Thanks to everyone who came out today.  We had a great time and it was the smoothest bottling ever!

We’ll be bottling the first two batches this Sunday, May 6th and shipping them to the distributor first thing next week. Anyone who wants to join the bottling party is definitely welcome; we’ll be starting at 11 a.m. sharp, in Woodinville!

Expect Marteau to show up in stores and bars in a week to two weeks!

Local retailers and bar managers: contact our WA distribution partners, A&B Imports, and place your orders now.  Out-of-state folks, email your P.O.s to me.

The bottling that was scheduled for this Saturday, the 28th, was postponed and has now been set for Sunday, May 6th at 11 a.m..

Please RSVP if you’ll be able to make the bottling, but mostly just to let me know that you saw this.  Otherwise I’ll lose sleep wondering if people are going to show up to an empty distillery tomorrow.

Much Gratitude, and Best Wishes to You for a Glorious Weekend!

It’s been a long time coming, but tomorrow, April 17th, will be the first distillation of Marteau Absinthe de la Belle Époque since November of 2009, and we’ll be distilling another batch on Saturday the 21st.

The two batches will be aggregated and then bottled on the next Saturday, April 28th. That’s where you come in! I’ll need a few extra hands with the bottling, corking, foiling, labeling, and packing, about 12 people in all. We’ll get together about 11:00 a.m. on Saturday and we should be done in only two or three hours. Then lunch is on me!

If you’d like to join the bottling party, let me know asap!

This morning the TTB Alcohol Labeling and Formulation Division gave the official green light to the Marteau Absinthe formula, allowing production to commence.

• After the inevitable delays of haggling with TTB specialists over whether a particular botanical is safe or not (in spite of them being clearly listed in CFR 21 172.510), formula approval is only days away, and then production can finally resume!

• I signed up a distributor for Washington this week, and we’ll begin lining up accounts in about two weeks, after I have a chance to train the staff in Absinthe 101.

• Last month, Pete and I did a tasting at the annual benefit gala for University of Washington’s Henry Art Gallery. It was glamorous and glitzy and folks loved us. Although I suspect they were simply using us to get to the Marteau.

• This month, Absinthe Marteau is sponsoring The Moisture Festival, and will be served at all of the burlesque shows, playing at the Broadway Performance Hall (we’re huge burlesque and nouveau cirque fans). Pete, Trinity and I will be pouring at most of them.

• Then on the 31st, we’ll be pouring again at a benefit for The Stranger Genius Awards and Shunpike at the Space Needle.

• Next month, on April 5th, we’ll be pouring at The Sound of Silents with a Side of Schtick.

Things are picking up, and I’m looking forward to putting Marteau in a store near you!

From the Distillery

In January, I told you that I’d made arrangements to produce the first few batches of Marteau at another distillery here in Seattle, until our own distillery permit comes through.  Well, the formula was submitted to the TTB several weeks ago, and I expect the approval form to arrive this week.  There was a little haggling with the TTB formulation specialist (it seems there always is when it comes to absinthe) and after I demonstrated that all of the ingredients really are safe, he agreed to approve the formula.  Once we have approval, production begins!

Marteau Sponsors The Moisture Festival’S ‘Libertease’  BURLESQUE shows

The Moisture Festival is the world’s largest Comedy/Varietè festival, running for four weeks every spring in Seattle, and this year you’ll be able to order a glass of Marteau Absinthe at all of the Libertease burlesque shows at the Broadway Performance Hall, as well at the Moisture/SIFF presented The Sound of Silents with a Side of Schtick, at the Uptown Cinema.  This year the Moisture Festival runs from March 15th through April 8th, so pick a show and get your tickets!

We’ve been big fans of burlesque for years, and have enjoyed the revival immensely.  Of course, absinthe and burlesque are old friends, so it made perfect sense to seize the opportunity to put them together!

The Burlesque scene in Seattle is ripe with immense creativity. These local performers relish the edge and fearlessly explore sexual humor. They’ve consistently garnered a top spot in the Las Vegas Miss Exotic World Pageant. Combine these local burlesque stars with national and international headliners in this genre, add varietè artists whose material and humor not only cross the line but mock the idea that there is a line and you have The Moisture Festival’s Libertease Burlesque Shows. If you are 18 years or older buy a ticket and fasten your seat belt.

 
The Great American Absinthe Festival 

Join the Wormwood Society June 1st through 3rd, nestled in the alpine beauty of Montana’s Flathead National Forest for the first American absinthe festival!

America needs its own absinthe festival, and what better way than to have it to evolve naturally from the hard work and success of Joe and Julie Legate’s semi-private event, The Rocky Mountain Green Hour?

Wormwood Society board members and distillers of Ridge Absinthe Verte, Ridge Absinthe Blanche, and Silvertip Gin, Joe and Julie have been hosting RMGH for three years now, so we already know that northern Montana boasts a glorious alpine ambiance and is home to some of the most flavorful and fragrant wild wormwood around.  It’s the perfect place to start!

Although this is a consumer’s festival and will never become a corporate trade-show style event, it will inevitably grow, so you’ll want to be able to say “I was there when it all began!”

This will be a casual event that will be enjoyable for extreme absinthistes and newcomers alike: a couple of social get-togethers on Friday and Saturday evenings, a day of seminars, tastings and panel discussions on Saturday (with room in between for relaxing), and a Farewell Brunch on Sunday.

Registrations are limited to under 200 people, so register now!

Cheers!
Gwydion Stone

Owner, Distiller
Gnostalgic Spirits Distillery
920 South Holgate St.
Seattle, WA

Copyright (C)

The Immanent Return of Marteau Absinthe!
The world has been deprived of Marteau for too long already, so it’s time we did something about that, right?  Although I really wanted to begin production at my own brand-new distillery, the delays have proved much longer than anticipated, so I’ve made arrangements with another local facility to begin production while the final stages of our own permitting are completed.  This will probably only be a few batches, since we expect the distillery permit to be clear by late spring.  The current estimated release of Marteau is around March or April.

We’re now at a stage where we can begin talking to distributors who would like to take Marteau into new markets, and to current distributors about how much product they’ll need to begin re-filling the pipeline.

Also—but don’t hold me to this—you may be able to order Marteau and our other products directly from the distillery website. Washington state liquor laws are in flux at the moment, so we’ll see.  You will of course always be able to order online from other retail sites, such as drinkupny.com.

Immediately upon product availability, I’ll begin doing PR events of various kinds to help increase public awareness.  These will range from simple store tastings to full-scale launch parties.  I’m in cahoots with some really fun entertainment folks and have some great ideas for events, but I’m always interested in hearing yours as well, so write!

Craft vs. Standard Distilling License
As you may know, I have some strong opinions on the so-called “craft” distiller license option in Washington State. After a good deal of thought, I announced on my blog in September that I’ve decided to operate under the standard distillery license.  Given the types of spirits I want to make, the materials needed, and the level of distribution I expect, the reduced-fee license turns out to be less attractive than a standard license.  Read more about this decision and its ramifications on my blog, Confessions of an Absinthiste.   The good news is that this change of plan has made a number of exciting things possible:

Gnostalgic Spirits Private Barrel & Private Label Programs
In order to re-generate the operating capital depleted by the long delays, I began to explore the possibility of offering opportunities to invest in barreled spirits.  After months of considering options and researching legalities, I finally identified a fully compliant (legal) and feasible way of offering private barrel, private label, and limited-production spirits, on a futures basis.


Then, Washington State Initiative 1183 (demanding liquor privatization) passed, and all that research and planning became pointless and our liquor laws have become chaos as the state prepares to exit the liquor business.

While I do have concerns over many of the effects this change will entail (higher taxes/fees for example), I admit that it does a number of very good things as well. One of those things is to get out of the way of us selling directly to the public—including retail stores, bars, and restaurants—by the bottle or by the case, possibly even by the drink.



That also means a local bar or restaurant can offer their own house-label, locally-made artisanal spirits.  It also means that you can own your own private barrel of spirits and visit it and taste it as it matures.  Heck, you can love it, and pet it, and squeeze it, and name it George, if you want to.

Gnostalgic Imports:  Rum & Scotch Whisky
Although it’s occurred to me from time to time, I never really planned to be a bottler of imported spirits. However, while I was looking for overproof Caribbean rum to use as a base for my Falernum a few months back, I made some good connections with other distillers around the world.

It’s looking like we’ll be able to offer several premium imported spirits bottled under our own brands.  Or yours.  Just like the locally-distilled spirits mentioned in the above barrel program, we’re able to offer private label service for individual private consumers or groups of consumers, and on-premise retailers (bars and restaurants). Please contact me as soon as possible if you’re interested in any of the private label/barrel projects.

That’s a lot of great news, and there’s more to come in the coming months, so stay tuned!

Here’s wishing you and yours a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

Cheers!
Gwydion Stone

Owner, Distiller
Gnostalgic Spirits Distillery
Seattle, WA

LAST MINUTE UPDATE:
Watch for news of the release of G. Stone’s Cocktail Syrups, starting with G. Stone’s Cane & Gum, a traditional simple syrup made with pure artesian spring water, real turbinado cane sugar, and gum arabic.  Since the days of the earliest cocktails, gum arabic was added to syrups for extra smooth cocktails with more body.  I feel that the particular balance I’ve achieved between the sweetness and added silky smooth mouthfeel makes this the ideal cocktail sweetener; and I think you’ll agree!

Copyright (C) 2012

Just enough time to take a breather and wish all of you a very happy and contented holiday season!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Gwydion & Trinity Stone!

“Pernod Ricard is seeking to breathe new life into absinthe by targeting its own namesake brand of the controversial spirit at the arts and fashion world.”

First of all there’s no way that I—or any other artisanal distiller—can compete with an industrial distiller such as P-R in terms of volume or marketing power and penetration.  Pernod Ricard’s market share is around 27% and they own many of the most well-known spirits brands in the world.  They have bottomless pockets.

But ultimately, it’s what’s in the bottle that counts.  Based on that alone, I remain confident.

International director for Pernod absinthe, Jean-François Collobert says: “If this category is well-managed by the main players, then it could one day become a major category.”

Here’s hoping that they really do bring back the authentic, original, Pernod Fils formula (without FD&C Yellow #5 and Blue #2).