“Emile-Robert” French Bistro Absinthe Carafe

This mouth blown and hand-made reproduction piece was inspired by advertising carafes commonly found on bistro tables throughout France and other parts of Europe around the turn of the 20th century. Besides being used to hold water, these carafes were also promotional tools. Once water is added to the carafe, the water acts as a magnifier and the text on the loop (the indented frosted bell at the bottom of the carafe) is enlarged, making it more pronounced. The text on the loop would have originally been hand painted. This was a popular way of advertising in the pre-ban absinthe era (before 1915). Dripping water by a carafe was the most utilized method of adding water to the absinthe. The correct technique is to continuously drip the iced water as slowly as possible until the sugar has completely dissolved from the spoon and fallen into the glass of absinthe.