Absinthe is a high-proof anise-flavoured spirit distilled with grande wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), green anise, florence fennel, and an array of secondary botanicals including petite wormwood (A. pontica), hyssop, lemon balm, and melissa. The traditional producing regions are Pontarlier in the Franche-Comte (where Pernod Fils originally operated) and the Val-de-Travers in the Swiss Jura both areas still producing. After the European and American ban (1915 in France, 1912 in the US), commercially significant production was halted for 80+ years; revival production began in the 1990s and accelerated through the 2000s.

Emile Pernot (Pontarlier) is the largest house in Bouchon's range one of the oldest surviving Pontarlier operations, producing both traditional blanche (uncoloured, clear) and verte (green, chlorophyll-coloured) styles. Distillerie et Domaines de Provence (Forcalquier, Haute-Provence) brings a different botanical logic: their absinthe draws on the Mediterranean herb garden rather than strictly the Franco-Swiss mountain tradition. Lemercier rounds out the Pontarlier representation with a focus on heritage recipes and the traditional pontarlier style.