The arch in the middle of town is one of its featured landmarks
It is also featured on the label of Vieux Pontarlier Absinthe, which is produced in the distillery I went to. Here is what their label looks like.
Here is a brief history of absinthe and Pontarlier’s part in its history taken from an article on Absintheology-The Art & Science of Absinthe:
“In 1797 the recipe for absinthe came into the hands of Major Dubied. Major Dubied spent the next five years perfecting his recipe. He began producing about 30 liters of absinthe a day in a small still that he built with his son in law, Henri-Louis Pernod. In 1805 they moved across the border setting up a much larger distillery in Pontarlier, France. This move was mainly to avoid paying import taxes when shipping into France which had now become their biggest consumer market. Over the next one hundred and eight years production at the Pernod distilleries would continue to grow from 30 Liters a day to over 6,000 gallons a day.
Within 20 years absinthe had become so popular that the small town of Pontarlier had four absinthe distilleries with a combined production of over 26,000 gallons of absinthe per year. By the time France banned absinthe in 1914 Pontarlier had 22 absinthe distilleries with three more just outside of town and a combined output of more than 50,000 gallons of absinthe a day. There were over a hundred distilleries producing absinthe all over the world. “
The first place we stopped in Pontarlier was at Au Bon Echanson Fines Bouteilles 66 Rue de la Republique 25300 Pontarlier. The selection of absinthes they had for sale there was mind boggling, below are pictures of the entire selection:
As my description of my time inside the distillery is going to be rather long and detailed, I think we’ll stop here this week. I hope I have piqued some people’s interest, much more from Pontarlier to come…
Absinthe is the aphrodisiac of the self.
The green fairy who lives in the absinthe wants your soul.
But you are safe with me.
-Dracula-
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