The Restaurant Guys Ted Breaux and the Return of Absinthe: How the Green Fairy Came Back From Exile *V*
This is a Vintage Selection from 2006
The Banter
The Guys talk about a new (2006) NY state law permitting distilling on a small scale and two guys who are making an interesting vodka from apples.
The Conversation
The Restaurant Guys welcome Ted (T. A.) Breaux, chemist, microbiologist and absinthe expert. Ted talks about the misguided banning of absinthe and his leading the charge for its legalization. (It was legalized in the U.S. the following year.) He also described the history and ritual of absinthe including the unfounded rumors about its hallucinogenic properties. Hear about his quest to reanimate the Green Fairy.
The Inside Track
The Guys are fascinated by Ted’s analysis of unopened antique bottles of absinthe which led him to developing modern absinthe that is true to its tradition.
“Well, it's akin to forensic chemistry. What I had to do was take samples from these unopened bottles and I subjected them to a chemical analysis. It took quite a while for me to go through and identify every significant compound in these absinthes. It opened up a whole new world of detail. I'm talking detail of…a list of herbs, where those herbs are grown, how they're harvested are all key elements in the end result,” Ted Breaux on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2006
Bio
Theodore (T. A.) Breaux is a research chemist and absinthe expert. He lobbied for the legalization of absinthe in the United States. He founded Jade Liquers and revitalized the world of absinthe.
He was able to effectively reverse engineer antique brands of absinthe. January of 2004, he began distilling absinthe using a distillery founded in 1834 with absinthe distilling equipment installed by Gustave Eiffelthis. This launched Jade Liqueurs, with the Jade absinthes being held in high regard for over 20 years. In 2007, he created LUCID absinthe for Viridian Spirits, which we used to break the 95-year ban on absinthe in the USA. In March of 2007, LUCID became the first genuine absinthe sold in the USA since 1912. In 2020, he partnered with renowned cocktail master Dale DeGroff to create DeGroff Spirits, to create antique Italian-style spirits using old world crafting and quality.
Info
Jade Liqueurs (founded by Ted T.A. Breaux)
To get absinthe cocktail recipes, email TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com
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