Post #566863 by Mr. Moto on Sun, Nov 28, 2010 7:53 PM

Hope so! 5 parts absinthe to 1 part water'll take the paint off your house!

No need to store the bottle in your refrigerator. In fact, doing so may actually cause the anethole (a product of the anise) in your absinthe to crystallize and come out of suspension, causing "floaties" to appear in your bottle. This probably won't harm the absinthe (the floaties will likely disappear if you bring the bottle to room temp), but it is unattractive.

Absinthe needs to be stored in a cool, dark place (like a cupboard or a cellar), at or just below room temp. You want to keep it out of the sunlight, since UV rays can break down the chlorophyll that produces absinthe's famous green tint, turning it a brown or "feuille morte" ("dead leaf") color. This won't affect the taste, but it isn't as pretty as the natural "verte" color.

Another thing: always store absinthe standing up, not on its side like a bottle of wine. Reason being that the high ABV (alcohol by volume) of absinthe--which usually ranges in the 55-72% range--will eat into the cork, eventually ruining the absinthe.

Finally, don't worry about your absinthe going bad once you open it. A little breathing time--contact with oxygen--is actually good for it. Helps the flavors open up. And because of the high ABV, it won't spoil for quite some time. I have bottles of absinthe in my basement that have been open for 2+ years (by "open" I mean exposed to oxygen--I still keep them stoppered with a cork, naturally) that taste great.

Actually, back to your original question: there's really no reason to keep any spirit in the fridge/freezer unless you're planning on taking shots of it. If you're using it for mixing or cocktails, it needs to be at room temp--otherwise it won't dilute properly when you shake it and you'll end up with an overly strong drink.

Other, low ABV mixers--like vermouth--should always be refrigerated, of course.