Lucid Absinthe Supérieure: Almost the Real Deal; Update: Perhaps the Real Deal!
11 Comments Published by Joel October 1st, 2007 in Booze. Share This
The Times showcases “Lucid,” a new almost-nearly-but-not-quite absinthe clone made that omits thujone, the supposedly hallucinogenic ingredient that was the toehold used by prohibitionists to prevent the sale of the green tincture in 1912:
In May, Viridian Spirits of Manhasset, N.Y., introduced in New York a product called Lucid, which it says is the first legal and authentic absinthe in the country since the ban. Viridian was able to skirt the regulations by omitting (or almost omitting) thujone, the chemical compound cited in the law. Unlike the absinthe substitutes, Lucid is produced from the plant Artemesia absinthium, or grand wormwood, making it the genuine article. Or at least as genuine as the law allows.
A Dethroner serving suggestion: Drink as much absinthe as you like while not being a twat about it.
A Fond Hello [NYTimes.com]
Product Page [DrinkLucid.com]
Reviews: First Sip: Lucid Absinthe [FoodAndWine.com]
Lucid Absinthe, Taste Test [LouchedLounge.com]
Absinthe Arrives in New York, and We Start Drinking It Immediately [Grub Street]
Bonus Link: Korres Absinthe Shave Cream (U.K. Only) [Brandish]
Update: Jared Gurfein, president of Virdian Spirits, chimes in below in the comments. In part:
Lucid contains some, but less than 10 ppm thujone. This is required under US law which considers less than 10 ppm to be ‘thujone free’. This is also the law in many other countries as well. Any absinthe that comes to the US will have to meet this requirement. However, according to extensive research conducted by T.A. Breaux, who is our distiller and the world’s foremost expert on absinthe, as well as a chemist by training, Absinthe from the Belle Epoqué period also typically contained less than 10 ppm thujone.
I dont know how they are getting away with saying its the first wormwood derived absinthe when there have been a bunch in the US.
That being said I might hit Clifton on Friday and pick up a bottle if its reasonably priced just to give it a taste. I have had the real deal so Ill know if this stuff tastes anywhere near what its supposed to.
woaaaaah screw that. 60 when I could find the real deal in some of your “stranger” bars in the tri-state area for 25 a bottle if you know who to talk to. No freaking way I am buying this fake crap.
I’m question you, Jim, but only out of ignorance: What are some of the legal, actually-made-from-wormwood varieties available in the States? I know you can import it pretty easily, but I thought it was still illegal.
Folks- I am the President & CEO of Viridian Spirits, brand owners of Lucid – Absinthe Supérieure. I read the NY Times article and your blog this morning. We very much appreciate the attention, but we need to set the record straight on thujone and Lucid and absinthe in general:
Lucid contains some, but less than 10 ppm thujone. This is required under US law which considers less than 10 ppm to be ‘thujone free’. This is also the law in many other countries as well. Any absinthe that comes to the US will have to meet this requirement. However, according to extensive research conducted by T.A. Breaux, who is our distiller and the world’s foremost expert on absinthe, as well as a chemist by training, Absinthe from the Belle Epoqué period also typically contained less than 10 ppm thujone. T.A. Breaux collected bottles from estate sales and ran them through modern chemical analysis and determined this. Thus, an absinthe containing less than 10 ppm thujone is very much ‘genuine’. We are seeking corrections from any media outlet that says otherwise. There is much evidence now supporting T.A.’s position on this, and he is widely respected on the subject.
We hope this clarifies the record. We are very confident that anybody who tries Lucid will be extremely satisfied, especially if they are familiar with the better absinthes currently made and sold in Europe. Indeed, Lucid itself is sold in Europe unchanged from the Lucid sold in the US.
We would hate for anybody not to try Lucid because they have been misled by a news story into thinking it is not the real thing!
Thank you.
Jared Gurfein
President
Viridian Spirits
Or, you could skip the whole Absinthe mystique all together, avoid having to drink the required amounts of that nasty stuff (at least 2-3 glasses) and go right to the source. Wormwood extract is perfectly legal, easily enough purchased online from many distributors, and just as effective, though in far smaller doses, obvs.
However, if you’re anything of a druggy, I think you’ll be less than impressed by the effects. Absinthe highs aren’t that much fun or pretty, and for many it makes your guts wince. and hoo baby does it taste narsty.
Giving a girl a few drops on her tongue is hardly as slick and mysterious and dangerous and cool as giving her the full absinthe ritual, with the slotted spoon and the sugar cube and all. Less likely to result in you getting laid, which seems to be the chief goal of all the new absinthe enthusiasts.
Wired wrote an interesting article on Ted Breaux (Jade’s distiller) a couple of years back:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.11/absinthe.html
Joel pretty much any liquor sold as “Absente” is a Absinthe knockoff with low to no thujon in it. Its usually made with the lesser used southern wormwood, which is not as powerful as the original recipe.
Pernod also is very close to the real stuff, just again not containing wormwood.
Its also interesting to note, that while illegal to sell, it has never been illegal to drink or posses the real deal.
Hello
Perhaps Jared could tell us what the thujone level in Lucid is? In the European Union it is anything upto 35mg/kg and it is quite normal to see it on the label.
Thanks.
I have a bottle of Lucid at my house. I’ve also tried a few brands, and a few different kinds of the Jade absinthe. I didn’t have any Jade to do a side by side, but if the Jade stuff is to be considered “the real thing” (which by all accounts it is), then the Lucid isn’t far off the mark. I would say I prefer the Jade Nouvelle Orleans or 1901 to Lucid, but it’s definitely good stuff. It’s strangely sweet, and I didn’t need any sugar with it. I prefer it pretty strong anyway.
Jade started life in Bangkok, Thailand I understand. Ted Breaux teamed up with an US expat called Walsh and started making it in steamy SE Asia.
Jared comments:
“the world’s foremost expert on absinthe, as well as a chemist by training” –
The former statement is nonsense, and the latter is true in as much as he has a major in microbiology. I am not sure, but I think he worked for a Louisiana electricity corporation before moving into absinthe
with Mr Walsh in Thailand.
Not everyone in the wonderful world of absinthe finds this convenient science about thujone levels in old real absinthe convincing:
“We do not trust the CADs (Commercial Absinthe Distillers) or their groupies as far as the content of thujone in traditional absinthe. They want to sell absinthe. Not in the past, but now. We want the truth”
dr_ordinaire (Jun 12 2007) FeeVerte.net
Just buy grande wormwood from any herb retailer online and steep in Lucid in your preferred concentration and strain of course …