Absinthes produced in Denmark from the 19th to

Absinthes produced in Denmark from the 19th to the 21st century
In this article we are taking a look at the history of the Danish absinthes. A short overview:
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12 brands of Danish produced absinthes are currently known.
The first Danish absinthes were produced in the mid-to late 1800s.
There has been an uninterrupted production of absinthe in Denmark from 1920 until
today.
For a period during the 1980s absinthe was only produced in Val de Travers and Denmark
The Danish absinthe manufacturers tried to produce real absinthe, the production was
never meant to exploit the absinthe history.
Due to the lack of distillery-equipment, most Danish absinthes were manufactured by
mixing essential oils. Therefore the absinthes lacked in complexity compared to distilled
absinthes.
Drinking absinthe in Copenhagen
Historically, the Danes imported wellknown brands like Pernod Fils, or
commissioned absinthes in Switzerland
and put their own labels on the
bottles.
In the 1800s many Swiss immigrated to
Copenhagen. Some of them opened
bakeries, patisseries and later cafés,
where they served baked goods, coffee
and liquors. There are many references
to drinking absinthe in these cafés in
Danish literature. An indication of how
popular absinthe was in Denmark
might be the fact that Denmark was
one of the few countries outside
France where Pernod Fils had a depot.
For information about absinthe culture
in Denmark see Hartsmars article
about absinthe in Sweden and
Denmark.
Drinking Danish absinthe
Absinthe in Denmark was always drunk with ice water from a glass carafe, usually without sugar.
But with the prohibition of absinthe around the world, the habit of drinking absinthe with water
also slowly died out in Denmark. Throughout the 1950s, 60s and 70s, absinthe was mainly used in
cocktails. Production of the Danish Holmegaard absinthe glass also ended around 1950.
In the early 1980s the famous Danish bar Tannhäuser revived absinthe as a stand-alone drink with
water, and today more and more bars in Copenhagen serve absinthe again.
The 12 Danish absinthe brands
1. Jaques Mini & Fils Absinthe / Jacob Mini og Sønner Absinthe
The first Danish produced absinthe was probably made by Swiss
immigrant Jacob Mini, who was a successful wine merchant in the
1800s in Copenhagen. He was also the owner of a popular café and a
distillery. Mini produced the brand ”Jaques Mini & Fils Absinthe” in
addition to importing and selling Swiss absinthe for many years.
As Libelulle has pointed out earlier, the Jaques Mini & Fils label was, <cough>, inspired by the
Absinthe Edouard Pernod label.
Most absinthe sold in Denmark before the ban was imported from France
and Switzerland, such as this Swiss bottle of Bossard Pere & Fils from the
1870s.
After the French ban in 1915 absinthe remained legal in Denmark and wine
merchants and bars had secured large stocks of absinthe for their
customers. An article from a Danish 1917 newspaper reports that
customers still drank Pernod absinthe every day at the prestigious Hotel
d'Angleterre: Only blanche, since the hotel had run out of verte by then.
Once the entire absinthe stock was depleted, the Danish wine merchants started producing
absinthe themselves to satisfy the demand for absinthe.
2. Bennoh Absinth
Benni Golf was a Danish wine merchant who had
learned the art of wine trading in France. He loved
France and was a friend of the van Gogh family, and
he even wrote a book about Vincent van Gogh in
1938.
In the early 1920s, when Denmark started to run out
of absinthe, Benni Golf decided to produce his own
absinthe and to sell it together with his gin and other
types of alcohol he was producing. He called the new
brand Bennoh as an obvious reference to both
Pernod and his own name.
As a reference to the old French absinthe bottles, he
ordered specially produced bottles with glass seals
with the name “Golf” on it. The neck was wrapped in
silver foil and the prop lacquer-sealed, just like the
Pernod Fils bottles.
3. Casanova Absinth
The trademark "Casanova absinth" was registered by wine merchant Hedobald Petersens Eftf. in
1938. Nothing else is known about this brand.
4. L. Perret & Co. Absinth
The brand ”L. Perret og Co.” was registered as a protected Danish trademark for production of
liquors in 1917 by ”Societé Anonyme L. Perret & Cie A/S, Bordeaux-Copenhague”. 1917 was of
course two years after the French absinthe ban, and there is currently no evidence that L. Perret &
Cie sold absinth in Denmark at this time.
In 1937-38 the company changed their name to L. Perret & Co., A/S, København and in 1947 the
brand ”Perret” was registered for sale and “production of all kinds of alcohol”. The 1947 brand is
the logo with the typeface we have seen on later Danish absinthe bottles.
Wine merchant Vilh. Christensen A/S obtained the “L. Perret & Co. A/S, København” brand in
1957. And the known bottles of L. Perret & Co Absinth was sold in
bottles from Vilh. Christensen A/S, so these bottles were possibly
sold in the late 1950s to early 60s.
5. Arthur Fich Absinth
Arthur Fich began as a wine merchant in 1916. He produced an absinth
carrying his own name, however it is currently not known when he produced
his absinth. The bottle in the photo belonging to Hartsmar is likely from the
late 1950s, early 60s.
Left: Arthur Fich absinth next to a glass of 1925-1930 Bennoh absinth.
6. Golf Absinth Original
By the late 1960s and early 70s Pernod became
known as a pastis and the Danes no longer thought of
absinthe as synonymous with Pernod Fils, the label
was therefore changed from “Bennoh” to “Benni Golf
Absinthe Original”.
It is possible this took place around 1970 when the
company re-registered as Golf Wine and Spirits Co.
A/S.
7. Bestle Absinth
In 1974 “Golf Wine and Spirits Co. A/S” was bought by Georg Bestle A/S and sometime during
the last half of 1970 the label for Golf Absinthe Original was changed to ”Bestle Absinthe”.
Production seems to have ended before 1980.
8. Absinth Rasch
An “Absinth Rasch” label from the
Tannhäusers Alcohol Museum from wine
merchant Rasch in Copenhagen features
drawings of Holmegaard absinthe glasses.
The text says “Absinth Rasch,
Manufactured by Hans Chr. Rasch,
Copenhagen”.
Nothing else is currently known about this
brand.
9. Helmbæk Absinth
Produced until 1984
Jens Helmbæk owned a major whole sales wine business in Copenhagen and produced a Helmbæk
absinth. When he ended the absinth production, Jørgen Sømod from the Tannhäuser Bar bought
the last bottles. After running out of Helmbæk absinth, Sømod then decided to produce the
absinthe by himself and to purchase the recipe from Jens Helmbæk.
10.Tannhäuser Absinth
(1983-1986)
The Tannhäuser Bar was a Danish 1980s icon. The legendary bar was
opened in 1983 by Jørgen Sømod, who until his death in 2013 was
the leading expert on Danish coins and tokens and authored more
than 400 books and articles on Danish coins.
Sømod was a collector by heart and toured the cellars of the old
Danish wine merchants for rare bottles of alcohols. Tannhäuser had
more than 400 different types of alcohol, and when the bar opened
in 1984, Tarragona absinthe and Jens Helmbæk absinth were on the
bar card.
Tannhäuser Bar was known for a number of
things, including the “Ugly Bugly” cocktail
which featured three lashes with a whip of
the customers own choice - and as being the
only bar in the world at the time where you
could buy absinthe.
Sømod wrote a ten-page booklet on
absinthe that customers could purchase, and
the bar featured a small alcohol museum
with old glasses and absinthe bottles.
Tannhäuser owner Jørgen Sømod in front of
the Absinthe section of the Tannhäuser
alcohol museum.
Danish newspaper 1984. Caption: “Tannhäuser is
the only place in the world that serves absinth.
Jørgen Sømod is presenting a bottle.”
“When the conversation turns to Absinth, the
owners favorite child, Jørgen Sømods eyes shines,
he gesticulates, and his voice becomes intense.”
11.Kruts Karport Absinth
(1986 – still in production)
When the Tannhäuser Bar closed in 1986 the Kruths Karport Bar bought
the remaining bottles of absinth together with the recipe for Sømod’s
Tannhäuser absinth. During the 80s and 90s the bar was very popular in
Copenhagen, not at least because of the absinth.
12.Esrum Sø absinth
2011 – still in production
The Esrum Sø microdistillery started their own production of a distilled
absinthe in 2011 and presented it in 2012 at Kruts Karport. The first
batches were promising and we hope for more Danish absinthes to
come in the future.
Honorable mention
La Maison Fontaine
Sven Olsen, who is one of the owners of La Maison Fontaine is
Danish. His absinthes are produced in France at Les Fils d'Emile
Pernot, so they hardly count as Danish absinthes.
Michèle & Carsten - http://www.pinterest.com/xcjo/absinthe-antiques/