Vintage Unopened Pernod Fils Absinthe Bottle
Posted on April 20th, 2009 by absinthejack
This is my most prized piece in my absinthe memorabilia collection. When absinthe was banned in France in 1915 Pernod Fils (the best and most well known of absinthes) moved their production to Tarragona, Spain where they continued producing until the early 1960’s.
This bottle is one of that vintage of Pernod Fils. As you can see it is a remarkable state of preservation. The label is almost perfect and the fill level is about 1/2 inch above the glass seal. The fill level is the best I’ve seen in any vintage absinthe. The Oxygenee website recently offered some of the same bottles for sale. Check out their website and compare the condtion of theirs to mine.
I´d love to see some more pictures of vintage absinthe bottles, whether they’re full or not. So if you have one, please post a picture of it for all to see.
Tags: absinthe picture, Pernod Fils absiinthe, Vintage absinthe
April 23rd, 2009 at 4:54 am
Hey there Absinthejack!, Your bottle looks incredible! Wonderfully preserved! I was just wondering if you know why Pernod Fils stopped production in the 1960’s? Was there just not enough interest in absinthe at that point, after prohibition, or were there other reasons they stopped production? It seems that there would certainly be plenty of interest these days!
April 24th, 2009 at 2:10 am
Hi there Lucy. Here’s the story on Pernod Fils, as I know it. When they moved their production facilities to Spain they also changed their recipe. It just wasn’t the same absinthe they had produced in France. It never quite caiught on. As of the 1950’s sales were to the point where it just wasn’t worth their time to produce it anymore. And so – sadly the Pernod Fils dynasty came to an end.
April 24th, 2009 at 5:36 am
That seems so sad as they seem to be the standard of quality in vintage and modern reproductions of absinthes today. The question is: Who has their old recipe???
April 24th, 2009 at 7:04 am
My best guess is Ted Breaux. He reverse engineered a pre-ban bottle of Pernod Fils and the result is his PF 1901. I have talked with people who have had the great fortune to try samples of pre-ban Pernod Fils and they say that the PF 1901 is very close.
April 24th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
The PF 1901 is absolutely one of my favorites along with the clandestines and the La Valotes. How do the other Jades compare to the 1901? I’ve never had any of the others. Have you heard anything about the new U.S. Jade that’s been recently released? I like the Lucid and think it’s very good but the PF 1901 is in a league of it’s own! As you can see from my preferences, I’m a big La Bleue fan. Any recommendations for any other quality vertes?
April 24th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
The other Jade absinthes are all top quality, although I think the 1901 is the absolute best. It’s been a long time since I had any, but the Nouvelle Orleans, which was recently released in the US, tatses like a stronger version of Lucid. There are several excellent vertes out there and I would recommend either the Epoque or Alandia’s Maisson.
April 25th, 2009 at 10:14 am
At ALANDIA they sell some vintage Absinthe bottles, empty and one unopened one. It is as well an Pernod Fils Tarragona for sale, but the price is, let´s say quite high…I would buy a car instead
http://www.alandia.de/absinthe/index.php/language/en/cat/c59_Absinthe-Bottles.html
April 25th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
Well written article.
April 26th, 2009 at 3:26 am
I’ve seen the bottle at Alandia and it is a bit pricey. Alandia does however have very reasonable prices on other anitques. Glasses, spoons, topettes, ect. They’re worth a look.
May 31st, 2009 at 7:53 pm
Yes, Alandia is more expensive than say Fee verte/Virtual Absinthe Museum’s vintage stuff, but it can only be expected to rise in price with it becoming much harder to find these days…
August 11th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
Hello all,
Bouncing back on absinthejack’s comments about Pernod and being a big fan of their absinthe, I just wanted to correct some innaccuracies: absinthe was banned in France in 1915, notedly because of lesser absinthes were distilled without adequate quality control, resulting in a general health hazard.
Pernod actually being the creator of absinthe in 1805, it had kept its original recipe throughout the years. When the ban was lifted, Pernod used its original recipe to create an absinthe that conformed with current legislation but that stayed faithful to the authentic spirit of the very first Pernod Absinthe. The “Pernod aux Plantes d’Absinthe Supérieure” that you can buy today is, from what I’m told, identitical in taste and spirit to the legend from the Belle Epoque.
I am myself a big fan of the brand and what they do, especially because of their authenticity and the taste. I also heard that they should soon be putting out a gift pack with a designer absinthe spoon, has anyone heard anything about this?
August 11th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Hi Guilhem,
Thanks for your contribution, but I must say I think you are listening to Pernod’s marketing campaign and not researching your facts. Pernod didn’t invent absinthe. The first recorded mention of absinthe was in a Swiss newspaper in 1769 where a woman by the name of Suzanne-Margerite Henriod was selling her concoction. In 1792 Dr. Pierre Ordinaire bought the recipe and put his own spin on it and marketed it. In 1792 the recipe was sold to the Pernod family. I have personally had 4 glasses of Tarragona vintage Pernod Fils and they tasted nothing like modern Pernod. I have spoken to several people who have been lucky enough to have tried pre-ban Pernod Fils and they also say it tastes nothing like modern Pernod. Of course the taste is subjective, but here’s one fact that is certain – modern Pernod uses food coloring. It says so right on the label. Original Pernod Fils did not. If you like it, then by all means drink it, but I would suggest you check out some independent absinthe review sites and you’ll find it is not thought very highly of. I’m curious, what other brands of absinthe have you tried?
May 12th, 2010 at 12:01 am
guess you learn something new every day! thanks much
May 25th, 2010 at 6:02 am
Howdy there,Great blog post dude! i am just Tired of using RSS feeds and do you use twitter?so i can follow you there:D.
PS:Do you considered putting video to this blog posts to keep the readers more interested?I think it works.Best regards, Carmine Hullinger
May 25th, 2010 at 2:16 pm
Thanks for the comments! We don’t currently use twitter and I don’t have a video capable camera right now, but if you’ve got any absinthe videos please post them. Our sister site, Alandia, will soon have an Absinthe Community page. It’ll very interactive and is sure to have some great videos. Keep watching!
June 28th, 2010 at 8:35 pm
hi there
my mum as recently required a old bottle of pernod, its a old 1 we believe, the fill level is just above the bottom of the neck stamp, it has the silver foil top neck, and on the stamp it only says pernod with a symbol top and bottom, back label is green, showing a picture of a glass, with 1 vol.pernod at bottom and 5 vol.EAU GLACEE on it.
was wondering if you could tell me the age and possible value to it.
kindest regards nigel scott
June 29th, 2010 at 4:26 pm
Hi Nigel. If it only says Pernod on the label it is probably a pastis and not absinthe. Without seeing it I really can’t speculate on the age or value. If you could post some pictures of it I might be able to give you more information. Cheers!
June 30th, 2010 at 12:36 pm
I know this is a bit off-topic, but what template are you using? Is it custom? I like it!
June 30th, 2010 at 3:48 pm
Thanks, glad you like it. But I have no idea what template is being used. I manage the blog, but didn’t create it and don’t maintain it. I’m kind of an idiot when it comes to computers