Pure coincidence? Telepathy? Or was some kind of happy serendipity at work on Tuesday, November 13, 2001?
Picture yours truly in front of the computer, writing a brief history of the Kübler distillery from its beginnings in 1863 to the present day for the next Fête de l'Absinthe brochure – the one you're reading now. Kübler is the only alcoholic beverages producer in the Val-de-Travers district still operating today, despite being out of commission from 1962 to 1990. It seemed to me that this fact alone called for a more detailed account of the company.
Then, at 3.45 pm, the phone rang. I was invited, along with a mutual friend, to drop everything and hurry to the Blackmint distillery in Môtiers where Yves Kübler had a big surprise for us. Minutes later, as we entered the northern ground-floor premises at 2 Rue du Creux-aux-Loups, we couldn't fail to recognize the smell emanating from the big copper still in front of us. Gleaming like a trophy, this still was made by the Arnold Holstein copperworks in Markdorf-Bodensee in 1992 and the unmistakable aromas wafting out of it were a clear indication of what distillate flowed slowly and inexorably out of its cooler.
