Absinthe was banned in France in 1914, this Pernod Fils bottle is from the period before the ban. It dates from around 1910. It is in excellent condition, meaning that it has a good filling level, an intact neck-foil and Pernod Fils branded wax seal and original labels complete with only minor scuffing. The bottle has as well the iconic Pernod Fils glass stamp at the bottleneck. Pernod Fils is the classic Absinthe of the Belle Époque, the benchmark by which all others are judged. Bottles in such pristine condition are extremely rare. A very desirable object and definitely an investment for the future. Owning a pre-ban Absinthe is reserved to only a few people in the world.
Pernod Fils: Vintage Absinthe from the 19th century
Pernod Fils was the most popular brand of Absinthe throughout the 19th century until the Green Fairy was banned in France in 1914. During the late 19th century, the Pernod Fils name became synonymous with Absinthe. The brand represented the standard of quality by which all other brands were judged. The beginning of this very special brand can be traced as far back as the 1790s. It was during this time in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, that Dr. Pierre Ordinaire created a distilled patent medicine that would represent the earliest origins of the Green Fairy.
The recipe then came into the hands of Henri Louis Pernod through the means of a business deal, and in 1797, he and Daniel Henri Dubied opened the first Absinthe distillery in Couvet, Switzerland. Now, they began to commercialize Dr. Ordinaires medicine to a world known spirit. Pernod later built a larger distillery in Pontarlier, France, in 1805. This set the stage that would cause the sleepy community of Pontarlier to eventually emerge as the home of twenty-eight commercial Absinthe distilleries, and the world's center of Absinthe production.
