Expert absinthe reviewer Markus Hartsmar has just relaunched his website. One of the first quality sites out there on absinthe without a whiff of misinformation, since 2003 Absinthe.se has been stunningly redesigned.

Markus - our verdict: beautiful.

It’s a great way to see our new reproduction absinthe water carafe and bubble glass in action.

We’re proud to present a short film, for all those wondering how to prepare an absinthe the right way.

Note how you can get a fine stream of water from the carafe or tiny drops, perfect for dripping onto and dissolving a sugar cube!

The absinthe is Absinthe Roquette 1797.

Treat your loved ones to Absinthe this festive season. We have something to suit all tastes and pockets! Check out our Christmas selection, with some of the finest arrivals from 2011.

Not sure what to get someone? – we have an answer for that: our very own gift vouchers, valid for anything on Absinthes.com, so if you know someone really into absinthe and think it’s better to let them choose, here’s the solution.

All year we’ve been working hard to perfect two new absinthe accessories. Having been through rounds of prototypes, we’re in love with the final results. We’re very proud to present the following nifty bits of kit, exclusively available from us…

Tell Drinkify what artist you’re listening to, and in return it’ll tell you what to drink.

Either there’s not enough absinthe going there, or I’m listening to the wrong music! So here’s Drinkify, Absinthes.com style:

David Bowie - Let’s Dance: Dance away your troubles with a stylish friend and a delicious glass of Absinthe La Grenouille

J.S. Bach: The master of counterpoint’s finest compositions are the perfect accompaniment to the complex notes of  Jade VS 1898

Example - Skies Don’t Lie:  Get shaken up with an Absinthe Frappé*, made with Nouvelle Orléans from Jade Liqueurs.

Barry Manilow - Copacabana: Tequila Sunrise with a dash of Absinthe DuVallon. Ok, maybe that is listening to the wrong music!

A curious cocktail recipe quite unlike anything else. This exceptional drink combines the cucumber- scented Hendrick’s, the elderflowery goodness of St. Germain, roses, and the essence of the tropics in falernum:

• 4 oz Hendrick’s gin
• 1 oz St-Germain
  
• 1 oz falernum syrup
  
• 14 drops rose water
• 2 teaspoons absinthe - we’d recommend Absinthe  St. Antoine
  
• 2 lemon twists

Combine ingredients in an ice-filled shaker and stir gently. Strain into 2 short-stemmed glasses and garnish with the twists.

The press seem to be making a big thing of latter-day rock ‘n roll star Marilyn Manson’s supposed crazy ‘absinthe-shot fuelled’ night out in Las Vegas.

Complete with singing Justin Timberlake songs karaoke style, the renowned musician is rumoured to have been seen jumping in the driver’s seat to allegedly commandeer an unattended limo, and pulling what appeared to be a knife!

But I disagree - was it even Marilyn Manson at all out on the tiles in Vegas? The Marilyn Manson knows better than to drink his absinthe as shots! He even has his own absinthe, Mansinthe by Marilyn Manson, traditionally distilled, 66.6% alcohol and unlike the musician’s alleged antics, very respectable indeed!

Mansinthe by Marilyn Manson

The Corpse Reviver No. 2 Cocktail

The perfect drink for Halloween, like many cocktails, it includes a dash of absinthe. When it comes to enriching the flavour of a drink,  absinthe does it like no other alcohol! A dash of absinthe gives all kinds of nuances impossible with any other spirit.

Corpse Reviver Absinthe Cocktail

• 1 measure of gin
• 1 measure of Cointreau
• 1 measure of Lillet Blanc
• 1 measure of fresh lemon juice
• a dash of absinthe (I’d recommend the Absinthe Roquette 1797 for its wonderful herbal profile)

Shake well with ice and strain into a classic cocktail glass. Decorate with a maraschino cherry.

The competition

Scroll down for the complete scores and rankings

Somehow this elixir, or just humble green drink, beguiles and inspires, and every year in October hundreds of absintheurs, fans and distillers make their way to Pontarlier, France to talk, drink absinthe and just the trip itself is almost like an absinthe pilgramage.  Also making it to Pontarlier are the absinthe sellers, those who get their creations into the hands of absinthe drinkers all over the world.

An integral part of the Absinthiades is the concours, or competition, where the absinthe makers each enter their beloved alcohol to be judged alongside the other brands of the year.

This year Antoine and I had the honour of being invited to take part in the judging. As you would expect, all the absinthes are tasting blind to try and ensure fairness.

Each competition has three judging panels:

1. The professional jury, composed of absinthe industry figures. Antoine and I were in this group.
2. The VIP jury, with important figures from the region and special guests.
3. The public jury, representing the  absinthe drinkers at home. Some of them will know their Jade Absinthes from their Absinthe DuVallon,  some of them may have been briefly touched by the green fairy, and others never tasted a drop of absinthe before in their lives.

This year, 13 absinthes were tasted, with the blanche (white) and the verte (green) absinthes mixed up and presented in a random order. At each table, four judges sat, with a fountain in the centre, constantly replenished with chilled water, and at hand were water glasses and bread to cleanse the palate between absinthes.

To sugar or not to sugar: this was left up to the individual judges, and a good thing too - everyone has a different taste. Ideally the absinthes would be tasted both sugared and unsugared, sugar can have the effect of blending the flavours and making a smoother drink. But with thirteen absinthes to try, having them all both ways would be impossible in one evening!

The score sheet divided the marks into three categories:

1. Visuel - what is the colour like, and how is the louche? (Marks out of 4)
2. Olfactif - what does the absinthe smell like? The aromas, the perfume. (Marks out of 6)
3. Gustatif - most importantly what the absinthe taste like? The palate, subtle hints or strong attacks. (Marks out of 10)
4. Notes - no points to be given here, but any remarks on the absinthe, or maybe notes to help you remember which one was which. Potentially useful as the evening moves on…

The scores!

So to the results! I’ve put together a few charts to make comparing the scores from each jury much easier, the length of the bar in each colour represents the average score from that judging panel. As you can see, all the scores are within quite a small range, which shows how far absinthe has come in recent times! I wonder if 60 points could ever be achieved?

The results of the Absinthiades Competition 2011, the blanche (white) absinthe category.

There is not really much debate about these results. The Maison Fontaine, Sevil by DuVallon and La Ptite are very well respected, and favourites of ours.

Results for the coloured absinthe category (this year all green).

Every year the verte scores always have the potential to cause a bit of a stir in the absinthe world! This year all the absinthes are genuine absinthes, which would have been recognised as such 100 years ago, this narrows the playing field somewhat. Our personal favourites from the verte category were the Absinthe Authentique, Absinthe Le Vélo was good indeed (and plenty of people obviously thought so), Butterfly Absinthe, La Pontissalienne… ok, well, it’s too hard to choose!

If you want to try the three top medal winners, we have all three vertes together here: Le Vélo, La Pontissalienne, and Grande Absente.

And the full results…

The complete figures from the professional, public and VIP juries.

Visit our Facebook page for more of my photos from Pontarlier, and for news of exclusive offers make sure to sign up to our newsletter (on the right hand side of the Absinthes.com homepage.

We have the results of the Absinthiades competition and we were thrilled to see that in the blanche category, Maison Fontaine came out on top with a Grand Or prize, and Sevil got a Gold medal, and La P’tite a Silver. Finishing off the winners in the blanche category was La Clandestine.

In the verte category, a new absinthe called Vélo won the top prize, followed by La Pontissalienne by Francois Guy, and Grande Absente with Silver.

If you couldn’t make it to this year’s Absinthiades, or even if you did, you can recreate the atmosphere without having to try out all the absinthes first: you can get the top three blanche medal-winners together and the top three vertes together from us at Absinthes.com

We had a sublime time at the Absinthiades, more on that later. For now, you can see our photos here:

Friday night at the Absinthiades photos

Absinthiades Competition 2011