The new faces of absinthe
As London gets its first absinthe distillery, Millie Milliken arms herself with an absinthe spoon and discovers the elixirs that are giving the spirit a new lease of life, and why the category might just surprise you.
Among my taxidermy collection are a mouse with a Jacobean collar (Blackadder), a Victorian menagerie of hummingbirds (The Jackson Five) and a sleeping mouse (Cheese). None of them, however, come close to the specimens that inhabit absinthe parlour, The Last Tuesday Society, in Hackney. One of my last visits to the curio-stuffed absinthe bar saw me take a perch next to a stuffed lion called Leonora (see header) sitting upright and wearing a red top hat. Directors Allison Crawbuck and Rhys Everett sure know how to do whimsy.
Visit London s first ever absinthe distillery
The Devil’s Botany Distillery is the brainchild of two devoted “absintheurs” – owners of The Last Tuesday Society, the Hackney bar famous for its taxidermy collection and absinthe-based cocktails including “The Naughty Nun” and “Magik & Medicine”.
“Devil’s Botany London Absinthe honours the traditions mastered by the historic absinthe distillers of Switzerland’s Val-de-Travers while introducing a new style of absinthe that is quintessentially British,” says co-founder Allison Crawbuck, originally from Brooklyn. “It is the long-lost cousin to gin and we make it with botanicals gathered from the Hackney marshes and around Walthamstow.”
Head distiller Rhys Everett says: “The distinctively bitter almost chocolatey notes of grand wormwood are sweetened by the warm spice of green anise and the very present fennel, creating a strong yet wonderfully balanced holy trinity at its base. Grounded by
The Drinks Business
19 January 2021 By Isabelle Gray
Devil’s Botany, London’s first dedicated absinthe distillery, has opened in the east London district of Leyton.
The distillery is the brainchild of the owners of East London’s The Last Tuesday Society, the Hackney bar best known for its unique decor and taxidermy collection, as well as its huge collection of absinthe and absinthe-based cocktails.
Founders Allison Crawbuck and Rhys Everett are hoping to put absinthe on the map in the UK capital.
“Devil’s Botany London Absinthe honours the traditions mastered by the historic absinthe distillers of Switzerland’s Val-de-Travers while introducing a new style of absinthe that is quintessentially British,” co-founder Crawbuck told
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