Absinthe MATA HARI ® - The Spirit of Art
The cult drink of the turn of the century returns
History:
The first mention of an absinthe-like drink was in ancient Greece – Pythagoras and
Hippocrates describe its healing properties, its aphrodisiac effect and the increase in creativity
they experienced on drinking it.
The original recipe for absinthe as we know it today came from the Swiss sisters Henriot from
Neuchâtel and does not contain aniseed. Monsieur Pernod was the first to add aniseed after he
had purchased the recipe and had set up production in France. After absinthe was forbidden
at the beginning of the 20th century, Pernod altered the recipe and from then on sold an
aniseed-flavoured spirit under the name of Pastis.
No other alcoholic drink stimulated pain ting and poetry as much as absinthe did. It was an
elixir that inspired such artists as Toulouse-Lautrec, Manet, Renoir, Van Gogh and Gaugin,
intoxicated fantasy and made perfect verses by such as Baudelaire and Verlaine. Even Oscar
Wilde and Ernest Hemingway allowed themselves to be inspired by the drink.
Painters admired “the green fairy” like a lover. The French impressionists seemed to have
more absinthe than oxygen in their blood. Even Picasso painted women drinking absinthe and
an absinthe glass on one of his canvasses. The most legendary and mysterious absinthe
drinker of this time was most certainly MATA HARI. The recent movies “Moulin Rouge”
(Nicole Kidman) and “From Hell” (Johnny Depp) show the popularity of this drink.
Whether it was the thujone in the absinthe, the high alcohol content of up to 70%, or the
unclean alcohol which is still today often added in former Eastern bloc countries, more and
more people suffered hallucinations after excessive absinthe drinking (Van Gogh cut off his
own ear when intoxicated on absinthe). As a consequence, the drink was black-listed in
Europe and the USA.
Since 1998 absinthe production is once again permitted in EU countries, but it is only recently
that the drink has become more widely appreciated. New analyses have established the fact
that thujone is an isomer of camphor and menthol, and is similar to the main active substance
in marihuana and cannabis.
The original recipe was actually intended to have a medicinal stimulating effect and included
several “herbs”: wormwood oil, extract of wormwood, oil of sage, liquorice, oil of violet root,
cinnamon, a few secret ingredients, and of course natural green food colouring. From this
comes the name “the green fairy”.
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Absinthe MATA HARI ® – The Spirit of Art
The cult drink of the turn of the century returns.
Product information
What is so special about Absinthe MATA HARI ®:
 Original recipe from 1881
 No aniseed added
 Full & rich new taste
 Highest possible legal thujone content (as bitter spirit max. 35 mg/ltr)
 Especially nice green opalescent cloudiness on adding water and ice (without
using aniseed)
 High portion of wormwood oil (Artemisia Absinthium)
 60 p.c. vol. alcohol
Price:
Absinthe MATA HARI ® e 0,5l
Recommended retail price (without obligation) € 28 incl. VAT
The original MATA HARI ® Absinthe is available in the Old Vienna Schnaps Museum
and from selected dealers.
How to drink absinthe
There was a special ritual to drinking absinthe in the 19th century: A sugar lump was
placed on an absinthe spoon of chased silver, first absinthe and then water was poured
onto it, giving the typical green opalescent colouring. Alternatively, the alcoholsoaked sugar lump was set on fire and caramelised.
Nowadays it is usually served with crushed ice or as a cocktail with whisky, cointreau
or champagne.
Old Vienna Schnaps Museum
Already in the 19th century, Friedrich Fischer’s Viennese distillery produced an excellent
absinthe from the original recipe (without aniseed). Today, in the Old Vienna Schnaps
Museum, his successors have succeeded in producing absinthe from wormwood (Artemesia
absinthium with thujone) achieving, without unclean alcohol (using a secret process) the
desired opalescent cloudiness when water is added.
The Old Vienna Schnaps Museum, with its steam-powered distillery, is situated near Schloss
Schönbrunn, and the Fischer family has been producing spirits and liqueurs here since 1875.
Their best-known product is the “Schönbrunner Goldlikör”, containing 23-carat gold leaf. Old
family recipes are still in use today, a guarantee for high-quality products.
Although the Old Vienna Schnaps Museum is Meidling’s most prominent tourist attraction,
this gem from Imperial times is still an insider tip. Visitors to Vienna treasure this small
private museum in particular because of its informal atmosphere and of course on account of
its good spirits and liqueurs. At the close of every guided tour there is an opportunity to taste
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the products at leisure. The tours are headed by family members and recently, during the
“Long Night of the Museums”, there were 800 visitors.
Tours by private arrangement for groups of 10 or more.
Contact:
Alt Wiener Schnapsmuseum (Old Vienna Schnaps Museum) - Fischer family
Gerry Fischer
Telephone: +43/1/815 73 00, mobile: +43/664/22 88 888,
Fax: +43/1/815 73 00-10
office@schnapsmuseum.com
www.schnapsmuseum.com
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