Post #383473 by TorchGuy on Fri, May 30, 2008 5:21 AM

Gotta say, just be sure everyone is certain:

Most Czech absinthe is not very tasty. Hill's was the first, and is always rated the worst. The "history" of Hill's previous production, and the Czech absinth ritual (The Czech product, after Hill's is always spelled minus the 'e') of dipping sugar in the liquor, lighting it on fire, then stirring it in - as seen in the film XXX - is complete fiction, based loosely on the popularity of flaming Sambuca at the time. There is no Czech absinth tradition, there was no Czech absinth golden age correspojnding with that in France. As to the Hill's-invented preparation, you're taking something that already tastes horrible, and adding burnt sugar. Trust me, it isn't just carmelized, it's burnt.

Absinthe should not be extremely bitter. It SHOULD, however, be extremely potent. The Czech product boasts of the thujone content only because of the "hallucinogen" myth. Recent studies show that, not only does real Pernod Fils absinthe contain only trace amounts of wormwood and, thus, thujone, but... thujone isn't the horrible stuff claimed unless you take massive doses! Pernod Fils absinthe, the original French brand, was nearly 150 proof as well! Toulouse Latrec etc. were not hallucinating from the wormwood in absinthe - as other have noted, you'll start seeing things too if you, like they, drink 8+ glasses of 150-proof alcohol per day. Now, some absinthe WAS dangerous, as another poster noted with excellent detail: the producers, unable to attain Pernod Fils' natural chlorophyll green color, resored to adding copper chloride, et. al., to attain the same look. Some chemicals may also have been added in attempts to replicate the 'louche' or opalescent clouding during dilution. If you prepare absinthe properly, you still may not like it. But if you like licorice and it still tastes like s**t, you've got bad absinthe. I say this only because friends of mine who hate licorice despise it, good or bad - people who hate licorice usually HATE licorice.

Here's how to prepare it right - I know others have mentioned this or added links, but I might as well describe it. You need:
Absinthe, preferably French or Swiss. Absente will work.
Sugar cubes.
A slotted absinthe spoon. Two forks stuck tines-together or a mesh tea ball with a handle can sub.
Very cold ice water, preferably filtered - stuff without a lot of local mineral content.
A nice conical glass, about the size of a rocks/lowball.
A very steady hand and a pitcher, or (if you're lucky) ab absinthe fountain or a broilleur.

Fill glass with approx. 1 oz. absinthe.

Place spoon, forks or tea ball across the glass, with one or two cubes of sugar on/in it. The Frech often used two or more, they liked their anise drinks very sweet, and sugar cubes sold by absinthe websites are the size of two standard cubes.

As slowly as possible, drip ice-cold water over the sugar. I suggest soaking the cube(s), then giving them a moment to begin to dissolve and drip before conrtinuing. You want to end up with an approximately 1/5 absinthe-to-water ratio. Different botanicals precipitate out at different dilutions, which is one reason you go slowly. The other is the fascination of watching the louche slowly become the liquid, changing the color (unless you have Swiss la bleue) and forming a stunning opalescent tone. This careful preparation, almost raised to a high art, was one of the habituees' draws to absinthe - to further this idea, some bars and cafes employed an Absinthe Professor. If you felt a bit shaky about your method, you could hire this man who would instruct you in the fine, delicate art of preparing absinthe! I adore this idea of preparation as a high art, and as much as we tiki-philes love a bartender who really takes his drinks seriously, a cafe having fountains and spoons for customers' use at their tables takes that extra step by putting that feeling of being an artist directly in the hands of the customer.

Enjoy... and don't get too carried away. The heightened sense you feel is probably a combination of the potent alcohol and the various herbs' essential oils - not just wormwood.

An absinthe fountain is a glass urn atop a pedestal, for holding the ice water, with a tiny tap for dripping water over your sugar. A Broilleur is a glass flow-control device which sits over your glass and drips the already pre-mixed sugar water.

http://www.lamaisondabsinthe.com is a US site selling many products that won't cost you a fortune. A simple glass fountain with two spigots will cost you $48, glasses are in the $9-12 range, and spoons about the same, including a replica of the souvenir Tour Eiffel (Eiffel Tower) spoon, one of the few so rare that fake originals turn up. The little raised spot along the spoon's handle is for setting over the edge of your glass. But despite this (and other sites) selling one, I doubt that Toulouse Latrec had his own person, custom spoon. I could be wrong, though.

The only good absinthes I have had so far (though a close friend has had those authentic replicas of the Pernod Fils recipe, and loved it) are Lucid and Kubler 53%. My guy has Lucid, and it has a very herbal flavor compared to Kubler. Kubler and other Swiss "la bleue" absinthes are clear, but they still louche. Absente, as noted, uses a close cousin to true wormwood, and is closer to pastis, but is still quite tasty and will louche nicely. I have Absente and Kubler here, as well as a glass and a spoon, and it's quite fun to make a bit of a show out of preparing it at parties.

P.S. Those make-your-own-absinthe kits, such as are sold on eBay and the website listed above? What you get from those is most definately not absinthe - in fact, it's probably behind Hill's, as far as flavor goes. Absinthe must be distilled. Those, though, are at least more complete than some of the recipes online, which involve steeping wormwood in high-proof vodka or, worse (if you have a suicidal streak) adding oil of wormwood. That'd be like drinking oil of eucalyptus.

[ Edited by: TorchGuy 2008-05-30 07:10 ]