Mardi Gras is coming pretty soon and of course the best costume is dressing up as a Green Fairy! There are already different prototype Absinthe fairies flying around, so which one is your favorite..? Vote!

A new Absinthe has entered the World of Absinthe! Absinthe La Grenouille. It is distilled in the Czech Republic by an Italian distillers using a mediterranean absinthe recipe.  Sounds interesting..? . We can confirm, this Absinthe is good. It has a unique taste with notes of vanilla and lemonbalm. The color is a light green and the louche incredible white. Check out the YouTube video for real live impressions of this Absinthe. Absinthe La Grenouille is our Absinthe of the Month. Which means reduced price and free Absinthe Sugar.

And a little quiz: Do you know who “La Grenouille” is?

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6y4See6vtg

One week and we have christmas, incredible! The whole ALANDIA Team wants to thank all ALANDIA Absintheurs for their loyalty and support – we look forward to an exciting 2011 with you!

2011 will be a special year for us, as we will celebrate our 10th anniversary! This special event wouldn´t have been possible, without your support over the past years! It is an honor for us to have you by our side.

Merry Christmas from the World of Absinthe,

Your ALANDIA Team!