"Route de l'Absinthe"

Back on the road again we made our way on the "Route de l'Absinthe" through the wonderful Val de Travers. This beautiful valley extends from the Lake Neuenburg across the Jura all the way to the French border. Excited to learn more about the myth of the Green Fairy we were looking for a distillery that goes way back to the time when absinthe used to be prohibited and the distiller had to work in secret. 

Route de l'Absinthe, Val de Travers

The drive through the valley offered us a perfect sight of green meadows, pine forests, precipitous chalk formations and Jura hills. 

Val de Travers

Along the way we came across several small towns and decided to try our luck in the village of Môtiers where the famous philosopher Jean-Jaques Rousseau used to live in the 18th century. To find a perfect parking space is not always easy with Paul & Paula but fortunately as we were we found an ideal space for our Fiat500 and our retro carriage close to the train station.

The perfect parking spot for an extra large vehicle

By foot we started to discover the town and soon discovered the distillery Absinthe Bovet La Valote. The history of this distillery goes way back, exactly what we were looking for. As we later heard Willy Bovet the owner of the distillery learned his trade from Robert Bollier, a secret absinthe distiller. Producing absinthe one must have a comprehensive know-how since every grasp and every act involve a number of secrets. Until today Willy Bovet cherishes and protects these secrets.

Distillery Absinthe B

At the distillery Willy Bovets daughter showed us everything about absinthe. We got to know the different spices and plants, we could have a look at the room where the absinthe is distilled and she also showed us all the different products that they produce at the distillery.

The best part of it was of course the degustation. Sabine only took a sniff and a teeny tiny little sip because she still had to drive for a while but the others tried the different types of absinthe, each stronger as the one before. An interesting thing about absinthe is, that it changes its colour when it comes in contact with water. The clear schnaps turns into a milky substance. That's also why people colloquially like to call it milk.

Absinthe degustation