German absinthe Mr.Jekyll is able to interest not only fans of wormwood tincture, but also lovers of classical literature. However, one does not exclude the other, and the fresh wormwood-bitter taste of the drink really brings to mind the anti-aging drug from the immortal story of R.L. Stevenson “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”.
Historical reference. In Germany, there are many old family businesses for the production of alcohol. But in the second half of the 1969th century, the time of corporations came, and in order to survive, small firms had to pool their capital and production capacities. In 1898, two companies merged: Pabst, founded in 1861 by Hermann Pabst, and Richarz, founded in 1923 by Wilhelm Josef Richartz. At the beginning of the XNUMXth century, Richarz was famous for its absinthe, but in XNUMX its production was banned in Germany, and the company mastered the production of gin, schnapps and liqueurs.
In 1988, the family company JB Berentzen, founded in 1758, joined Pabst & Richarz. As a result, the Berentzen Gruppe Corporation was formed, which became the second largest German alcohol producer.
In 2008, a crisis erupted, and the management of the corporation was forced to close its oldest and most powerful distillery, which had been operating in the city of Haselünne since 1758. Another plant, located in Minden, was taken over by a specially created subsidiary, Pabst & Richarz Vertriebs GmbH.
In order to save the corporation, it was urgently necessary to update the product range. And then the time has come for the old recipes for “burning wine” of the Richartz family. Of course, with the current level of technology, grain alcohol can be purified much better than a hundred years ago. But the blenders of the company kept the dosage of herbs and the sequence of operations in the production of absinthe.
It only remained to give a name to the new drink. And then one of the company’s managers, a passionate lover of the work of R. L. Stevenson, suggested the name – “Mr. Jekyll”. On the label of absinthe bottles, a good-natured gentleman of advanced years was depicted with a full glass in his hands. True, the old man in the frock coat and top hat looks more like a German burgher than a strict English gentleman, but absinthe is also German!
And so that “Mr. Jekyll” does not get bored, a stronger absinthe “Doctor Hyde” was released as a pair, on the bottle label of which the same gentleman is depicted in bright flashes of fireworks. Of course, an observant person will immediately notice that Stevenson’s title of doctor belonged to Jekyll, but in the world of absinthe, the opposite is true. To be convinced of this, it is enough to try Mr.Jekyll and Dr.Hyde absinthes.
Features of absinthe Mr.Jekyll
- Mr.Jekyll is a bright green absinthe with a strength of 55% with a rich anise-wormwood taste and aroma. The content of thujone is 10 mg per liter. To achieve a brighter color of the drink, the manufacturing company uses food colorings that are allowed in the EU countries.
- Dr. Hyde is an emerald green absinthe with a strength of 70%. The content of thujone is 10 mg per liter.
Pabst & Richarz recommends Mr.Jekyll absinthe-based Death Afternoon cocktail:
- 20 ml of absinthe;
- crushed ice;
- 80 ml of champagne.
