It was said that Jeanne Hebuterne, model and mistress of Amedeo Modigliani (the painter fondly known to his friends as ‘Dedo’) was so devoted to her lover that she spent her last few lire buying him his favourite drink, Pallini’s Assenzio, without which he feared the loss of his artistic inspiration!

Nicola Pallini, who owned fields of star anise and artemisia absinthium plants in Abruzzi, was also a famous distiller and named his Absinthe ‘Dedo’ in honour of Modigliani, perhaps the greatest Italian artist of the age.

With 130 years of fine liqueur production behind us, we’re now proud to bring you a selection of absinthes too. A dry, aromatic and highly alcoholic herbal spirit, these variants contain anise (liquorice flavour) and the notorious wormwood plant (Artemisa) and range in strength from 72% to 89,9% alc. by vol.

The history of absinthe is long, and full of fantastic tales. Historically it was widely regarded as a very dangerous drink and is still banned in many countries. The first written recipe was formulated by a Frenchman, Dr. Pierre Ordinaire, in 1792. He gave it to Henry Louis Pernod of Pontarlier in France in 1797, who subsequently opened the first distillery in Switzerland. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, artists like Monet, Degas, Picasso, depicted 'Absinthe' in their paintings. This turn-of-the-century absinthe was fiercely potent stuff, with its herbs macerated for about 8-10 days in alcohol and then distilled. The result was an emerald coloured spirit that became the subject of much hysterical press and allegedly serious articles and books about the spirit’s dangers. 

The Bohemian set, with their hedonistic indulgences and excesses, made absinthe even more notorious. The likes of Toulouse-Lautrec, Hemmingway and Oscar Wilde drank it; and it was the cause, some say, of Van Gogh cutting off his ear! It resulted in Article 367 of the French Legal Code being written in 1915, which banned absinthe completely in France.

“Wormwood… liquid alchemy that dulls the tongue, inflames the brain, warms the stomach and transforms the ideas…”
Ernest Hemingway

The MacMillan A/W 2004 collection inspired by the art deco period was shown in London Fashion Week and given a launch party at the Bentley Hotel.