Description
Bringing back Butterfly Absinthe
The concept of Butterfly Absinthe began while an American absintheur, Brian Fernald was researching pre-prohibition distilleries in Massachusetts. Brian has a strong appreciation for absinthe and the history of classic cocktail ingredients. In his mind, Butterfly Absinthe should have been one of the first absinthe brands American distillers looked towards when the TTB adjusted their viewpoint on absinthe in 2007. Instead, Butterfly remained overlooked and Brian decided to start the project himself. The first step of the project was enlisting a group of local historians to research the brand and the Dempsey family. The research yielded a treasure trove of distilling information including a collection of books once owned by the Dempsey family with hand annotated recipes. With this valuable information, Brian set out to find a distiller to bring the Butterfly recipe back to life.
Claude-Alain Bugnon of La Clandestine fame was approached to see if he was interested in the project. La Clandestine had been one of Brian’s favorite absinthes since he purchased one the first bottles produced in 2005. Claude-Alain was intrigued by the idea of Butterfly and agreed to create a distillers proof from Dempsey’s recipe. From there, Butterfly went into commercial production with a release date in the summer of 2010.
Learn more at the Butterfly Absinthe website.
