Absinthe, to rinse
2 ounces cognac
1/2 ounce simple syrup
3 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
Garnish: lemon peel
Posted on 11/09/2022 12:47:34 PM PST by nickcarraway
No, it won't make your hallucinate. Yes, it is delicious.
There is no spirit whose history is more steeped in misconception than absinthe. Throughout its lengthy history, the light green liquor has been blamed for a slew of bad behavior from silly drunkenness to murder — yes, murder. In spite of the dangerous discourse, this potent but delicious spirit is well overdue for a serious debunking, and a spot on your home bar.
What is Absinthe?
Absinthe is an overproof liquor, meaning it is a spirit whose ABV (alcohol by volume) is over 50%. It is made from medicinal and culinary herbs, plants, and flowers steeped in high-proof spirits. "The elixir was invented in Switzerland as a general cure-all by Pierre Ordinaire, a French physician, in 1792," writes Paul Harrington and Laura Moorhead in their book Cocktail: The Drinks Bible for the 21st Century. Its signature bitter anise flavor comes from a mix of herbs including fennel and most notably, wormwood, a bitter herb notorious for both its health benefits and supposed hallucinogenic properties. Wormwood, or Artemisia absinthium, contains a chemical called thujone, which when consumed in large quantities can act as a convulsant. In small quantities, like in a few servings of absinthe, thujone is totally harmless. Traditionally, absinthe is not bottled with added sugar, making it a high-proof spirit instead of a sweetened liqueur,which gives absinthe its sharp, harsh flavor.
How to Drink Absinthe
Absinthe's botanical notes bring a delicious and distinctive flavor to any cocktail in which it's used, but there are a few traditional ways of enjoying it that really show off its unique qualities. Nicolas O'Connor, Beverage Director of NYC's Apotheke NoMad, is such a fan of absinthe that he curated a dedicated list to the spirit, and includes it in multiple of the bar's most inventive cocktails. Despite its versatility in mixed drinks, O'Connor says he enjoys sipping absinthe in the Parisian style, also known as the absinthe drip, in which a sugar cube is placed on a flat slotted spoon that is balanced over the glass of absinthe. Cold water is poured over the sugar cube, leading it to slowly dissolve into the absinthe in a process called louching, where a high-proof spirit thickens slightly and turns cloudy with the addition of water. "Adding sugar and water to absinthe brings out the botanical and sweet notes while making the very high-proof liquor easier to consume," says O'Connor.
"I find most people can't handle absinthe at its full strength [due to its high proof], but really enjoy the flavor profile once it's been diluted down."
Meanwhile, O'Connor's Devil's Playground cocktail pairs absinthe's herbaceous flavors with sweet notes like prickly pear and dragon fruit. "My favorite use for absinthe is as a modifier in cocktails incorporating fresh botanicals and citrus," he explains. "Absinthe has such a bold and viscous taste and when it's used in small amounts, it can cut through an already busy palate."
If you're enjoying absinthe at home instead of at a bar, transfer absinthe into a mister or small dropper for faint amounts of the potent spirit as you experiment with cocktails. "By presenting absinthe for its flavor and not its strength, you can show people it can be a versatile part of any liquor cabinet," he says.
Is Absinthe Legal?
The height of consumption for absinthe was in the late 19th century when it was used both as an antimalarial aid, and enjoyed as an alcoholic beverage. Absinthe was banned in many countries in the early 20th century. In Europe, absinthe bans were largely due to an unlikely convergence of lobbying efforts: the rising temperance movement who linked the dangers of absinthe to social and economic unrest, and the wine business who saw a drop in sales with the rise of absinthe consumption. Under the influence of lobbyists, many European governments banned absinthe in the early 1900s, with pockets of legality allowing some countries to continue distilling it. In the United States, absinthe found its deepest roots in New Orleans, where it was popularized in iconic cocktails like the Sazerac.
Where To Buy Absinthe
Pernod, one of the ingredients in the Sazerac, is an excellent place to start if you're just dipping your toes into the world of absinthe. The anise-flavored spirit was originally distilled by Henri-Louis Pernod, and became the first commercial absinthe on the international market. Today, the spirit is largely available throughout the United States; American-made St. George spirits is reviving absinthe distilling with carefully crafted blends of botanicals.
Absinthe in Art
The 110-proof spirit (that's 55% ABV!) derives its light green hue naturally from green anise and other herbs — beware bright green absinthe, which may involve artificial dyes. Absinthe's color is part of its mystical lure; Known as "The Green Fairy," or La Fée Verte in French, absinthe was both an intoxicant and a muse for Impressionist painters. In fact, some of the most iconic European art from the mid-1800s is soaked in absinthe, as evidenced in the work of painters like Edgar Degas, Pablo Picasso, Claude Manet, Vincent Van Gough, and Henri Toulouse-Lautrec. In French impressionist art, absinthe is depicted in paintings both directly and indirectly; see glasses of light green absinthe being enjoyed in portraits of bar-goers, or look for faint green hues used to color fairies or spirits in the background of paintings. These impressionist painters, as well as modernist authors like Ernest Hemingway, are said to have leaned into the wild, hallucinogenic properties of absinthe to fuel their creative art and writing. Little did they know, though, that they were not hallucinating from wormwood, but rather just wildly drunk from the over-consumption of high-proof liquor.
Absinthe, to rinse
2 ounces cognac
1/2 ounce simple syrup
3 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
Garnish: lemon peel
‘ears to you, old chap!
A couple of years ago, I saw some movie or TV show that depicted some young Bohemian type swigging what was supposed to be absinthe from a bottle. Of course, the camera cut away, so we didn’t get to see him clutch his chest and fall to the floor from the internal burn.
Thanks!
>Took a shot of it, wow strong. Caught me by surprise and had me coughing. Has a licorice taste.
Yeah, probably don’t want to do shots of Absinthe
*OUCH*
more like heavy metal..skulls and such
since I was in there early I have no idea of the clientele..I just knew I would not be using the bathroom.
I can’t really remember much about the experience. I did the whole shebang. It didn’t lay me out. I think I might have only had one drink. I was still able to make it back to the bus or train.
It’s best poured over sugar cubes on an absinthe spoon.
Bkmk
Have a few bottles. Fun for conversation. Take it easy with the strong ones!
One of the worst, payday drunk Marine incidents I ever experienced was an Officer of the Day while stationed on Okinawa. It involved a big, corn-fed midwestern Lance Corporal, anibuse (anti-drinking drug), and absinthe. I won’t detail it here as the log book entry - when all was finally said and done - took hours to complete and ran 2 1/2 pages.
If it had been a movie, no one would have believed it.
The kicker was that we only saw/dealt with the on-base portion of the incident. That occurred when his buddies, wanting to keep him out of trouble, decided to send him back to base in a taxi after he had just finished wrecking a bar on Gate 2 Street.
It would have been better if they had let the Japanese police arrest him. The JP at least had experience dealing with absinthe and misbehaving Marines on liberty. And not very gently, I might add.
Saigon by Martha and the Muffins
Limping in the hotel Hilton
Spending days in old Saigon
Walking in pagoda gardens
Drinking absinthe till dawn
City of obscure paternity
Paris of the Orient
Tumbling off into eternity
Bastard of the East and West
Endless nights filled with haunting shadows
Slowly fade into morning mist
Faces seen, but not remembered
A place where time does not exist
Oddly enough, American made Absinthe is far more enjoyable to the American palate, as it has far less anise in it, the licorice-like flavor not overpowering the other herbs as it can in the European blend.
When it became legal internationally some years ago, American makers hit the ground running. One expert, whose home was described as filled with chromatographs and spectrometers, to fine tune his beverages, produced some amazingly good tasting Absinthe.
But as with American made wines years ago, they had to enter their product anonymously to avoid anti-American prejudice in the competitions. Only after the awards were presented did they expose their product as American.
By the way, Amazon sells many different kinds of Absinthe louching spoons and glasses. Reasonably priced.
As always the author glosses over a technical subject. The thujone in absinthe is highly regulated in Europe and not allowed to be added to food in USA. It has a know convulsant effect at larger doses. It has been shown to be fatal in rats at high doses.
Ethanol can protect against it’s convulsant effects.
The author doesn’t seem to realize that the low amount of thujone in absinthe is what makes the chemical appear safe in average use. Take a lot of thujone,,,you could be in trouble. Of course the same is true of ethanol.
....like pufferfish is safe...unless you eat just a smidgen of toxin.(tetrodotoxin)
Jade Oxygenée, I always keep a few bottles on hand. If you like traditional Absinthe it is a treasure, you will thank me later.
Thanks for sharing this. I’ve been looking for a good brand of Absinthe to buy ever since I had my first taste in Italy back in ‘01.
I don’t care for the sugar cube thing. Too sweet.
I sip it (not shoot it) on the rocks when I drink it.
Never felt really drunk but the conversation picked up a couple of notches.
I liked it cause you could drink without getting falling down drunk
Also I used to cut it with vodka so I could sip it straight.
Just sayin
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