My best Absinthe so far...

[Bohunk]

Thunder, thanks for taking the time to reply. But, there was no mention of GREEN in that definition, so I'm still confused is green anise the same as anise?? I've had some anise turn the liquor a nice green tint, and some turn the liquor a light brown. I do like the taste, and the green color, but guess I'm to thick to unerstand plain anise and green anise.
Thanks again
The Ole Bohunk

[Bushman]

Not absolutely positive but I believe they are one and the same. Just don't confuse anise seed with star anise as they are different. Fennel sometimes used has both a brown and green seed, maybe that is what is being referred too?

[Bohunk]

Thanks B-Man, I think your right, I've been trying to find an answer for some time now. Seems like folks talk about green anise, and anise as if they are the same.

Thanks again
The Ole Bohunk

[aknewb1s]

So "green anise" = "anise" = "anise seed" and "anise" does != "star anise", but where does one buy potentially pounds of anise. Most sources I've found sell in oz.

[Bohunk]

i've never bought from these folks, but they do offer large quantities of anise. $32.99 per pound.

http://www.edenbrothers.com/store/anise_seeds.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

The Ole Bohunk

[aknewb1s]

I might think that seeds meant for planting are a different (higher?) quality than ones that just need to be used as an ingredient. I hope there is a cheaper source somewhere.

[sweeps]

Yes - you need to buy from a bulk herb/spice supplier, not from a garden seed supplier.

How does $9 per pound sound?

http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/bulkherb/a.php#h_a_s" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

I've bought from them a few times. Their anise and fennel are not bad for the price, but I'd strongly advise against buying wormwood from any of these types of dealers as the quality is just never going to be appropriate for a good absinthe.

[Bohunk]

Sweeps, thanks for the info. Looks like they have a lot of stuff for me, and at good prices.

The Ole Bohunk

[Bohunk]

Sweeps, where do you get your wormwood ??? I've just started fooling with absinthe, and it's a mystery so far. Any help you can give me would help.

The Ole Bohunk

[FullySilenced]

Bohunk,

Try the same supplier MountainRoseHerbs.com are great people and they keep superior product in their inventory been using them for years...

FS

If you call me i can give you numerous other suppliers as well

[sweeps]

I grow my own wormwood and a ton of other herbs too. The quality you can get with the homegrown wormwood can't really be matched by a bulk herb supplier. The stuff you can buy from these places is probably fine for medicinal use, but they simply can't pick out the best bits of the herb like you can do yourself. The bulk packs of wormwood are usually brown instead of silver and include chopped up bits of stem, etc.

Wormwood is especially easy to grow - you don't even need a garden. All you need is a five gallon bucket, some soil and a bit of patience. Once you get it started, it comes back every year and one good sized plant should be able to supply you with enough herb for personal absinthe production. Unfortunately, anise and fennel do not grow quite as well where I am, but as I said, I've been happy enough with Mountain Rose for that stuff. Their prices are good and they usually deliver extremely quickly.

If you can't grow your own wormwood, then I would recommend a specialist dealer like http://www.absintheherbs.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow - not a cheap option, but you really will be able to taste the difference.

[Bohunk]

Tim, thanks for the help, I don't know much about absinthe, but it's my new play thing. Sweeps -- you da man !! You can bet next spring I'll have wormwood growing, if I can find a source of seed. Guys thanks for helping this old fellow out, and have a happy turkey day

The Ole Bohunk

[sweeps]

Happy to help. I come from at least five generations of commercial horticulturalists, so plants are very much in my blood.

You can get wormwood seed from Horizon Herbs - another great company to do business with:

https://www.horizonherbs.com/product.asp?specific=808" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Also, if you are feeling impatient, you can buy it as a potted plant from them.

Roman wormwood, (artemisia pontica - used for the coloring stage) is also really easy to grow, but can be a little tough to get started and seed is very hard to come by. You can buy the plant from Sandy Mush:

http://www.sandymushherbs.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Again, one of these in a five gallon bucket will give you enough herb for a serious absinthe habit. Growing it in a bucket will also reduce the chances of it taking over your entire neighborhood.

I should perhaps add a disclaimer that I have no financial interest in any of the suppliers I have mentioned. I am just a very satisfied customer.

[NC_redcock]

Looking for Roman Wormwood (Artemisia Pontica), but not in plant form, not really interested in grow, looking for a source in the US. Anyone have one they'd care to share?

[Zman]

Cascade herbs is selling Roman Wormwood imported from France. The cost is $10.00 per ounce, with a two ounce minimum, plus shipping.
info@cascadeherbs.com

[mAShMaN1]

This will be my first attempt at absinthe and I am going to try this recipe. I have started my neutral wash and I started looking for all the botanicals I needed. I found everything except for hyssop, Melissa, and the angelica. I looked into these 3 and found Melissa was also called lemon balm so I checked a natural health food store and they tried to give me this hand cream. so is there substitutes that I can use? hyssop is related to mint and angelica to celery. would those do?

[skow69]

If you're missing hyssop and melissa, that's two of the three colorators. You might want to go for a blanche. Or you can usually get any of those from absintheherbs.com. Not the cheapest, but always top shelf.

[NZChris]

I couldn't get everything I wanted, so I went with what I had and made the Pink Faery instead of the Green Faery. My 'Absinthe' is a very sexy pink from boysenberries.

[sweeps]

Not all absinthes include angelica. Hyssop and lemon balm are usually used for coloring and secondary flavoring and some people do indeed use mint in that stage. You could make a blanche (uncolored) absinthe as skow said, although most recipes for blanche include hyssop and lemon balm in the maceration prior to distilling.

You can get all three herbs at reasonable prices from mountainroseherbs.com or pennherb.com - maybe not as good as the stuff you could get from absintheherbs.com, but good enough.

Boysenberry sounds interesting. Did you add enough to give it a strong fruity flavor, or just enough to color it?

[NZChris]

Just enough to color it

[sweeps]

How stable was the color? I did a pinksinthe a while back, using the blanche recipe from Duplais and coloring it with hibiscus. It looked really nice for a while, but the color deteriorated quite quickly. The hisbiscus seemed to add a nice mouth feel.

[NZChris]

Boysenberry color is stable.

I've tried dried red hibiscus with poor results, more brown than red.

[sweeps]

I got a nice rich pink with hibiscus (picked from my own garden). It didn't turn brown, it just became a less impressive shade of pink. I've had a similar experience with hibiscus gin, except that I drank most of it before the color really started to fade. I was hoping the higher proof of the absinthe would help preserve the color a little longer.

[NZChris]

My hibiscus is in my garden too. Colored a gin with it, but won't bother again. I was intending to use my iris flowers, but forgot to get some during their season.

[sweeps]

Yeah, I missed my chance to harvest iris flowers last season too. Did get some root dug and dried, though.

For a blue gin or absinthe, I've been thinking about butterfly pea flowers. Can't grow them here, but dried flowers are readily available on ebay and the like. They are used to make extremely blue beverages in Thailand.

[Sudz]

I've got basically the same problem everyone else seems to have.

Where does one find Roman Wormwood?

I've been checking virtually every place I come across without any success to this point. Really anxious to get in the game with Absinthe. I've got a Boka still with some runs under my belt and this is what I had in mind from the start... The neutral spirit was easy, the green fairy should be a challenge.... but fun.

[RevSpaminator]

This will be my first attempt at absinthe and I am going to try this recipe. I have started my neutral wash and I started looking for all the botanicals I needed. I found everything except for hyssop, Melissa, and the angelica. I looked into these 3 and found Melissa was also called lemon balm so I checked a natural health food store and they tried to give me this hand cream. so is there substitutes that I can use? hyssop is related to mint and angelica to celery. would those do?

Funny. I have the stuff growing around my house like a weed. How much do you need? (Lemon Balm I mean.)

[skow69]

I've got basically the same problem everyone else seems to have.

Where does one find Roman Wormwood?

I've been checking virtually every place I come across without any success to this point. Really anxious to get in the game with Absinthe. I've got a Boka still with some runs under my belt and this is what I had in mind from the start... The neutral spirit was easy, the green fairy should be a challenge.... but fun.

Well, there are four venders listed on this very page.

[kiwi Bruce]

There is an alternative to Petite wormwood, it's common wormwood (absinthia vulgaris) also called mugwort. It grows wild almost everywhere and gives good color and flavor as a finishing herb. Plus homebrew stores sell it. The alternative for Angelica root is ginger and for hyssop is any of the mints, but cat mint and spear mint I think work best. Kiwi

[EDragon]

catmint and spearmint really aren't a substitute for hyssop, it's got a unique flavor/aroma all its own. Angelica isn't terribly hard to find, and I'd recommend tracking it down.
Mugwort would be interesting, it's hallucinogenic, I've read about a liqueur from Mexico based on it, but I haven't been able to find out any information on it, anyone know anything about that drink?