Butterfly Absinthe is a modern rendition of a classic pre-prohibition absinthe first produced in Boston in the early 1900's. It has been re-produced at the Artemisia Distillery in partnership with the Boston-based brand owner, Brian Fernald.
In the early 1900's, America was ripe with domestically produced
absinthe prior to prohibition. The absinthe they created was unique in
style and different from what was imported from Europe. Pre-prohibition
American absinthe made liberal use of the herbs growing in the Midwest
and New England. Fields of wormwood were scattered across the country
and yielded so much of the famed herb that it was exported to Europe.
The style stands out from other classic absinthes by its use of mint,
citrus zest and other herbs creating a complex but refreshing flavor
profile.
The Return of Butterfly Absinthe
The concept of
re-producing Butterfly began while an American absintheur, Brian Fernald,
was researching pre-prohibition distilleries in Massachusetts. Brian
has a strong appreciation for absinthe and the history of classic
cocktail ingredients. In his mind, Butterfly Absinthe should have been
one of the first absinthe brands American distillers looked towards when
the TTB adjusted their viewpoint on absinthe in 2007. Instead,
Butterfly remained overlooked and Brian decided to start the project
himself. The first step of the project was enlisting a group of local
historians to research the brand and the Dempsey family. The research
yielded a treasure trove of distilling information including a
collection of books once owned by the Dempsey family with hand annotated
recipes. With this valuable information, Brian set out to find a
distiller to bring these recipes back to life. Claude-Alain Bugnon of La Clandestine fame was approached to see if he
was interested in the project. La Clandestine had been one of Brian’s
favorite absinthes since he purchased one the first bottles produced
in 2005. Claude-Alain was intrigued by the idea of Butterfly and
agreed to create a distillers proof from Dempsey’s recipe. From
there, Butterfly went into commercial production with a release date
in the summer of 2010.
65% abv; 130 proof.
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