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Absinthe
Old 07-13-2016, 11:09 AM   #1
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Absinthe

I've been enjoying this stuff for years w/o benefit of the proper tools, so I ordered up some "bubble glasses" a "grill" and some sugar cubes. The dose sits in the bubble and you slowly pour iced water over the cube on the grill to melt it into the glass.



The Absinthe louches into the water and makes this lovely opal cocktail;



Celebrate La Belle Époque


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Old 07-13-2016, 11:38 AM   #2
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I've never tried absinthe, but have been curious. What's the recipe to your favorite drink?
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Old 07-13-2016, 12:05 PM   #3
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You just mix about 3:1 ice water to absinthe and melt the cube with the water.
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Old 07-13-2016, 12:07 PM   #4
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Eh, should absinthe not be of the green color to be truly traditional?
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Old 07-13-2016, 12:09 PM   #5
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that brings back some really bad memories. stuff keeps you lucid but it has a strong kick
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Old 07-13-2016, 12:10 PM   #6
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The color varies from more green to more yellow.
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Old 07-13-2016, 12:12 PM   #7
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Perhaps you need to drink the green stuff to see the "green fairy".

Note: photo linked from the Web.

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Old 07-13-2016, 12:14 PM   #8
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that brings back some really bad memories. stuff keeps you lucid but it has a strong kick
That's why you cut 3X with water. It 68% (136 proof) out the bottle. After the cut it's 17%, like port or sherry.
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Old 07-13-2016, 12:22 PM   #9
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I wish I liked absinthe more, cause I love the "idea" of it and the history and mystique of it. But it's just too medicinal and licorice-tasting for me. Hoping that one day I'll come across a really good absinthe cocktail of some variety.
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Old 07-13-2016, 01:19 PM   #10
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Is it widely available? While I haven't looked in my neighborhood ABC store, they don't market it so you can't miss it. How many brands does your store carry?
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Old 07-13-2016, 01:25 PM   #11
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Wasn't it banned at one time from the U.S? Perhaps had some banned substance in it? Ernest Hemingway and friends all drank it in Paris. Of course, they drank anything they could get their hands on (and then went running with the bulls of course).
It sounds like a bad migraine to me. . .
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Old 07-13-2016, 01:26 PM   #12
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Not much of an alcohol person. Ill still to weed.
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Old 07-13-2016, 01:36 PM   #13
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Wasn't it banned at one time from the U.S? Perhaps had some banned substance in it? Ernest Hemingway and friends all drank it in Paris. Of course, they drank anything they could get their hands on (and then went running with the bulls of course).
It sounds like a bad migraine to me. . .
Yes it was not allowed in the US for many years. Something about ear protection.

We used to consume it regularly. Interesting slightly different buzz.
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Old 07-13-2016, 01:42 PM   #14
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I bought mine at BevMo, I think they have a few different.

Absinthe Currently Available In The USA

Doubs
Duplais Verte
Francais Superieure
Kubler Superieure
Jade Nouvelle Orleans
Jade PF 1901
La Charlotte Superieure
La Clandestine Superieure
La Fee Parisienne
Leopold Bros. Verte
Lucid Superieure
Mansinthe
Marteau
Obsello Verte
Pacifique
Pernod aux Plantes Superieure
St. George Verte
Vieux Pontarlier


The ban was not really a ban on Absinthe, it was a ban on thujone which is a component of wormwood.


The law1 states that all foods and beverages containing any Artemisia species must be "thujone-free". However, according to the statute, "thujone-free" does not literally mean "zero thujone."
In order to determine thujone content, an official method for thujone analysis was prescribed. Although the information has been published and accessible since the 1960s, it was not widely known that the threshold of tolerance—the fudge factor—for this method was ten parts per million (10 ppm), about 10 mg/L.
This effectively legalizes many absinthes, since authentic absinthe contains only minute traces of thujone in the first place. The highest thujone levels so far detected in pre-ban samples is 48.3 mg/L, the lowest was "none detected." 2 Many pre-ban era absinthes would be legal in the US today by modern government standards.


Source; Authentic Absinthe Is Legal In The US

So, by all means, go and try some absinthe and find out for yourself -
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Old 07-13-2016, 01:57 PM   #15
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Triggered memories of Authors that I have read...

From Wikipedia:

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Absinthe originated in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland in the late 18th century. It rose to great popularity as an alcoholic drink in late 19th- and early 20th-century France, particularly among Parisian artists and writers. Owing in part to its association with bohemian culture, the consumption of absinthe was opposed by social conservatives and prohibitionists. Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine, Arthur Rimbaud, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Amedeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, Marcel Proust, Aleister Crowley, Erik Satie, Edgar Allan Poe, Lord Byron and Alfred Jarry were all known absinthe drinkers.
Absinthe has often been portrayed as a dangerously addictive psychoactive drug and hallucinogen. The chemical compound thujone, although present in the spirit in only trace amounts, was blamed for its alleged harmful effects. By 1915, absinthe had been banned in the United States and in much of Europe, including France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Austria-Hungary. Although absinthe was vilified, it has not been demonstrated to be any more dangerous than ordinary spirits. Recent studies have shown that absinthe's psychoactive properties (apart from that of the alcohol) have been exaggerated. A revival of absinthe began in the 1990s, following the adoption of modern European Union food and beverage laws that removed longstanding barriers to its production and sale. By the early 21st century, nearly 200 brands of absinthe were being produced in a dozen countries, most notably in France, Switzerland, Australia, Spain, and the Czech Republic.
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Old 07-13-2016, 02:59 PM   #16
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I have never bought it for home, but GF and I enjoy it from time to time at our favorite neighborhood eatery, a French Bistro. They know how to properly serve it, and I am really not interested in mixology or arcane service rituals. I think the dominant taste is anise. Ouzo is similar with this taste, and each of them gets cloudy when ice is added. Something must come out of solution.

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Old 07-13-2016, 03:06 PM   #17
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I think the dominant taste is anise. Ouzo is similar with this taste, and each of them gets cloudy when ice is added. Something must come out of solution.
OK, so it's similar to Arak, which I tried in Syria many decades ago......take it or leave it..leave it mostly.

Arak - Alcoholic Beverages - Middle Eastern Beverages
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Old 07-14-2016, 04:35 PM   #18
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Absinthe is an ingredient of one of the earliest cocktails, the Sazerac, still a New Orleans staple. I'll mix one once in a while just for something different. We only have 2 brands available from ABC, neither of the best quality.

Oh, don't forget-absinthe makes the heart grow fonder!
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Old 07-14-2016, 05:49 PM   #19
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Growing up in my family, social drinking of alcohol was absolutely acceptable and nearly required of an adult. Drinking absinthe, on the other hand, was about as acceptable as drinking a cocktail of rat poison mixed with still-warm human blood while chanting Satanic verses and covering every nearby surface with swastika graffiti.

In other words, I can hear my beloved, long departed grandmother saying in the most awful tones, "Absinthe? He drank absinthe?" with her eyes as big as dinner plates and looking like she was about to expire on the spot.

I have never had absinthe and never will if I have any say in the matter. We just don't do that. I'm sure the reasons, long lost in time, are completely illogical but nevertheless, I just couldn't.
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Old 07-14-2016, 07:14 PM   #20
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First time I had absinthe was in '94 in the Netherlands. We were out in BFE and went to the "company bar"(really no charge for the senior folks) after the day. Our host told the charming bartender to get something special. No translation to whatever concoction the woman gave us next. After a few we got on the train to Amsterdam. It was a great start to a very interesting night.
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