The Absinthe Forger

Praise

“Along with the promised detective story, a lively stand-alone seminar on temptation — as well as the culture and history of the much-maligned liquor and its reputation for causing madness and murder.” – The New York Times

“Evan Rail is one of the world’s most celebrated absinthe raconteurs. The study of pre-ban absinthe is his métier, and in the case of his forthcoming book, The Absinthe Forger, Evan reveals this swindle as only the best gumshoes can: by knowing their quarry from the inside out.” – Warren Bobrow, absintheur/cannabis alchemist

“Evan Rail follows the trail of a clever and creative fraudster in The Absinthe Forger, an engrossing true crime story. . . . The Absinthe Forger is the bracing true story of a much-maligned spirit and the counterfeiter who turned its mythic status to his own ends.” – STARRED review in Foreword Reviews

“The cultural history of absinthe, via an audacious contemporary fraud. . . . An entertaining survey of spirits culture past and present.”  – Kirkus

“Aficionados of pastis, ouzo, modern absinthe, and other such libations will learn a lot here about the ancestral archetype of contemporary anise-flavored drinks.” – Booklist

“I’ve been reading Evan Rail’s dispatches from Central Europe for years. He possesses a wide-ranging intellect, deep knowledge of the region and a storyteller’s gift for unrolling a complicated tale in a way that keeps the reader hanging on every word. He also knows more than a few things about spirits — I look to him to keep me in the know about Europe’s fast-changing distilling culture. To me, the idea of an Evan Rail book on absinthe — and an absinthe forger, at that — is a slam dunk. It’s a great story, but more importantly, it’s an opportunity for Evan to relate a rich and compelling history about a still- mysterious spirit.” – Clay Risen, NYT staff writer and author of Bourbon: The Story of Kentucky Whiskey

“Evan Rail is a most exotic rarity in the overpopulated world of food, drink, and travel writers: an unimpeachable authority on his subject who is also a consummate raconteur. A natural-born obsessive (I’ve never known a more contagiously joyous one), Rail has a nose for story equaled only by his nose for strong spirits — and with this tale, hoo boy, he’s found both in spades. I’d read pretty much anything under his byline, but this is clearly the book he was born to write. I can’t wait to get my hands on it.” – David McAninch, author of Duck Season: Eating, Drinking, and Other Misadventures in Gascony, France’s Last Best Place