French Senate Votes 'Oui' for Absinthe 12 Years After British Company La Fee Began the Absinthe Revival

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Apr 15, 2011, 02:29 ET

LONDON, April 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Yesterday the French Senate finally voted to lift the ban against absinthe in France. British brand La Fee, in partnership with Marie Claude Delahaye at the Musee De L'Absinthe in France, became the first brand to distill absinthe in France in 2000. This followed 85 years without any production of absinthe after a ban in 1915, and initially all absinthe produced in France was exported.

George Rowley, managing director of La Fee, comments on the vote: "We are delighted to see France embracing the absinthe category again. We were first to distil in France, exporting initially to the UK, and continue to drive the renaissance of this fine spirit around the world.'

Marie Claude Delahaye, Director of the Musee De L'Absinthe, France, adds: "Absinthe has a rich heritage in France that resonates across the globe as sales of quality absinthe continue to grow. Visitors to our museum are fascinated by the history of this product and we applaud the French parliament for this historic decision. La Fee captures the aroma and taste that great writers and artists such as Rimbaud, Toulouse~Lautrec and Vincent van Gogh enjoyed at the end of the 19th century."

Last year, La Fee, in association with the Musee De L'Absinthe presented a dossier of evidence to present to La FFS [French Federation of Spirit producers] to support the case for completely legalising absinthe once more in France.

Notes to editors

About La Fee

La Fee has a portfolio of premium quality absinthe spirits, including its most popular - Absinthe Parisienne, for which Marie-Claude Delahaye personally tests each distillation prior to bottling in Paris. The product is available across the globe, with the majority of its sales in the UK, USA and France. Established by British entrepreneur, George Rowley in 2000, La Fee has won medals globally for its Absinthes including the: Spirits Business Absinthe Masters, San Francisco World Spirits Competition, International Wine & Spirits Competition (UK), Beverage Testing Institute (Chicago), Absinthiades (Pontarlier, France) & The Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Fair.

1998 - the first absinthe is imported to the UK following George Rowley's work with the British Trading Standards to prove the spirit was legal

2000 - La Fee brand becomes the first to distil absinthe in France since the 1915 Ban, initially this product was for export only

2003 - started selling La Fee in France under the legal term spiritueux aux plantes d'absinthe

2008 launch in United States of America

Now exporting across 5 continents

http://www.lafeeabsinthe.com

SOURCE La Fee