La Fée Parisienne Absinthe, 1 x 70cl

Product Information

John had persuaded the distiller to post supplies of absinth to his home in London for his personal consumption and private sales to a handful of friends, but he had yet to develop absinthe importing into a business due to legal and logistical obstacles. Although he had, in conjunction with Gavin Pretor-Pinney and Tom Hodgkinson, writers and editors of The Idler, formed a company called Green Services Limited. The brand name of La Fée was chosen, inspired by the “green fairy” as absinthe was known in turn-of-the-century Paris. The now iconic eye illustration was commissioned as the brand’s motif. La Fée was to become the first traditional French absinthe to be commercially produced in France since the ban of 1915. The manufacturers FZ, WJB or even H. Fouquet rue de Montreuil in Paris, stamped their products knowing the impact this would have. A trader called Guillemaud took the opportunity to stamp his brand name on the handle of some spoons, but he was not involved in the manufacturing. Do not confuse a manufacturers name with a brand name. So began George’s life in the drinks industry, selling traditional Czech Beer and various interesting spirits to London’s top-end bars, with his beloved Wedgewood blue 1969 Triumph Herald 1360 Convertible stuffed full of samples. During 1998 he expanded his offering, adding Czech plum brandy Slivovitz and Bohemian Sekt, a sparkling wine. Then in 1998, he came across Bohemian absinth (without the final ‘e’).

La Fée is the only Brand to have the endorsement and direct involvement of the French Absinthe Museam and Marie-Claude Delahaye. A unique quality control procedure that applies to both our Absinthe Supérieure, Parisienne and Blanche.La Fée X•S Suisse contains a noticeably higher level of fennel which is permitted under Swiss regulations but not allowed in French absinthes. The apparent sweetness comes from a particular flower used, no sugar is added. Legally cleared to import and sell Czech Absinth, George and John Moore accompanied by Radomir, their indispensible translator and guide headed for the Hill’s Liguere distillery to negotiate a contract with the distiller, Radomil Hill, and his daughter. Custom demanded that every contract term agreed was toasted. The first to be made and shipped into Europe since the bans in the early 1900s, this was absinth [without the ‘e’], made to the Czech style without the heavy anise found in traditional absinthes. It is important to distinguish these two very different styles – both of which are now available under the La Fée brand. Sugar & Burn ritual

This watershed document set the legal precedent for absinthe sales in Europe, though at the time it was done in respect of absinth [without the ‘e’] from the Czech Republic, which in 1998 wasn’t an EU member state. Acquiring an absinthe I created this light and refreshing alternative to a rum mojito as an easy way to enjoy absinthe. Great as an aperitif or for hot weather, an interesting fresh change to a standard mojito or gin and tonic. Great drink, easy to make" John Moore is a musician and writer who’s many talents include coaxing ethereal sounds from the musical saw and writing blogs for newspapers. In his article for The Idler he describes stumbling across absinth whilst on tour with his band in Prague, and finding himself drawn to its romance and hedonistic appeal. Each distillation of La Fée Parisienne Absinthe Supérieure is personally quality taste tested by Delahaye and Rowleyand soon after started making his own liqueurs and spirits. In 1947, his son Radomil opened his distillery they maintain that this is when he started making absinth. The next year he was abruptly put out of business by the communist regime seizing his distillery and taking over production of his vodka and other spirits. He reclaimed the distillery after the Velvet Revolution of 1990 and started producing Hill’s Absinth. Having developed a genuine French absinthe – Le Fée Parisienne, George sought to produce a similarly authentic Bohemian absinth to replace his existing Hill’s Absinth. He wanted to correct the imbalance between the integrity of the two styles - to celebrate the success of the Bohemian absinth flavour profile. La Fée Parisienne was the first traditional absinthe distilled in France since the 1915 ban and is the only absinthe endorsed by the Musée de l’Absinthe, Auvers-sur-Oise, France. Each distillation is personally approved by world-renowned absinthe expert, Marie-Claude Delahaye.

This hiccup caused a delay of several days, and involved diverting the load north, on a much less direct route through Holland. With the goods still in transit but the launch date fixed, one of the newspapers broke the “exclusive” story almost a week before the date which had been agreed upon. Bizarrely, this turned out to be a stroke of good fortune. La Fée distil a range of six different absinthes: Parisienne, a traditional French style Verte (coloured/green) absinthe; Blanche, a traditional Blanche (white/clear) style; Bohemian, a modern, Czech style absinthe; La Fée X•S Suisse and La Fée X•S Française, which are two “extra supérieure,” wine-based absinthes; and La Fée NV, a lower strength absinthe for "modern drinking."In March 2003, George overcame the French ban on the sale of absinthe by changing the name of La Fée Absinthe to La Fée Aux Plantes d’Absinthe, that is to say not Absinthe, but made from the plant of the same name - enough of a difference to make it acceptable to French customs. The next day, the intrepid entrepreneurs received a call from the BBC asking if they could demonstrate the Sugar & Burn ritual on Newsnight that evening? The demonstration was duly filmed at Detroit, a funky London bar sadly long since closed. The genie Green Fairy was literally out the bottle and it seemed everybody wanted to experience the absinth Sugar & Burn ritual. Absinthe caused a furore