Part 5: The industry takes note – going global with serious consequences…

Reborn in the USA

Having opened the absinthe category in 1998, and now selling across the world; we may justly lay claim to having significantly shaped the absinthe market over the past ten years.

Back in 2000, we had initiated serious discussions with Christian Camax in Paris and Madame Delahaye about the possibility of exporting to the USA. This was our biggest challenge to date, owing to the structure of the US legislation which had effectively banned absinthe since 1912. Unlike the European bans which merely prohibited the sale of absinthe, it directly targeted thujone, the chemical element present in absinthe which is released by the distillation of artemisia absinthium, or grand wormwood. The only solution open to us at this time was to distil La Fée in full, attempt to remove all traces of thujone and call the product something other than absinthe. With so many markets available to us within which we could sell authentic La Fée Absinthe, we decided that this would be a pointless exercise. For the moment, we had to be content with filing (in August 2000) the La Fée brand in the USA under "Alcoholic Drinks, Namely Absinthe…" – probably the earliest recorded filing of an absinthe in the USA since 1912, for which registration was granted in 2003 (registration number: 2,751.670).

Approval for La Fée from US Patent & Trademark Office of Trading Standards

Following this approval, we were motivated to look again at the USA, as we were starting to sell selectively in Canada and the Caribbean. We even went as far as to create a revised version of La Fée, only to pull the plug on the project, and consoled ourselves with registering the now iconic La Fée eye logo (filed 6.8.2003 granted 2006 registration number: 3048554), in case there was a breakthrough…

At the end of 2006, the breakthrough we were looking for suddenly arrived. The US Government, acting on the recommendations of the JOINT FAO/WHO FOOD STANDARDS PROGRAMME [CODEX COMMITTEE ON FOOD ADDITIVES - CX/FA 07/39/12 - Agenda Item 8, December 2006] fell in with EU directive no88/388/EEC - the same document I had used in June 1998 – on permitted levels of thujone. In harmony with EU regulations, the USA lifted their ban on thujone and decreed a content of 10 PPM to be legally acceptable – the door to the USA started to open.

Late 2007 saw a new product join the market: ‘Lucid’ ( developed by a US company ) just beating the Swiss product Kubler with COLA Registration approval. This was excellent news for Absinthe, with the USA market key to establishing any category, as the industry looks to cities such as London and New York for trends and influence. Keeping an ‘eye’ on the emerging category, I sneaked an invite to Lucids NY launch...

George at the Lucid launch

Finally La Fée would have the opportunity to bring back to the USA the first real absinthe distilled in France since the 1915 ban (distilling since 2000) without having to alter our original recipe. The spirit which we distil in France and serve to Parisians is identical to that which is imported into the USA, which we feel makes La Fée a window into the past.

The Hemingway Bar at Ritz Paris: Tim Ward, alongside the legendary Colin Field, makes his divine 'Red Eye' cocktail with La Fée

In mid 2008 we launched in New York; followed by California and Colorado. During 2009/2010 we rolled-out La Fée Absinthe Parisienne across the USA, with each bottle distilled having its own absinthe spoon attached, to ensure that the correct classic serve is possible and encouraged – the spoon is approved by French Absinthe Museum based on an original, made from the highest quality Sheffield Stainless Steel. My company today is one of the few that sells each bottle (of La Fée Absinthe Parisienne 70cl and 75cl) with a spoon and educational booklet as standard. Being part of my global education program to encourage correct serve of this highly alcoholic spirit (traditional strength 68% ABV) that should always be diluted to the strength of wine, or used appropriately in many delightful classic and modern cocktails. Those who insist on shots; please don’t use our classic range - following is a paragraph entitled Expanding Absinthe's Grass Roots just for you!