Atelier Distillery Review

New Orleans is known for its cocktail scene. Jedd Haas, owner, and distiller, wanted to provide the city with its own locally produced spirits.

Atelier Vie is a play on distillation as art. Atelier is defined as a workshop where fine art or handicrafts are produced. Vie is the French word for life, and as we know, one of the earliest names for distilled spirits is “water of life.”

Loosely translated, Haas’ distillery is the “Liquor Studio.”

In Search of… Something Unusual

Jedd Haas has a saying; there are two types of folks who get into distilling, “Millionaires with a dream or underdogs.” As one of the underdogs, Haas has built his distillery from the ground up. He’d always dreamed of getting into manufacturing, intrigued by the idea of making a unique or unusual product and then reproducing it. Over the years, he’s played with various ideas, but once he stumbled upon distilling, something clicked.

His distillery grew bit by bit, as Haas did as much as possible himself. If you start from the beginning of the Atelier Vie archives in 2011, you can watch the progression from empty space to a finished distillery.

Haas received his permits to commence distilling in June of 2012 on his 30-gallon absinthe still.

“Liquor is Art you can Drink.”

On December 5, 2012, Atelier Vie released its first Absinthe distilled in New Orleans, 100 years since the U.S. banned it in 1912.

Atelier Vie

A little history

Absinthe was banned seven years before Prohibition because it was believed the wormwood used in making the liqueur, which also gives it a bright green hue, was hallucinogenic. But is it? Not so much. Bad science and an agenda led to an absinthe ban across Europe and in the U.S.

Check out our “Strange History Behind Absinthe” for a more in-depth history lesson.

Toulouse Red - Absinthe Rouge

The first spirit to come off the sill was Atelier Vie’s trademark Toulouse Red - Absinthe Rouge. It is pot-distilled absinthe infused with herbs that sits at 136 Proof. It breaks the classic  “green fairy” absinthe mold and uses hibiscus to create its vibrant red color.

It didn’t take long for Atelier Vie’s absinthes to take off and start winning awards.

Toulouse Red - Absinthe Rouge

Brian Robinson, from Maison Absinthe, considers Toulouse Red “a contender as one of the more popular rouges on the market. Aromas of hibiscus and citrus on the nose. Very light and refreshing. Flavor is that of a fairly traditional absinthe with sweet anise and minty wormwood at the forefront. The coloring herbs add a noticeable citrus punch on the mid-palate. Finish is long with a full mouthfeel.”

In 2014, Toulouse Red and its sibling Toulouse Green - Absinthe Verte won big at the American Distilling Institute Spirits Competition. Green won the Gold Medal, and Red took home a Silver.

Toulouse Green - Absinthe Verte is based on French absinthes recipes from the 1800s and is made with Louisiana wormwood harvested from the distillery garden.

The Wormwood Society tasting notes describe Toulouse Green as a “Creamy and perfectly balanced trinity (wormwood, anise, and fennel) followed by a mild alcohol base warmth, followed by a savory tingling bitterness.

Euphrosine Gin #9 & Euphrosine Gin Barrel-Finished Reserve

Atelier Vie’s most lauded spirit is their Euphrosine Gin #9 bottled at 90 proof.

Euphrosine Gin #9 & Euphrosine Gin Barrel-Finished Reserve

Both expressions won gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition of 2018 out of a field of 2,200 gins from across the globe. Euphrosine Gin #9 also won Gold and Best in Class from the American Distilling Institute and Gold from the American Craft Spirits Association.

Euphrosine #9 was created for mixologists, heavy with juniper, with the rest of its recipe a well-kept secret; the only other botanical listed is bay leaf,

Drink Hacker considered its nose “ juniper backed by some sweeter notes, plus lemon peel, vanilla, and fresh herbs — surely that bay leaf in action. On the palate, it’s got sweetness upfront, then distinct lavender notes. More of that oily lemon character present on the nose builds as the floral notes fade, with an herbal, mainly rosemary-like, a character coming along on the finish.”

The Barrel-Finished Reserve is aged in American whiskey barrels for nine months, and Haas describes it as a sipping gin. The Gin is In describes it as a “well made barrel-rested gin that imparts creamy, rich wood-tinged notes to a sparkling botanical blend that still shines through, bringing the best of the original while adding something new.”

Riz Louisiana Rice Whiskey, Bottled-in-Bond 100 Proof

The winning streak continued in 2022 when Haas’ Rice Whiskey won Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

Riz is a small batch whiskey with a 100% Louisiana rice mash bill. It is double pot distilled and barrel-age (releases differ in how long they are barreled and what type of barrel was used). The award-winning batch was aged in a bourbon barrel for two years plus, then aged in a smaller wheat whiskey barrel to finish it off.

In a head-to-head tasting between Riz and Fukano, a traditional rice whiskey from Japan, the Texas whiskey guys at Whiskey Marketing School decided they preferred Riz.

Rex and Daniel noted the simple nose on both rice whiskeys but preferred Riz, calling it more “interesting and approachable” and noting the Fukano had notes reminiscent of Sake which the Riz lacked. To paraphrase, the Riz has a pallet, once left to breathe, of “almonds, dusty sugar, candy… and a hint of almost licorice.”  

Other Spirits of Note:

“El Jefe” is a version of their Orphan Street Brandy, a limited edition of 18 hand-numbered bottles aged for over two years and bottled from a single barrel.

Calio Rum is their pot-distilled white unfiltered rum, made from Louisiana molasses and bottled at 90 Proof. A winner of a Gold and Best in Category for Pot Still Rum at the American Distilling Institute's 2020 convention. They even have a barrel-aged version.

Final Notes

You don’t have to visit New Orleans to experience Jedd Haas’ unique and exquisite creations. The “Where to By” page on his website always has an updated list of online, local, and state-specific distributors. But if you happen to be in that neck of the woods, a visit would be a treat. Jedd Haas is still experimenting, and you never know what you might find to try or buy when you visit.

Have a favorite New Orleans story or memory of your first taste of absinthe? Drop us a line in the comments.

~ Cheers