La Fee Parisienne Absinthe

In 1905 Swiss farmer, Jean Lanfray, murdered his wife and daughters sparking a national campaign to obtain a ban on absinthe. Lanfray was said to be under the influence of absinthe when he shot his family, he was also known to be a wine guzzling alcoholic, who had washed down two glasses of absinthe with no less than a creme de menthe, a cognac, six glasses of wine with lunch, a glass of wine before leaving work, coffee with brandy and more wine before committing his crime.

At the height of its popularity in 1915, absinthe was banned in France. Absinthe became caught up in the temperance movement that was sweeping Europe, thus becoming the scapegoat for alcohol. Pressure came from wine producers, who saw it as competition to their ailing wine trade trying to recover after the bout of phylloxera. Findings were also published showing that although small quantities of thujone were beneficial, extremely large quantities were a neurotoxin. Traditional absinthe became a thing of the past and was replaced by Pastis (a reformed version of absinthe omitting the vital ingredient, wormwood).

La Fee Absinthe was launched in 2000, where it became the first traditional absinthe to be commercially produced since its ban in 1915. The improved ‘Superieure’ version was released in July 2013 with a new recipe which used natural ingredients and came in a green painted bottle to protect the delicate contents from UV light damage.

Traditionally distilled in copper stills, the flavour of La Fee is entered around grand wormwood (Artesimia Absinthium) and balanced with petit wormwood, green and star anis. A mark of the authenticity of La Fee comes from its endorsement by Marie-Claude Delahaye, founder and greater of the Absinthe Museum. La Fee founder, George Rowley worked closely with Marie-Claude to develop the new ‘Superieure recipe.

Tasting Notes

Aromas of fennel and coriander dominate with slight hints of liquorice and aniseed. The palate is fresh and rounded with anise with angelica, coriander, fennel, mint and liquorice all present in the background.