My best Absinthe so far...

[sparky marky]

Hey Kirko! Thanks for the reply, it was pretty helpful. Feel like il be ready to give it a go when my botanicals arrive in the mail

Would you suggest I do one single run and make 5 or 6 liters or might I be better off doing a small 2 liter batch then using the tails from that run in a second run? Would this make for a higher quality flavour profile?

One other thing I didn't mention in my initial post.... The fennel I have is standard vulgaris I.e. not Florence fennel. There is nowhere in this county that sells Florence fennel in large enough quantities, it seems to only be sold in small 3g seed sachets. Will this be a problem for my recipe?

[Kirko]

I'd go for the full capacity of your still, fill it to the brim. If you are using vulgaris, try less than 25 grams per liter or none at all. You can buy commercial grade florence fennel from Sanfrancisco herbs spice tea, or on the East coast, Atlantic is their sister company, both source from the same place. My favorite is Fennel Doux, grown in provence, it's soft and sweet, I sell it but I don't grow it, the only place I know of where you can buy it in the US is from me. You don't have to use fennel, it's nice because it fills out the flavor profile of the anise, it zigs where anise zags and can help develop a nice round flavor. Most commercial European absinthe distillers don't use fennel at all .

[sparky marky]

Hmm... Maybe il import some Florence fennel for a future batch if I catch the absinthe bug, shipping from the us can be pricey, PLUS custom charges are always a huge pain in the ass! For this run il go with your suggestion and just tone the standard fennel RIGHT down...
Thanks for all the advice Kirko! Il post some results in about 2 weeks time!

[johnny108]

I just made a "Scientific American" absinthe (25g wormwood, 50g aniseed, 50g fennel per liter of 85% neutral). Using herbs from here:
http://www.dragonspice.de/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
The wormwood they have is great! Very aromatic.
The recipe itself isn't bad- might need to increase the aniseed by 10g/liter (this was a feints-free, first run, however.)
A special note- make sure you use 85%- (nothing weaker), otherwise, the anise flavor doesn't seem to "lock" into the final spirit.

[sparky marky]

My herbs came and all seem to be of reasonable quality EXCEPT the hyssop!! It's brown and very twiggy/woody, don't think il be using this crap to colour my absinthe!!!
However on the plus side, after double checking it seems over at my parents place they have LOADS of lemon balm (Melissa) and mint growing in their herb patch! If using fresh herbs I would expect the colour to be a nice bright jade green! Anybody have experience using freshly picked colouring herbs? I don't recall reading anything about it in the threads
I'm guessing because of the water content of the leaves I will have to use a little more to get the colour level I want?

I finally have a free weekend to do some stillin! So this Saturday il be refluxing 60L of all bran low wines then on Sunday il have the alcohol to give the absinthe a go

[sparky marky]

Got a chance to run my first absinthe at the weekend! just in time for my birthday yesterday

Here is the recipe I went with:

Absinthe batch #1
Macerate with 5 liters of 85% for 24 hours then dilute with 5 liters water and distill with low heat...collect 5 liters

250g artemisia absinthium 
125g fennel seed
450g  anise seed
30g coriander seed
20g Angelica root
10g hyssop
25g star anise

Colour 500ml distillate with:
10g fresh lemon balm
10g fresh mint

It went pretty well!! Took about 1 hr 45mins to collect 5 liters at 74%
Managed to make it all the way through withOut scorching my herbs or anything

The taste is pretty good! The colour is excellent! The only minor issue I have is that the louche is slightly weak compared to some of the images iv seen on here... It clouds up quite nicely but doesn't make it all the way to "milk". I'm guessing this is an issue with herb quality perhaps il post some images later so you can see what I mean!

I realize The mint is not exactly conventional! But my dried hyssop was crap and I couldn't find any pontica! As it turns out I REALLY like the mint, along with the coroander seed it seems to cut through heavy aniseed flavours and delivers a fresher flavour. I find my gin always improves if i leave it for a month so a few weeks aged in glass and it will be a very nice drink! I spent yesterday drinkin "death in the afternoon", it was a very happy birthday

[sparky marky]

my lovely green absinthe!


the louche is not quite amazing but still its ok... tastes good


floating some absinthe on top of some sparkling rose

[sweeps]

Very nice color!

Did you do the coloring at room temperature?

[sparky marky]

Heated the first pint of distillate and herbs to 50 degrees celcius in a water bath then took it off the heat and let it cool.
Worked really well, the flavour is good

[skow69]

You don't have to use fennel,

What?

Most commercial European absinthe distillers don't use fennel at all .

WHAT???

Really? '

Cause this could be huge. Are you saying that the big brands like Matter and Emile Pernot don't use fennel?
Duplai? Vieux Pontarlier? No fennel?
What about Jade? Or L'Ancienne?
This could make me question my entire philosophy of recipes, if not the very meaning of life itself!



BTW Blues Cat is delicious. Highest accolades!

[Prole]

Kirko is right but fennel makes it better athttp://www.absintheherbs.com/.

Nice color.

As for a thicker louche, use more anise and add more water in the pot. I cannot overstate the importance of the latter. You should have close to a
50% ration of water to macerate in the pot. Anise oils are hydrophobic and more of them will come across to the distillate rather than stay in that water. Also, collect your tails for the next run.

[-Perry-]

Hello all,

Great thread. I am wondering if anyone can chime in with advice for the maceration step. I have been hearing many different things about temperature. Should I be taking the macerated herbs and spirit up in temperature? I have heard 100F, and that 130F is far too high, and that room temperature is just fine. Would love some more opinions and experiences with regards to this. Thank you!

[Zman]

Room temperature is just fine. If it is colder, macerate for a longer time frame.

[FAROM]

The optimal temperature would be about 22-24°C for 24 hours.

[Kirko]

Beautiful color Sparky!
Thanks for the plug Prole.

Perry you don't need to macerate, none of the distillers I have observed macerate for any actual time. A maceration can't do what the boiling alcohol does so skip it and go straight distilling, you won't miss it, it's a waste of time with zero results.
If you add high proof alcohol to herbs that are very dry the alcohol will suck the last bit of water out of the plant cells and they will snap shut, making it difficult to push the oils out, dampen your herbs with some of your water before splashing them with base alcohol.
Use less than 1 liter of water per 1 liter of alcohol in your maceration.
Going back to the fennel, it's true that many distillers don't use it but it's a great way to fill out the anise flavor profile, adding similar notes, I like a lot of fennel and a lot of anise in my absinthe, though the Blues Cat had a bit much.

[BLuTO]

THIS THREAD IS AWESOME!!

Ok I wanted some thoughts on what I plan on doing this weekend. I have my recipe down as to what herbs I am using. I just had some last minute questions.

1- During maceration should I add water to my herbs and 85% ethanol? Or keep it just Alcohol and Herbs and add water right before I distill to get it down to 40%?
2- Or should I distill at high proof with herbs but that could blow my ass up! HA! (the reason I ask this is because I have been watching and reading a lot and I guess you don't need to do a water add if you are using a steam jacket as a heat source.)
3- Should I strain off my herbs before distillation!? I have done previous batches where i left a few cardamom pods and a few star anise seeds in the wash and it came out awesome!! But leaving in such a large amount of herbs. Could this make it bitter or pose a problem?

I cant wait till my next day off from work.

[frozenthunderbolt]

THIS THREAD IS AWESOME!!

Ok I wanted some thoughts on what I plan on doing this weekend. I have my recipe down as to what herbs I am using. I just had some last minute questions.

1- During maceration should I add water to my herbs and 85% ethanol? Or keep it just Alcohol and Herbs and add water right before I distill to get it down to 40%?
2- Or should I distill at high proof with herbs but that could blow my ass up! HA! (the reason I ask this is because I have been watching and reading a lot and I guess you don't need to do a water add if you are using a steam jacket as a heat source.)
3- Should I strain off my herbs before distillation!? I have done previous batches where i left a few cardamom pods and a few star anise seeds in the wash and it came out awesome!! But leaving in such a large amount of herbs. Could this make it bitter or pose a problem?

I cant wait till my next day off from work.

2. There is a thought that you get a better carry over of the aninole (sp?) - the aniseed oil if you dilute it back more before distillation as apparently it is somewhat hydrophobic. You would be correct about the steam jacket if you are extreamly careful.

3. I have run fennel seed in my boiler (internal ellectric) to make ouzo without problem, can't guarentee it will work for you though. if you want to try it (with an electric element) try making a teabag out of clean unbleached 100% cotton material and putting your botanicals in that and then use a copper nail and chain to hang it from the inside of your collum so it sits in the alcohol but a good distance above your element.

[Kirko]

Using a steam jacket does not affect how much water you need to add to the still before you start distilling.
First you put in the herbs, than you add the alcohol, then you add the water, after that, start distilling.

[BLuTO]

OK. So I WILL NOT be using a steam jacket. So no matter what I would need to dilute the 85% ethanol. But bring it all the way down to 40%? I am also concerned about still size. cause that would double my volume. Also.... Should I strain the herbs after maceration or leave them in the still during. I love the tea bag idea but perhaps I could even stick the herbs in my reflux column in place of my copper packing.

[BLuTO]

another random thought.

Now I know to ferment with tap water and dilute or bring to proof with purified water or distilled water.

OK, now for my absinthe. If I am going to do a H2O add to my 85% ethanol with herbs, that I will then distill. Should I use Distilled water or just purified water or even tap water. My tap water isn't perfect but I think it tastes great. I was just thinking what should I go buy?

[Zman]

Beautiful color Sparky!
Thanks for the plug Prole.

Perry you don't need to macerate, none of the distillers I have observed macerate for any actual time. A maceration can't do what the boiling alcohol does so skip it and go straight distilling, you won't miss it, it's a waste of time with zero results.

I disagree. Maceration for at least 12-24 hours always leaves a better result from my experience.

If you add high proof alcohol to herbs that are very dry the alcohol will suck the last bit of water out of the plant cells and they will snap shut, making it difficult to push the oils out, dampen your herbs with some of your water before splashing them with base alcohol.

Very good advice.

Going back to the fennel, it's true that many distillers don't use it but it's a great way to fill out the anise flavor profile, adding similar notes, I like a lot of fennel and a lot of anise in my absinthe, though the Blues Cat had a bit much.

Any absinthe of merit will have fennel in it, IMHO.

[BLuTO]

OMG! I JUST FINISHED MAKING MAGIC!
I will be posting my recipe and pics this weekend. I am so thrilled about what I created this afternoon.

[Zman]

If it's good now, it will get even better after a few months of resting.

[BLuTO]

Here is a teaser...

IMG_8171 by Top Shelf Pictures, on Flickr

[kaseijin]

Looks nice. Did you use Kirko's herbs? Can't say enough good things about those...

[Shae]

Is the green anise just seeds, or is it part of the plant?

[EDragon]

Very nice thread! Glad I decided to poke in here.

To take it back a few months : Kirko says that most European professional absinthe makers don't use Fennel. I'm a bit dubious on that, as fennel is traditionally one of the three core ingredients of absinthe (and if I remember correctly, is part of the legal definition of it in Switzerland, the only country with a definition of what absinthe is). Anyone have an update on this? What I see is the difference between Florence fennel and regular fennel, florence fennel is sweeter.

Also, unless you like the flavor, I'd recommend keeping the star anise to a minimum, it's heavy in a lot of Spanish absinthes, but otherwise it's considered a cheap substitute for green anise.

I'll be posting more to this thread definitely!
ED

[alcoholexpert]

Hey guys i am bartender, good going OP.

[Bohunk]

Guys I have been looking for green anise. It doesn't seem to exist, each time I see green anise advertised I look at the web site and only see anise. So what is GREEN anise???
Thanks
The Ole Bohunk

[frozenthunderbolt]

Guys I have been looking for green anise. It doesn't seem to exist, each time I see green anise advertised I look at the web site and only see anise. So what is GREEN anise???
Thanks
The Ole Bohunk

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anise