Drinking Absinthe at The Old Absinthe House circa 1909

Occasionally one finds a surprise on the written side of a vintage postcard.

This 1909 Postcard featuring The Old Absinthe House is a fairly common vintage postcard, but the real gem, was this written description of absinthe served at The Old Absinthe House:

 "Absinthe is a great French drink, this is the only place in this country where they drip it, Holes are worn in the marble, an inch deep."

 

80 Years Of Legendre Herbsaint

 March 1st, 2014 Legendre Herbsaint, The Spirit Of New Orleans, turns 80!

Happy Birthday Herbsaint!

Early 1934 Legendre Herbsaint Items

A little grouping of 1934 Legendre Herbsaint items, including the earliest known '34 Herbsaint pint bottle, a '34 Herbsaint Mini, a 1934 Legendre Herbsaint Booklet,22 Ways of Enjoying Herbsaint and an unused 1934 Herbsaint label date stamped June '34, by the Indiana Liquor Control Board.

L. E. Jung GREENOPAL

One of the many chapters in the shared history of New Orleans, and Absinthe was an old New Orleans distiller L. E. Jung. (Later to be known as L. E. Jung & Wulff)

L. E Jung distilled absinthe, among their many types of bitters, liquers, and liquors during their roughly sixty year history. From the surviving information, it appears that L.E. Jung produced a copy of C.F. Berger's absinthe , both as a verte, and a blanche.

When the USA banned absinthe in 1912, L.E Jung would reformulate their Absinthe in 1913 and produce what may well have been the first American Absinthe substitute, called GREENOPAL.

This extremely rare surviving example of GREENOPAL, now resides in our collection

During the long dry spell of prohibition, L.E. Jung would produce a non-alcoholic absinthe cordial, until repeal, then L.E. Jung & Wulff (renamed following the death of Louis Jung in 1926, when business partner Fred Wulff became head of the company) would resume production of absinthe in December 1933, until ordered to cease absinthe production by the FACA in early 1934

During this period Jung & Wulff would use a rotating group of names for their absinthe substitute, trying to gain market traction for their product. Greenopal would resurface under the house brand of Solari’s market in the mid-1930s.

The New Orleans Absinthe Manufacturers Association

A quick iPhone photo to preview a coming attraction.
The New Orleans Absinthe Manufacturers Association.

Below are two of the three New Orleans distillers that formed The New Orleans Asbinthe Manufacturers Association.

Three rare survivors...

Twin Legendre Absinthe Bottles

Two surviving Legendre Absinthe bottles from the earliest days of Legendre & Co.
A very rare find.

Legendre Absinthe was the original name for Legendre Herbsaint, appearing after prohibition was repealed during December 1933.

Below is a billboard on Canal St. in New Orleans, Dec. 1933 announcing Legendre Absinthe.

With Legendre Absinthe,  J. Marion Legendre had an advantage over his other competitors in the spirits industry, Legendre Absinthe did not need years of barrel aging like other spirits, so J.M. Legendre was able to have Legendre Absinthe bottled and ready for sale during the first month of repeal.

Below is a Newspaper ad for Legendre & Co., Dec. 31, 1933. 

A surviving Legendre Absinthe Booklet from the Sazerac Co. collection.

 Unfortunately for Legendre & Co., the Federal Alcohol Control Administration would be unprepared to regulate the spirits industry, and properly deal with the rush of business during the early days of repeal, and by the first few months of 1934, the Federal Alcohol Control Administration, would require that Legendre & Co. remove the word absinthe from the label.

Legendre & Co. was not the only New Orleans distiller caught up in the post prohibition legal confusion, regarding absinthe, two other old time New Orleans distillers would also find that they too, would have to remove the word absinthe from their labeling of their products.

We will talk more about this in the coming days...
Stay Tuned & Happy New Year!

Repeal at The Old Absinthe House Dec. 5, 1933

December 5, 1933 Repeal of Prohibition is celebrated at The Old Absinthe House, as documented by a recent postal card find.

It is quite interesting to see the writer celebrating repeal at The Old Absinthe House, and mentioning "You Have No Idea What Absinthe Does To The Soft Southern Drawl".

One might wonder whether it was left over pre-ban absinthe, or perhaps some of Mr. Legendre's early product to toast the end of prohibition.

It must have been quite an evening...