Opinion on replacing Pernod with Absynth - Tiki Drinks and Food

H Herbsaint Member Houston, Tx Joined: Oct 09, 2008 Posts: 6	H Herbsaint Posted posted on Thu, Oct 9, 2008 12:54 PM On 2008-02-05 11:34, I-Tiki wrote: It makes sense since Pernod I believe was created when the company couldn't produce Absynth anymore. Wait, let's think about that for a moment. If you're asking about substituting Absinthe for a pastis in a drink like a Zombie, I don't think there's any historical precedence for that. I mean, it's your drink. Make it however you prefer it. But if you're trying to re-create what Don the Beachcomber concocted, I think you're off the mark. Absinthe was outlawed in the U.S. in 1912, so Don wasn't using that. Pernod came along sometime after that as a substitute. Herbsaint hit the market in 1934, the same year that Don created the first Zombie. Since Herbsaint was a brand new product coming out of New Orleans and Don was in California, it's probably unlikely he used Herbsaint in that first Zombie and more likely he used Pernod. Now the recipe for Herbsaint was changed in the 1970s, so if you use it today in a Don the Beachcomber drink and you assume that Don also used it, then you're not using the same thing he did. Does anyone know if the Pernod recipe has changed over the years? Interesting post, I think Legendre Herbsaint was far more likely to have been used since J.Marion Legendre aggressively marketed the early Herbsaint, advertising in west coast newspapers as early as Dec. 31, 1933. Herbsaint first appeared immediately after repeal of prohibition as Legendre Absinthe, until the name Herbsaint was adopted Mar. 1934, when the FACA "asked" Legendre & Co. to remove the word absinthe from the first label. I would be willing to bet that in the early post repeal days, imported Pernod Pastis would have been harder to find than Herbsaint, or the other 1930s absinthe substitutes such as Jung & Wulff's Milky-Way, Yochim's Nouvelle Orleans, Mohawk's Abson, or Solari's GreenOpal. I have quite a bit of historical material on Legendre & Co., and outside of New Orleans, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, were two of the largest markets for Herbsaint. The old Herbsaint was a bit lighter on the anise and better balanced than the modern version, but the ingredients have not changed, you'd just want to use a lighter touch with the modern Herbsaint in mixing drinks. Yes, I have tasted the old Herbsaint a time or two. [ Edited by: Herbsaint 2008-10-09 12:55 ]

On 2008-02-05 11:34, I-Tiki wrote:
It makes sense since Pernod I believe was created when the company couldn't produce Absynth anymore.

Wait, let's think about that for a moment. If you're asking about substituting Absinthe for a pastis in a drink like a Zombie, I don't think there's any historical precedence for that. I mean, it's your drink. Make it however you prefer it. But if you're trying to re-create what Don the Beachcomber concocted, I think you're off the mark. Absinthe was outlawed in the U.S. in 1912, so Don wasn't using that. Pernod came along sometime after that as a substitute. Herbsaint hit the market in 1934, the same year that Don created the first Zombie. Since Herbsaint was a brand new product coming out of New Orleans and Don was in California, it's probably unlikely he used Herbsaint in that first Zombie and more likely he used Pernod. Now the recipe for Herbsaint was changed in the 1970s, so if you use it today in a Don the Beachcomber drink and you assume that Don also used it, then you're not using the same thing he did. Does anyone know if the Pernod recipe has changed over the years?

Interesting post, I think Legendre Herbsaint was far more likely to have been used since J.Marion Legendre aggressively marketed the early Herbsaint, advertising in west coast newspapers as early as Dec. 31, 1933. Herbsaint first appeared immediately after repeal of prohibition as Legendre Absinthe, until the name Herbsaint was adopted Mar. 1934, when the FACA "asked" Legendre & Co. to remove the word absinthe from the first label.

I would be willing to bet that in the early post repeal days, imported Pernod Pastis would have been harder to find than Herbsaint, or the other 1930s absinthe substitutes such as Jung & Wulff's Milky-Way, Yochim's Nouvelle Orleans, Mohawk's Abson, or Solari's GreenOpal.

I have quite a bit of historical material on Legendre & Co., and outside of New Orleans, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, were two of the largest markets for Herbsaint.

The old Herbsaint was a bit lighter on the anise and better balanced than the modern version, but the ingredients have not changed, you'd just want to use a lighter touch with the modern Herbsaint in mixing drinks.

Yes, I have tasted the old Herbsaint a time or two.

[ Edited by: Herbsaint 2008-10-09 12:55 ]

Post #412501 by Herbsaint on Thu, Oct 9, 2008 12:54 PM