The VdF ends up tasting pretty brash and unpolished next to the Jade.

VdF vs. Lucid is a little harder to call. Without shipping, they’re about the same price, and there are things I like and dislike about the character of both.

Anyway, it appears that 2 or three other well regarded European Absinthes with a tested thujone content under 10 PPM will soon be making their way to the US market. So, yes, it appears we Americans will have some choice in the matter.

Plus, I think we’re lucky the TTB rule prevents the sale of the truly awful Absinthes that trade on their extreme Thujone content as a selling point.

~Erik

Funny, about the DrinkBoy link. I mean, a Sazerac is already pretty much just cold slightly flavored whiskey. Interesting that Robert would advise skipping the small amount of water that results from stirring with ice!

But, I imagine it kind of depends on the whiskey and the drinker. While I guess I can see the no ice method working with Old Overholt, I’m not sure I would try it with Wild Turkey, Rittenhouse 100, or Thomas Handy. A little extra water is good to calm those more ardent spirits.

While researching this entry, we found recipes that used ice in the preparation, and the versions that I’ve had in bars of cocktailian repute have been made that way. I didn’t really think about it until I ran across Robert Hess’ ice-less rationale on DrinkBoy, which we linked to from the body of our recipe. We felt that the undiluted version brought the absinthe, lemon, and bitters flavors forward, and we liked the effect.

Please let us know how they make ‘em in The Big Easy!

It’s my understanding — and I could be wrong, but I’ll know after next week visiting New Orleans — that the Sazerac is traditionally made using two glasses. One is chilled (frozen, ideally) as you indicate, and gets the absinthe/pastis wash. The other gets the syrup, bitters, and rye [or cognac, which is excellent as well], *and* some ice. It’s stirred a bit, then strained into the chilled glass. This has the dual effects of making the drink colder (duh) and adding some needed water via dilution, to let the whole drink open up a bit.

Looking forward to trying the Lucid! I have a diminishing supply of Ted Breaux’s Jade Edouard 72 that I like to use for Sazeracs, but definitely need a domestic source for a reasonable substitute!!

But overnight freight was free — compare that with a week or more and astronomical shipping charges from France or the UK.

The folks at Lucid say they’re rolling out nationwide, but so far mail order is your best bet… even if most places are out of stock until the end of the month.