11 years in the making. And right on time. Many distillers consider absinthe to be the pinnacle of their art. We labored over ours accordingly. It wasn’t legal to sell when he started, but master distiller Lance Winters spent over a decade refining his recipe anyway, which made us ready when the ban was lifted. St. George Absinthe Verte wasn’t just the first legal American absinthe, it still sets the standard.
Formats: 750ml & 200ml
ABV: 60%
Availability: Widely available
Made from a host of real botanical ingredients, St. George Absinthe Verte is an evocative expression of this storied elixir. Spirits are our form of self-expression, and Absinthe Verte epitomizes our passion for composing lush layers of flavor that keep you discovering more with each sip.
Absinthe is based on the unholy trinity of wormwood, fennel, and anise. In our case, we use star anise, a move that has earned its fair share of backlash amongst absinthe purists. But our goal has never been to adhere to tradition. We learn the rules like pros so we can break them like artists in order to create new traditions. The star anise in our recipe adds new dimension to the absinthe, taking it in a spice-driven, exotic direction.
The key to Absinthe Verte’s depth is the secondary infusion of fresh herbs that we use to add nuance to its core ingredients. Mint, tarragon, opal basil, lemon balm, hyssop, and stinging nettle weave a dense herbal nest of flavor that’s beguiling sipped neat and transformative in cocktails.
Developing Absinthe Verte was a long, patient process, and one that master distiller Lance Winters took on out of a desire to hone his craft. After all, when he began in 1996, he had no way of knowing that the absinthe ban would be lifted in 2007. Creating a beautiful absinthe means taking a number of loud botanical ingredients and making them sing in harmony. While our recipe took over a decade to develop, it shows in the intricate balance of aromas and tastes that have earned Absinthe Verte its sterling reputation.
Lines formed around the block and helicopters flew overhead when we released our first batch of Absinthe Verte, but today it’s pretty easy to find. When you open a bottle, you aren’t just tasting a spirit that has been labored over with passion, you’re unpacking a landmark in the history of American distillation.
St. George Absinthe Verte is a heady, herbaceous smack to the senses. It opens with spicy black licorice, then slowly evolves into citrus and grass profiles with a dose of sarsaparilla. Because of the abundance of essential oils, it’s rich and viscous on the palate—even at 120 proof (60% alcohol). Adding an ice cube brings out another level of vivid flavor as the melting water releases botanical oils into solution, creating a lovely louche in the process. We don’t advocate adding sugar to our absinthe. Having developed its recipe over years of patient experimentation, we think it’s pretty much perfect just as it is.
In cocktails that call for an anise spirit, St. George Absinthe Verte adds exceptional complexity and depth of flavor. It heightens its fellow herbal ingredients in classic recipes like the Tuxedo. We often see our absinthe used in Tiki cocktails, like the Zombie. And if you’re an absinthe lover, indulge yourself with an Absinthe Frappé or an Absinthe Suissesse.
