George Absinthe has a heady, herbaceous aroma, with hints of citrus, anise and fennel. Then, Winters infuses the absinthe with a secret blend of botanicals, including lemon balm, hyssop, mint, opal basil and tarragon.Īs a result of this recipe, St. “The key to the process of making absinthe,”Winters says, “is to use a two-step process.”First, Winters distills a grape-based brandy together with grand wormwood, anise and fennel through a 1,500-liter copper-pot still. It was just a manic obsession with the ingredients that drove me to tweak the formula.”As the ban on the sale of absinthe was being repealed, Winters finally perfected his recipe and in 2007, he released the first American-made absinthe in almost a century. For eleven years, Winters tinkered with the recipe looking to find the perfect balance of ingredients in order to “create a symphony of flavor,”he says. In 1996, Winters began experimenting with the distillation of absinthe using a recipe he found in Scientific American (while it was illegal to sell absinthe until 2007 in the United States, the law was not extended to the distillation of absinthe). Next to the dusty chalkboards caked with equations for the conversion of sugar to alcohol and intricate diagrams of molecular structures are bottles of experimental whiskies, vodkas and even an aging balsamic vinegar (it’s 14 years old already). Winters, who is widely-known for experimenting with different types of spirits, has a laboratory dominated by a 10-liter test still in addition to the glass beakers and graduated cylinders that cover every inch of his counter space. The distillery, housed in an old World War II airplane hangar on a former naval base on the edge of San Francisco, is home to Lance Winters, mad scientist and St. George Spirits is one of the oldest craft distilleries in the United States. Everyone else has.Founded in 1982 by German-born Joerg Rupf, St. Just a dash'll do ya, but building a cocktail around it isn't a bad way to go… You won't hallucinate when you drink our absinthe, but you might fall in love. George Absinthe Verte adds complexity and depth of flavor. In cocktails that call for an anise spirit, St. We don't advocate adding sugar to our absinthe-or to any other artisanally distilled absinthe for that matter. We developed our formulation over years of patient experimentation and think it's pretty much perfect just as it is. Adding water further releases botanical oils into solution, deepening the louche and intensifying the heady, floral aroma. To bring out another level of vivid flavors and a lovely louche (milky cloudiness) that seems to glow from within, a single large ice cube is ideal. Because of the abundance of essential oils, it's rich and viscous on the palate-even at 120 proof (60% alcohol). It opens with spicy black licorice and then slowly evolves into citrus and grass profiles with a dose of sarsaparilla. George Absinthe Verte is a heady, herbaceous smack to the senses. By the time we bottle it and the bottle reaches you, the absinthe will have turned its characteristic feuille morte (dead leaf) hue due to chlorophyll from all the botanicals breaking down with time and exposure to light."Įxperience: "Sipped neat, St. The secondary infusion is what gives absinthe color just after the secondary infusion, our absinthe is an intense emerald green. After that, we perform a secondary infusion of mint, tarragon, opal basil, lemon balm, hyssop, meadowsweet, and stinging nettles. We then distill this infusion on our 1,500-liter copper pot still. For us, that means infusing brandy with the unholy trinity of wormwood, fennel, and star anise. The real art is in finding just the right ingredients and creating a symphony of flavor. There's a lot of hype and mystery surrounding absinthe, but the process itself isn't really all that esoteric. When the American ban was overturned in 2007, we were ready. In fact, it took Lance about 11 years to perfect his absinthe formula. Commercial viability has never been what motivates us, so needless to say, we distilled a lot of absinthe during that period. ban was still in place, it was illegal to sell absinthe, but not to distill it. Why? Because creating a beautiful absinthe means taking a number of loud botanical ingredients and making them sing in harmony. Process: "Distiller Lance Winters considers absinthe the pinnacle of the distiller's art form. Made from a host of real botanical ingredients, ours is a layered and evocative expression of this beguiling and highly spirituous herbal elixir." George Absinthe Verte remains one of the most acclaimed and respected spirits in this category. The first legal American absinthe released after the U.S.
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