La Clandestine Absinthe

No odd neon colors or uncomfortable ceremonies needed… just pour, sip and experience what premium Swiss Absinthe was always meant to be.

Artemisia-Bugnon Distillery was founded by Claude-Alain Bugnon… let’s just say that he started distilling his Absinthe in Switzerland sometime BEFORE it became legal to do so in 2005.

But this rebel-with-a-cause produced as much as he could… um… for private consumption, as far as we know. And all that "practice" positioned him perfectly so that when the ban was lifted, he was the first to request a license and started bottling product before the ink on his business permit had even dried.

Claude loves Absinth and knows that there are more varieties of the "green monster" than there ever were. His small mountain distillery — located in in the birthplace of Absinthe — now produces no less than six varieties of premium Absinthe, including a blanche/bleue, a vert, and an opaline.

You will be forgiven for thinking of the color green when you hear the word Absinthe. Most Absinthes are, indeed, bright green, since the chlorophyl from the wormwood leaves steeps into the alcohol like tea. But a lot of the finest Absinthes are clear. Folks "n the know" call them either "blanche" or "bleue" Absinthes. La Clandestine Absinthe is one of those premium Absinthes, so don’t be surprised when you pour a silvery clear Liqueur from the bright blue bottle.

Something else to note… there is a traditional "ceremony" of Absinthe drinking that involves a special spoon, a sugar cube, and matches that can feel uncomfortably like a laboratory scene from Breaking Bad. Forget all that. You do not have to be Mr. Wizard or Walter White to make this fine Spirit worth drinking. The sweetness you need is already inside La Clandestine Absinthe, so just pour, sip and experience what premium Swiss Absinthe was always meant to be.


Smartass Corner:
Many Absinthes demonstrate the "Louche Effect." Sometimes called the "ouzo effect," it is common in quality anise-flavored liquors. If cold water is added to a clear liquor containing anise, the liquid will immediately turn milky-white in the glass as the hydrophobic essential oils emulsify.