Old Absinthe cask now used for a display inside of the Distillery Les Fils de Emile Pernot
Specialty liquer bottles on display inside of the Distillery Les Fils de Emile Pernot
Absinthe in casks!!!!
Absinthe in bottles, waiting to be labeled.
Antique Absinthe drip and glassware
At one point the distillery building actual made cars. Here is what I found on Motorbase.com:
“Around the time of the First World War, Zedel was a reasonably well-known make of car. The company was owned by Ernest Zurcher and Hermann Luthi. In the early years of the twentieth century, the company in the Swiss village of St. Aubin near Neuchatel, primarily manufactured engines for motorcycles and three-wheelers, but the company also manufactured auxiliary engines for bicycles including for the Belgian make Minerva. In 1902, the company moved to Pontarlier, just over the French border beside the river Doub. In this way, the board of directors wished to limit import duties, because most of the engines were sold to French companies. In 1906, the Fabrique de Moteurs et Machines Zedel built its first motorcar and as early as 1914, it manufactured some 400 per year. The first Zedels were powered by an 1128 cc, four-cylinder engine. The bodywork seated two people. In 1908, the first four-seater was introduced and in 1912, Zedel presented a medium-price range car with a 3563 cc, four-cylinder engine. After the war, Zedel launched two models with 2120 and 3168 cc, four cylinder engines respectively. It was around that time that the company was sold to the Swiss company Donnet. From then on, the cars were sold under the name Donnet-Zedel. In 1927, the company moved to Nanterre. Once again the name was changed, this time to Donnet. In 1933, the Donnet was sold to Simca.”
There are still cars in the distillery building to this day. Here some pictures I took of the different ones:
Ok, back to the absinthe and liqueurs. As it is a working distillery, I had the opportunity to observe (and participate) in a blind tasting for a new liqueur they were working on. I picked the wrong ones (shows you what I know).
There are many other liqueurs made at the distillery as well.
Each label is put on each bottle BY HAND!
The full view of the still, ground level.
Here are some other liqueurs made at the distillery.
Pine cone liqueur, unique flavor…very strong
Wild Strawberry Liqeur (this was real good!)
One more view of unlabeled absinthe bottles waiting to be labeled.
This trip ranked way up there as one of the coolest foodie related day trips I have ever taken. I will be back next week with my wrap up of my day in Pontarlier. Til next week…
“Art is the soul of life and the Old Absinthe House
is heart and soul of the old quarter of New Orleans.”
Aleister Crowley
