Hey Mafia family! Martin may have seen it already in my own forum, but I wanted to share with the entire family my latest project...to improve Alandia! This is the full announcement I published on absinthe-review.net this morning (if it is hard to understand because it is in English, let me know and I will try to explain better):



"Around this time, I had intended to post a follow-up report to the 2009 absinthe survey detailing changes that various absinthe vendors have since made to improve their selection. With the exception of Bevmo, I heard back personally from every source I had sent it to, assured with lavish promises of reform. I’m sad to report that despite the survey being widely cited, the response from actual vendors has been minimal.

But there is one absinthe vendor that has really stepped up to the plate the past few weeks and taken a genuine pledge to improve. But this is more than just an empty pledge, serious action has already been taken. Mike Schallehn, owner of the well-known absinthe vendor Alandia, has completely overhauled its US-focused sister site Absinthe.fm. Last month, I contacted Mike and we had several conversations regarding the future of absinthe, thujone, and what brands are currently available to his customers. After much planning, you can see that working hand-in-hand, the Absinthe.fm absinthe selection has been improved by over 50%. In addition to overhauling the absinthe selection, "do-it-yourself" items like absinthe essences, and all instances of the word "thujone" have been completely removed. Furthermore, I am thrilled to announce that later this year, work will also begin on Alandia. We need to understand, of course, that Alandia is a massively larger absinthe source, and therefore it is not practical to expect a similar undertaking, but a more gradual, carefully planned execution.

For those that are unfamiliar with the Alandia brand, it is one of the top absinthe vendors in the world, providing service to thousands of absinthe enthusiasts in every global absinthe market. I cannot stress enough how significant this change will be to the absinthe market over time.

It can be said with confidence that Alandia is a vendor that we will be able to support with confidence. Many factors will dictate the pace at which this rebirth will develop, including sales figures, the absinthe market in its entirety, and the current state of the global economy. Please keep these factors in mind, and realize that this is not a transformation that can be completed overnight. TARN will continue to work with Mr. Schallehn into 2010.


We ask that you, the absinthe community, would support this decision with both encouragement and feedback as we continue to push forward."


I should note that Alandia DOES ship to the Czech Republic. I would love to hear the thoughts of the other family members on this!

As you said, it won't happen overnight. I ordered some stuff from Alandia in the past and they are pretty reliable, no doubt about that. The first thing we need to do, is to tell the consumers about the truth; what the absinthe should taste like and it should be prepared! Along with this enlightenment, the vendors should slowly drop not just the thujone mentions, but also the fake rubbish shit from producers, who made a whole a lot of money, because they sell stuff for enormous price, calling it absinthe and using its past (and thujone shit) as a marketing weapon. The last nail to the coffin of frauds should be the legal EU definition of absinthe, absinth and even absint. But the enemies are very strong and outnumbered; money, mass stupidity and lack of education.

I think I met Mike Schallehn in Fleurier, during the absinthe night before the fete de l'absinthe in Boveresse 2009.

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- Moderní absinthe chutná moderně.

You think? Did you have too much to drink to be sure?

We are currently deciding a long term timeline of where we want to be by certain months. I am very happy to make note of other improvements, too!:

-Mata Hari will also be removed at both Absinthe.fm and Alandia once the remaining stock is gone.
-Alandia has actually already made a few changes like dropping Tabu Strong and Staro Red.
-Just added as Absinthe of the Month at Alandia: Eichelberger Brut 83.2 Festival Edition (2007), which is exclusive!

I'd be very interested to hear what the rest of the family thinks about this, too!