1 THE REVIVAL OF ABSINTHE 2 IN ANCIENT ROME, "X" STOOD FOR THE NUMBER TEN, BUT IT CAN ALSO SIGNIFY MYSTERY... ...For us at Xenta, X means many things. But there is one thing we have done: we've take our product and examined it with X-rays. Xenta Absenta is made using a secret formula that follows the original legendary recipe of 1926 and which involves: MIXING ORIGIN Carefully selected herbs and These special herbs are mainly spices are immersed for a long gathered in the Alps. period in exceptionally fine alcohol. ACTIVE NATURAL PRODUCT INGREDIENTS We are able to create a very Thanks to the effective action of distinctive and beguiling Absinthe, the ingredients in the alpine herbs with an absolutely delectable and spices ... aroma. 4 An essential ingredient. The bitter flavour becomes more agreeable after the distillation process. This herb grows in the Chisone Valley, up at a height of 2000 metres in the northern Italian Alps. Only the small floral clusters are used, cut before they begin to wither. ARTEMISIA ABSINTHIUM 5 CLOVES CARDAMON The dried buds from a tree native to A pungent Asian spice, with a Indonesia. Cloves are well known for their pleasing and very distinctive digestive and antioxidant properties. flavour. ARTEMISIA PONTICA Essential for its colouring effect. It has a less bitter, more herbal aroma, and helps to enhance the flavour of the artemisia absinthium. CORIANDER SEEDS GREEN ANISE SEEDS An important ingredient in The most important ingredient, absinthe production. They add with a spicy, tangy aroma. pungency and hints of citrus. 6 ARTEMISIA MUTELLINA BERGAMOT PEEL It adds notes of hay and citrus fruit, Bergamot originates from lending a soft, sweet or dry taste. Southern Italy, mainly from Calabria. It has a fresh citrus taste and is rich in polyphenols. CINNAMON WILD FENNEL SEEDS We use Ceylon cinnamon, the best These add mellowness and body to quality available on the market. It adds an the absinthe. They also enhance the unmistakable spicy taste. flavour of the green anise. 7 THE HISTORY OF ABSINTHE Pythagoras of Samos. Wormwood (Vermouth) Wine with wormwood to relieve In his first medical treatise, he aching muscles. praised its anthelmintic properties. 460 a.C The Old Testament 3000 a.C 569 a.C Hippocrates. (Jeremiah 9:15 - 13:15) Book of Toth Artemisia extract to treat "Curse - Calamity - Revelation" rheumatism and muscle pain. Apsinthos (a blazing star falling in the waters) Apsinthos (non-drinkable) 8 For many centuries, the people of the Val de Travers, Switzerland, used to prepare an elixir by distilling artemisia absinthium, green anise seeds, lemon balm and various other medicinal plants, believing it to be a cure for many ills. In 1792, Pierre Ordine, a French physician exiled to Switzerland, discovered this elixir and modified it to produce the "official" absinthe. After his death, the recipe was passed on first to the Henriod sisters of Couvet and then to Major Dubied, who quickly opened the first small artisan distillery with his son-in-law, Henri Louis Pernod. DIFFUSIONE 9 1797 - Henri-Louis Pernod Small distillery: 16 litres per day. Used mainly to treat helminthiasis and fever during the conquest of Algeria. Heure Verte • Absinthe only became really widespread in the second half of the 19th century, when one could order a glass of Absinthe in every bar, bistro, café, or cabaret club. The Green Fairy was so popular that aperitif time, at around 5 p.m., came to be known as l' heure verte ("the green hour"). • The mass production (and fluctuating quantity) of Absinthe meant that the price of a glass was generally very low, compared to the cost of other drinks. In 1910, 36 million litres of Absinthe were consumed in France. 10 ABSINTHE IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC • Towards the end of the 1980s, attempts were made to produce absinthe in Spain according to the original 19th century recipe. • Radomil Hills decided to start production in Prague, relaunching his family business and creating the HILLS brand • As he knew nothing about the production methods, he simply invented the recipe, creating a drink that had absolutely nothing in common with 19th century absinthe. • A few years later all the clubs in Prague were offering tourists the "forbidden drink", served in a new way: you poured a measure into a glass, soaked a spoonful of sugar with the absinthe, lit it and let it caramelise, tipped it into the glass while still burning and added water to douse the flames. This all indicated a lack of knowledge regarding the history of absinthe. • The success of the Hills brand led several Czech and Eastern European companies to produce similar types of absinthe, which soon began to flood the market. 11 ABSINTHE IN SPAIN The new fashion in Prague then spread to Spain. • So began a type of production totally different from the traditional method. • The result was a product similar to Pastis, made with huge quantities of star anise, minimal amounts of artemisia absinthium and often with a lower alcohol content. • To reduce costs, Spanish distilleries even made their products with the use of essential oils. • The result was that the French market categorically refused to buy them. 12 THE BEGINNING OF THE END JEAN LANFRAY PROHIBITION • Farmer • 1915: French Government • Aged 31 • 1912: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Inspection Decision 147 • Canton of Vaud (Switzerland) • 1905: Belgium • 85,000 signatures • 1913: Italy • Sallaz "killed his wife" • 1927: Germany 13 THE GUILTY PARTY: THUJONE 14 • Terpenes: Contained in the essential oils of Artemisia Absenthium • Similarities to Tetrahydrocannabinol (Cannabis) • Relative toxicity • 10/50 mg of Thujone = 1 litre of 75° absinthe diluted with water • The European Community has imposed certain standards on Absinthe production, involving set limits on Thujone content, equal to 10 mg/L for liqueurs and 35 mg/L for bitters. • As it is generally considered a bitter, absinthe can be marketed if its Thujone content does not exceed 35 mg per litre. Most vintage absinthes had a Thujone content ranging from 5 to 9 mg/L, and only a few reached 20-30 mg/L. 15 • Thujone is a terpene present in many plants, such as sage and genepi (Artemisia spicata). • Recent studies have indicated that to induce thujone intoxication a 70-kg individual would need to absorb 490 mg of this substance. In terms of the bottled liquid, this would correspond to 250 mg of thujone per litre, an almost impossible amount. • Martini Rosso contains 14.4 mg of thujone per Kg, as opposed to only 8 mg per Kg for the historic Pernod Fils! • Much of the thujone in artemisia is lost in the drying process and much more during the distillation process. • Many of the 19-century absinthes had a thujone content ranging from 5 to 9 mg/kg and only some reached 20-30 mg/kg. 16 Absinthe has never been so widely popular in Italy as in France or Switzerland, and a ban was introduced much later: in 1939. This was probably more in line with a general trend towards austerity than to answer a genuine need. It is notable that Vermouths containing Artemisia absinthium and Artemisia pontica continued to be perfectly legal. LEGAL ASPECTS Since absinthe has never been banned in Spain, due to European legislation involving substantial regulatory alignment between the member states, Absinthe has now become legal again in all the countries of the Union. So, even though the Italian law banning Absinthe has never been rescinded, the EU directive prevails over Italian legislation. The traditional XENTA recipe 17 dating from1926 Production site: The TORINO DISTILLATI facility, in operation since 1861. 18 The site covers an area of 14,406 square metres (including a TORINO 12,000 m² building on three floors). It has a 1,498,800-litre tank capacity, a 76,000 m² storage DISTILLATI area, and 400 hl of ageing vats. The bottling plant can produce up to 10 million bottles per year and 6,000 per hour, and consists of 4 lines adjustable to suit more than 100 different bottle sizes. This historic production plant can satisfy any production requirement, thanks to the use of cutting-edge technology and an advanced quality control system. It is also equipped with plant for the production of natural infusions and extracts, and for distilling and refrigerating spirits, brandy and grappa. 19 A project designed to revolutionize absinthe and the quality of its taste. BUT WHERE TO START? With the basics: allowing the raw ingredients to macerate for different lengths of time in a hydroalcoholic compound. 20 MACERATION OF THE RAW INGREDIENTS The three types of Artemisia (ARTEMISIA ABSINTHIUM, ARTEMISIA PONTICA and ARTEMISIA MUTELLINA) are macerated separately for 2 weeks. All the remaining herbs and spices are left to macerate for 2 weeks, but in a collective process. YOUR TITLE YOUR TITLE YOUR TITLE Entrepreneurial activities Entrepreneurial activities Entrepreneurial activities differ substantially differ substantially differ substantially WHERE DOES THE MACERATION FILTRATION VACUUM DISTILLATION TAKE PLACE This is the most important phase for us, because A still designed specifically for this type of product, the extract will then be distilled in a vacuum still. In steel tanks with spice filtres at the bottom. operating at a temperature of 70 degrees, allows us to Our raw ingredients are never wasted: the The mixture is put back in twice a day. maintain the aroma and fine quality of our elixir. "waste" is subsequently put into a presser to extract the last remaining oils. 21 HOW TO SERVE IT… THE RIGHT MIXING TECHNIQUES YOU CAN WRITE HERE WRITE HERE YOUR GREAT AND NICE A company is an association or collection of individuals, whether natural persons, legal persons, or a mixture of both.