Absinthe Vieux Pontarlier

Absinthe Vieux Pontarlier is a green Absinthe from France. The recipe consists of locally grown wormwood, Spanish green anise seed, Provençal fennel and a variety of further aromatic herbs and spices. Of course, there is no sugar added - its refreshing taste is obtained entirely from the combination of plants and the distiller’s skill. In the glass, Vieux Pontarlier louches from a bright green color to an opalescent white. The aromas evolve after pouring, starting with bright anise and developing heady alpine herb notes with savory, lightly mentholated hints of wormwood. This Absinthe won the Double Gold Medal, Best in Class on the San Francisco Spirits Competition 2008.

Vieux Pontarlier Absinthe distillery

Emile Pernot is the name of the distillery of Absinthe Vieux Pontarlier. It is located in France and its history goes back to the year 1899. The young entrepreneur Emile-Ferdinand Pernot, a native of the close city Fougerolles, cooperated with the Parrot brothers and established a distillery under the name “Emile Pernot et Cie” located in Pontarlier. Emile-Ferdinand's son, Emile-Joseph, a survivor of the World War I trenches, later registers the famous name “Emile Pernot”. 100+ years later in 2009 the distillery moved from the center of Pontarlier to the magnificent old Cousin Jeune building (another vintage Absinthe manufacturer) in La Cluse et Mijoux, at the foot of the Château de Joux.

It is the very same building where the young Emile-Joseph Pernot learned trade a century earlier. And you know what? It was a pure coincidence – the building had been a post office and a fire station in the intervening years. Absinthe distillation at Emile Pernot is still done on a two century-old copper alembic already used by Emile Pernot for Absinthe distillations. It was made by the famous firm of Egrot in the early 1900s.