Absinthe... discuss.

Clandestine is an excellent Swiss "la bleue" style absinthe--probably the best currently available on the US market.

Note, however, that it is a blanche or clear absinthe, not a verte or green one. This doesn't mean that it's any less authentic (the blanche style became popular after the ban on absinthe took effect and many Swiss distillers resorted to making absinthe illegally; they made a clear absinthe to fool the authorities into thinking it wasn't the banned spirit). It does mean, however, that it has a slightly different flavor profile than the traditional verte absinthe, which undergoes an extra coloring step (that also imparts additional flavors) after distillation.

Just don't want you to expect the Clandestine to be green. It is very, very tasty though.

I think this fascinating thread suffers a little from a lack of visuals, so I wanted to share my experience of going to an art opening at Wacko's La Luz Gallery last night, where they served Absinthe. Both artists' work ( Jessica Joslin and Laurie Lipton) perfectly complements the Absinthe esthetic. Joslin's animal sculptures are the most amazing constructions of vintage hardware and articulated animal bones,

and Liptons poster size pencil drawings are aptly grouped under the title "Machine Punk":

The bar in the back courtyard was an ingenious steam punk affair with an ice water dispenser and a gas torch to light the sugar cubes:

They were serving three brands of Absinthe, I liked number 2 and 3 (St. George):

Mr Moto, being the authority on La Fee Verte here, what is your opinion/experience of these three brands?

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2010-11-06 13:11 ]

Nice photos! Looks like a cool exhibit. Unfortunately, I can't say much for the choice of absinthe. None are terrible, but neither are they very good, IMHO. Mata Hari has a very thin louche and an odd cinnamon flavor--very little anise taste. Grande Absente is an anise bomb--very sweet (it's artificially colored and sweetened) and heavy on the star anise; probably the most "traditional" tasting of the three, though without nuance and far too saccharine. St. George is very peculiar indeed; the recipe includes basil, tarragon, and nettles. Lots of lemon balm and star anise as well. Of the three, I'd say it's the "best" (as in the highest quality, in terms of its herbs and method of production), although I find it difficult to drink. Very thick, murky louche. It has its fans, though, which is more than I can say about the other two.

Sorry I can't be more positive. What else is available where you live?

Thanks for the honest reply to my question MM, I knew it wasn't green and found that confusing, but seemed like it had all the other quality components, so your answer was very helpful.

Sven...thank you so much for posting those pictures...I love surrealism and find the steam punk intriguing. Those animals are just fabulous!!! Wow...what it must be like to be in that artist's mind. One of my favorite artists is Michael Parks...fairly tame next to those animal sculptures. :)

On 2010-11-06 20:35, Mr. Moto wrote:
Sorry I can't be more positive. What else is available where you live?

Well, I am afraid that my otherwise trusty source Vendome Liquors let me down. Having brought home my Absinthe from Europe (like Serpis and Un Emile) until now, I went to them because they have a very good selection of rums, from all over the world. But alas, they seem woefully under-stocked in the Absinthe department. This is the extent of their offerings:

Now one of these you already shot down, and two of them just seem to be regular Pastis.
Then they had this:

A bottle with a book? A book with a bottle? Maybe that's a combination I should try to author sometime!
But frankly, it seems kind of suspicious to me, like it would be neither nor. Any enlightening comments for the local Absinthe seeker, Mr. M?

Of those, Leopold Brothers is far and away the best. It's made at a micro-distillery in Colorado. Lots of fruity anise, peppery coriander, and fresh, clean wormwood. Also notes of honey and butterscotch. I believe it's made with a pisco base, which is unique. It's one of my favorites to use in tiki drinks as it plays very well with rum and fresh fruit juices.

The Roux Supreme Absinthe is basically just a 151-proof version of Grande Absente. Artificially colored and sweetened.

Le Tourment Verte is junk; not real absinthe. It's blue, it doesn't louche and it's predominant taste is a kind of mentholated eucalyptus (no joke). The other two are pastis--absinthe substitutes (anise taste, but no wormwood). Ricard is not bad for a pastis, but I prefer the new Original Herbsaint.

[ Edited by: Mr. Moto 2010-11-09 05:40 ]

Thanks, good to have an informed voice to help navigate the nouveaux Absinthe jungle out there. Here is another question: These are not cheap. The better the spirit, the higher the price, as is true for all fine alcoholic beverages out there, but what in your opinion is the best value, meaning the lowest price for the most tasty, authentic Absinthe available in the U.S. right now?
And as a sub-question, if you had the money to spend, what is your best quality Absinthe and its price?

P.S.: Here is a great Absinthe piece I had not seen before:

by Pablo Picasso

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2010-11-09 12:50 ]

Absinthe can be pricey, it's true; ironically, however, some of the worst stuff out there is the most expensive! Case in point: "King of Spirits Gold," an unspeakably awful Czech brand, retails for $200!

By contrast, most of the good, authentic absinthes on the US market retail for around $55-$75, which isn't really so bad--especially when you consider that you only use dashes in cocktails and an ounce per serving in the traditional absinthe preparation (diluting 1 part absinthe with 3-5 parts cold water). A single bottle goes a long way.

IMHO, the best bang for your buck is Vieux Carre, an absinthe distilled in Philadelphia which retails for around $55. While it's not a completely "traditional" absinthe (its herb bill includes mint and genepi, along with the usual anise, wormwood, and fennel), it's very tasty. Other good deals include Pacifique, which runs around $65, and Mansinthe (Marilyn Manson's absinthe, which is actually pretty good) at around $59. I'd also recommend Lucid and Kubler for folks wanting to get a sense of what a traditional verte and blanche, respectively, taste like. They're not the finest absinthes out there, but they're a good place to start and relatively inexpensive.

My favorite absinthes currently on the US market are probably Delaware Phoenix Meadow of Love, Delaware Phoenix Walton Waters, Pacifique, Vieux Carre, and Marteau Absinthe de la Belle Epoque. Some are pricier than others (though none are normally over $80-$85), but all are delicious.

If money is no object and you have a hankering to order fine absinthe from Europe(be prepared to pay out the nose for shipping, US residents), I'd definitely recommend the Jade line: PF 1901 (maybe my favorite commercial absinthe), Edouard, VS 1898, and Nouvelle-Orleans. Also excellent are La Berthe de Joux, Perroquet, and La Maison Fontaine from the Emile Pernot distillery in France, and Brevans AO Spare and Duplais Balance from the Matter distillery in Switzerland.

IMO:

Best place to order absinthe online in the US is DrinkUpNY at:

http://www.drinkupny.com/category_s/86.htm

Best place to order online internationally is Liqueurs de France at:

http://www.absintheonline.com/index.html

Hope this helps!

Well it sure helps to impress me! Do you spend much time being sober? :wink:
Thanks a bunch, I feel in the know now.

Not if I can help it. :) My obsession with absinthe, vintage cocktails, and tiki drinks keeps me pretty busy (or should I say buzzed?).

Seriously, though, glad to be of help. There's so much misinformation out there about absinthe, I'm happy to combat it when I can by providing some facts (and a few opinions along the way, of course).

Cheers!

[ Edited by: Mr. Moto 2010-11-10 08:41 ]

Mr. Moto knows his brands, at least from other reviews I've read. I haven't tried most of them. I admit I haven't read the entire thread, but here's my bit, as short as verbose me can make it:
Absinthe is, of course, now legal in the Western hemisphere. Thujone content must be kept under a certain limit. BUT-- Testing has proven that thujone doesn't have the effects ascribed to it. Historical absinthe from France contained only trace amounts. The absolute junk from the Czech Republic amounts to wormwood steeped in high-proof vodka or grain alcohol; most of it is not distilled, a process essential for making real absinthe, and "absinth" (note Czech spelling) almost always tastes like turpentine. And no, it doesn't get you high, just very drunk.

History corner: When the phyloxera blight hit the French grapevines in the 1800s, absinthe took over as the most popular national beverage. When the winemakers got back on their feet, their customer base had dried up, so they petitioned the government to do something. About the same time, a French temperant also petitioned the government - and since absinthe was THE drink, he latched on. Doctors produced falsified studies which rebranded alcoholism as "absinthism", purporting that only absinthe caused these symptoms. Really, though, absinthe habituees weren't going mad because their drink was absinthe; they were drinking 8-10 glasses a day of high-proof liquor. They were going mad from abuse of alcohol. Many of these same drunkards commonly drank cologne and even ether if necessary! Low-quality producers couldn't figure out how Pernod Fils got the enchanting and magical green color, the real inspiration for the term "green fairy", which was produced by macerating the distillate in herbs, so some of them colored their products with copper chloride, and those DID drive one mad! Then, in 1905, Jean Lafray, a laborer, drank two glasses of absinthe as he did every day, murdered his pregnant wife and two daughters aged 4 and 2, and tried (and failed) to kill himself. Thus went the bans, from the "absinthe murders". The fact that his every day consumption wasn't just absinthe was forgotten - it HAD to be the absinthe. What had he drunk that day? Seven glasses of wine, six of Cognac, two of creme de menthe, one brandy and coffee, and another brandy after getting home. EVERY DAY he drank like this.

If you buy the wrong brand of absinthe, you'll get something that tastes horrible. If you buy a kit and try to make it yourself, the result is NOT absinthe, is nothing like absinthe. Czech absinthe is really all bad. Hill's, the original Czech brand and still one of the worst, started around 1980, and created a fictional backstory about having been an 1890s manufacturer. Also, based on the then-popular habit of flaming ouzo and sambuca, they drew up the so-called Czech Absinthe Ritual, a modification of the real French method, which involves sugar and fire. While, if carried only to light carmelization, this method can be tasty with the right product, it isn't historically-accurate.

How to properly prepare French absinthe: Start with a proper glass, an absinthe spoon, sugar cubes, an absinthe fountain, and... Okay, you don't have some of those? You can get glasses at BevMo if you're in California, or online. Same for the spoons and fountain. But you CAN do without. Get a highball glass or water tumbler, and either a long-tined fork or, if you really are in a pinch, a tea-ball with a handle. Find a pitcher of some sort, and make sure you can pour an extremely thin, fine stream from it without water dribbling down the pitcher and off the base. Pour about 3/4 shot of absinthe into the glass; the purpose-made glasses have a bulge in the bottom that indicates the 'dose'. Put one or two sugar cubes on the absinthe spoon, fork, or in the tea-ball and balance it across the glass - do NOT let the sugar cube(s) fall in whole. Now, pour ice-cold, filtered water over the sugar cube(s), as slowly as possible, drop by drop if you can, and watch the magic happen; it is this ritualized, almost alchemical preparation that drew devotees. As the water dilutes the absinthe, watch the louche ("loosh"), which in a good product should eventually change transparent peridot green into an opalescent, almost iridescent, milky green-white. You want approximately a 4 or 5 to 1 water-to-absinthe ratio, and you want to do it slowly because various essential oils of the many herbs used in the distillation will precipitate out at various precise dilution levels. An absinthe fountain holds water and ice, and has a tap or spout with a key valve that can let water out drop-by-drop, leaving you free to drop down to eye level with the liquid and watch the loushe; you can bet French cafes were filled with men crouched down like this, eyeing the liquid as if their lives depended on it - it really is enchanting to watch. And if they saw others doing this and felt daunted, some ritzy cafes even had an Absinthe Professor on staff who, for a small fee, could school the customer in the exacting science and fine art of preparing absinthe! Gets your imagination going, doesn't it?

I don't have my fountain yet, but I'm slowly stocking up on other appropriate accoutrements. I have a few spoons, two proper "Pontarlier" type glasses, and I have a footed glass bowl for sugar, a conical footed tumbler for spoons, and an embossed goblet for my own serving, all made from fluorescent yellow-green "vaseline" (uranium oxide) glass. If you're in California, beautiful embossed goblets in two sizes made of uranium glass can be purchased at Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo - they sell many colors of their signature goblet, but the ones you want are transparent day-glo "Hi-Liter marker" yellow-green. They're not traditional absinthe glasses, but they look amazing and will shine brightly under a blacklight, as will all vaseline glass. And yes, it's safe, though not for long-term liquor storage; serving drinks in them is just fine.
~ TorchGuy

P.S. There's a brand in the US called Le Tourment Vert (translation: The Green Torment). Not sure if Mr. Moto mentioned it, but it's getting heavy pushing to bars. It can be seen on the left in Bigbrotiki's photo, and it's in a really beautiful bottle with a fairy, faces and a devil cleverly worked into the etching. It is, like the abominable Hill's, artificially-colored a bright Scope-like blue-green. Le Tourment Vert is, in my opinion, the world's only aftershave-flavored liqueur; it smells like Aqua Velva, tastes vile (good absinthe should be able to be tasted neat without the drinker making a "Mr. Yuk" face, in my opinion) and has zero louche. In short, maybe it has some sort of use to someone, but absinthe it isn't. Don't get sucked in, please don't buy it.

Mr. Moto, any experience with the Marilyn Manson absinthe, Mansinthe? It has so much potential to be awful and terrible junk, and yet I'm hoping it has SOME value since Tourment Vert doesn't. I haven't bought any (I tend to just grab Lucid since it tastes good, louches fairly well and is easily available in stores) and I don't really have a drive to try Mansinthe, not being much of a Marilyn Manson fan, but I figured I'd ask just the same.

Nice post, Torch Guy. I agree with pretty much everything in it. Except maybe the notion that the Czech method of preparation (dousing the sugar cube with absinthe and lighting it on fire before stirring the whole blackened, gooey mess into your absinthe with some water) is ever called for. I've seen it done many times and have (unfortunately) sipped the results on several occasions and I can unequivocally state that it has never, ever improved the drink for me. In fact, it basically ruins any authentic absinthe. (Not hard to understand--can you imagine the flavor of burnt sugar improving any drink?) It is basically a dog and pony show invented to draw attention away from the fact that Czech "absinth" doesn't louche. Admittedly, the flame is very pretty to look at, but the results are dire indeed. Friends don't let friends burn absinthe.

Regarding the question about Mansinthe. Marilyn Manson isn't one of my favorite artists either, but I can attest to the fact that--hype aside--the absinthe he commissioned from the Matter distillery in Switzerland is actually pretty good. It has a nice, traditional flavor profile. A little thin and hot with a heavy hand on the anise, but balanced by a nice refreshing wormwood bitterness. Worlds better than Le Tourment Verte, which as Torch Guy points out, isn't really absinthe at all. It compares favorably with Lucid as a good introductory absinthe.

[ Edited by: Mr. Moto 2010-11-11 17:42 ]

Great post Torchguy, very informative!

On 2010-11-11 06:48, TorchGuy wrote:
Really, though, absinthe habituees weren't going mad because their drink was absinthe; they were drinking 8-10 glasses a day of high-proof liquor. They were going mad from abuse of alcohol. Many of these same drunkards commonly drank cologne and even ether if necessary! Then, in 1905, Jean Lafray, a laborer, drank two glasses of absinthe as he did every day, murdered his pregnant wife and two daughters aged 4 and 2, and tried (and failed) to kill himself. Thus went the bans, from the "absinthe murders". The fact that his every day consumption wasn't just absinthe was forgotten - it HAD to be the absinthe. What had he drunk that day? Seven glasses of wine, six of Cognac, two of creme de menthe, one brandy and coffee, and another brandy after getting home. EVERY DAY he drank like this.

I was very happen to read these points that TorchGuy mentioned. I've had a fascination with absinthe ever since I first read about it and its history roughly twelve or so years ago. At the time I was trying to get my local bottle shop to track some down (all to no avail) as he used to import Rip Van Winkle bourbon himself and he was the only one to have that brand in the country at the time, so I figured he should be able to find some. It wasn't until a couple of years later that I finally got to try some when my friend travelled to Europe and bought back a mini bottle for me. Guess what brand? Hills.

Having Hills being the first brand to try certainly didn't make me want to try anymore, but after reading more about absinthe I soon learned, what has already been mentioned, that Hills cant even be called true absinthe. Since then I have had the opportunity to try a few different brands (as far as I know I think absinthe actually became available here in Aus. well before it was available in the U.S. but as the market here is so small the amount of brands available are quite limited compared to what you guys must have to choose from) including Mansinthe, which I personally thought was pretty good, better than I was expecting when you think "Oh another musician releasing his own brand of alcohol".

Back to TorchGuy's comments, I found it quite amusing that it was the incident with Jean Lafray that put the final nail in the coffin for absinthe, causing its ban, not the fact that most drinkers of absinthe were also alcoholics who drank anything they could get their hands on (Van Gogh used to drink turpentine as well), and were drinking a spirit/liqueur that was generally above 60% a.b.v. amongst other things.

As Beachbum Berry mentioned in his books, once you have tried it and put aside all the hype and misconceptions, you will realise it is just another ingredient that you either like or you dont.

Yes, good absinthe is simply a potent, anise-heavy liqueur. And you either like it, or you don't. I find Lucid to be a good 'basic' brand; it has an acceptable louche and a good balance. Absente (a pun on "absent") was sold just before the ban was lifted, and used Southern or Petite Wormwood to circumvent the ban; post-repeal, Absente now sells the original Absente product as well as Grand Absente, which contains Grand Wormwood. Both are okay, but go light on the sugar with these, as they're fairly sweet already.

Mr. Moto, I should have clarified: A MODIFIED Czech format can be tasty, if you only let the sugar caramelize. Letting it basically turn black, per the 'proper' Czech preparation, does nothing good - yes, it's just there to draw attention away from the lack of louche. The only person I've met who tried Czech absinthe told me "It tasted like sht, but I got sooooo f**ing high...!" Yeah...yeah, sure you did.

Also...

My mom called me a few months ago, told me she was off to Arizona by car and asked if she could bring me some liquor. I, naturally, accepted, and asked for St. Germain and "Lucid if it's under $60". She called me from Arizona and said "Lucid was $65, so I got this other brand. It's in a really beautiful etched bottle". Mr. Moto, you can probably guess where this is headed. I asked if it was called Le Tourment Vert; she replied in the affirmative. My heart sank. I asked if she could return it, and she told me she loved the bottle. Trying to stay at least semi-polite, I told her to buy one of the minis for the bottle. She took back the big one and brought me more St. Germain; who am I to turn down a double order of 'magic in a bottle'? I brought the Le Tourment Vert to Murray at Zig Zag Cafe in Seattle - they carry five or six brands of absinthe and I trust his mixing implicitly, so I asked him if he knew of anything to do with the stuff. He handed the bottle back, shrugged and told me, "We got this a few months ago. Tried it, hated it, sent it back". Did I mention that I trust Murray?

I wo0n't call it undrinkable; a friend in California, who usually sticks to Lucid or Kubler, bought some of this (he had just moved back to San Jose after a decade away and didn't know how to find a BevMo, or about Beltramo's) and claimed he could make it louche using--- ginger ale?? I KNOW water won't do it, because I tried some of his bottle and toyed with it a bit to see if I could force it somehow. Lucid is easy; I once put a measure of that in a big snifter he had, just as an experiment, set a sugar cube in the middle, poured a thin stream of water onto the cube and, surprisingly, got a full louche with no undissolved sugar!

Good thread! A few years ago at a festival I met some people from upstate New York that distilled their own. In trying to overcome the general bitterness the created a series of flavored concoctions. The goal wasn't to get rid of the bitter taste but to try to find something that would either tone it down or compliment it. My favorite of the 12 or so they had on hand was wasabi flavored. Still bitter but the fire of the wasabi brought out a lot of different notes. It led to a very interesting evening.

I try to keep myself educated on various subjects so I decided to look up the word "louche" and here's what I found;

Origin: 1810–20; < F: lit., cross-eyed; OF losche < L luscus blind in one eye
Definition: (Adjective) Disreputable or sordid in a rakish or appealing way

:lol:

On 2010-11-13 09:43, MadDogMike wrote:
I try to keep myself educated on various subjects so I decided to look up the word "louche" and here's what I found;

Origin: 1810–20; < F: lit., cross-eyed; OF losche < L luscus blind in one eye
Definition: (Adjective) Disreputable or sordid in a rakish or appealing way

:lol:

Aha, basically a combination of a lush and a douche! :D Actually, here is a nice description of the reasons, tradition and poetry behind it:

http://www.absinthefever.com/absinthe/ritual

I must say, coming from the Polynesian pop ritual traditions (as shown in Tiki Modern chapter 4), I was rather predisposed to fire, so the lighting of the sugar cube appealed to me, but I bow to the above mentioned reasons to fore-go it.

Since I don't have much to ad to the wonderful and wise ruminations on this thread, here is another image to illustrate it:

Wonderful informative posts, truly enjoying them. I just got my two books yesterday so have some reading to do (Conrad, Absinthe History in a Bottle & Guthrie, A Taste for Absinthe/cocktail recipes). I am carefully planning my first Absinthe encounter. I am not going to try an inferior brand or taste improperly. I am waiting for my spoon/glass to come and will buy a decent brand and louche it properly. I like licorice flavor, so should be a positive experience.

I keep seeing that you should use cold filtered water. Is a cold bottled water appropriate? Should I use the sugar cubes that are made for Absinthe...or is that just a hype?

I was in Barnes & Noble today and looked through Kate Simon's Absinthe Cocktails (not to be confused with Kate Simmons aka Tiki-Kate)

I don't know if you consider the sacrilege but check out this recipe

My Oh My Ty!
"Absinthe meets the mai tia meets the French Caribbean in this tiki-fabulous cooler. Absinthe and rum are old friends (see Dr Funk), and this drink's almond and orange elements are gorgeous with the anise-forward spirit"

1 oz aged rum
1 oz white rhum agricole
1 oz freshly squeezed lome juice
1/2 oz Clement Creole Shrubs orange liqueur
1/2 oz orgeat syrup
1/4 Absinthe vert
1/2 oz Simple syrup*
Fresh mint for garnish

OK, so I took a picture of the page with my cell phone and it's not real clear, I think it says 1/2 ounce :lol: Another recipe I found on the internet said 3-4 dashed simple syrup.

I see that same named recipe in the [A Taste for Absinthe/Guthrie]...with some call names. Have you tried it yet Mike? I don't have most of those ingredients but will get them, if it is a decent cocktail.

1 oz fresh lime juice
1/8 oz Simple Syrup
1/2 oz Rhum Clement Creole Shrubb Liquor
1/2 oz Premier Essence Orgeat
1/4 oz Viex Pontalier Absinthe
1 oz La Favorite Blanc Rhum
1 oz Flor De Cana Rum
Sprig Mint for Garnish

Place ingredients in shaker with 3 ices cubes, shake well, strain and pour into ice filled mug and serve with mint garnish.

Marlene, most of my cocktail information is only what I have read - I'm not a big drinker and I've never tried anything with Absinthe in it. So I'm afraid I can't offer any help :D

I'm in the same boat...LOL Kind of a lightweight but willing to experiment. I tend to find my favorites and stick to them. When I go to Forbidden Island I suck down 4 or 5 Monkey Pods...they are delish!!! I make Beach Bum Berry Mai Tais for some of my parties, but they are not my favorite drink...shhhh don't tell any body, I would prefer a Gin & Tonic. One of my favorite drinks is a Brave Bull (Kahlua & White Tequila over ice) which appears to be my staple now at The Hideaway (our Sacramento Tiki Bar).

I have always been intrigued by the mystery of Absinthe, so looking forward to trying it and hope to get it right the first time. :)

On 2010-11-14 10:39, VampiressRN wrote:
I keep seeing that you should use cold filtered water. Is a cold bottled water appropriate? Should I use the sugar cubes that are made for Absinthe...or is that just a hype?

Bottled water is really only necessary if the tap water where you live has an "off" flavor that might adversely affect the taste of the absinthe. If your tap water is good, use it; if not, I like to use bottled spring water. And, yes, the colder the better. A carafe, brouilleur, or fountain filled with ice water that you can slowly pour or drip into the absinthe is ideal, but a sports bottle filled with water and stuck in the freezer 20 minutes beforehand will work. Any kind of sugar cube is OK; the Domino dots work just fine. Some folks find that properly prepared absinthe is sufficiently sweet on its own, however. I personally rarely use sugar. Try it with and without and see what you like best.

Regarding the My Oh My Ty. I've tried it (the recipe in A Taste for Absinthe) and it's actually pretty good. I did substitute Clement Premiere Canne for the La Favorite Blanc, Cockspur for the Flor de Cana 7 year, and Trader Tiki for the Premier Essence Orgeat, since that's what I had on hand. A little on the sweet side at first--largely thanks to the Creole Shrubb, I think--but it mellows as the ice melts a little. The Vieux Pontarlier (a nice, fruity absinthe) complements the rhum agricole, orange, and almond flavors nicely. I still prefer the Trader Vic original, but this is not a bad Mai Tai.

By the way, there are also recipes in this book for absinthe-fueled versions of the Dr. Funk and Ti Punch. Worth checking out!

I was at Hi-Time liquor store last year when I bought my Absinthe, they recommended Pernod and told me that I didn't have to use the water and sugar mixture and that I could just drink it as it is with this particular brand. I am no expert so this thread is helping put things in perspective. However I would like to use up this bottle. I wish we could get more recipes. Also I already have the regular Pernod which I use whenever the recipes call for it. Maybe I should just use it by itself as was recommended previously. I wish I had the proper glass that you are suppose to drink it in, they are quiet costly so I haven't bought them yet. Any other recipes will be appreciated specially ones that use more than an 1/8 of an oz.

This is not too badly priced. That is the kind of glass and spoon I am going to order.

http://www.amazon.com/KegWorks-Absinthe-Accessories-Starter-Kit/dp/B001ID6UT8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1289967058&sr=8-1

I've tried it both ways, (orig. slow way with the iced water and cubes and As a mixer) must say that as not a big fan of black liquorish, I kinda like it. It works well with raspberry vodka and also mixed with champagne :) I did notice the quote from the trader himself.
"The usually directed method for the following is a rigmarole that nobody's going to do to make a drink. Do it this way: pour Pernod and a little sugar syrup over shaved ice in a old fashion glass, fill with water. stir gently- not to bruise to much."
Trader Vic bartender's guide

That's called an absinthe frappe and it's quite tasty. Try this recipe some time:

1 oz. absinthe
1 oz. Cointreau
3 oz. cold water

Shake with ice and strain into a tumbler filled with crushed or shaved ice. Serve with straw.

Great on a hot summer day.

On 2010-11-16 20:04, hiltiki wrote:
Any other recipes will be appreciated specially ones that use more than an 1/8 of an oz.

The aforementioned book, A Taste of Absinthe, features a number of very good cocktail recipes containing absinthe. You also may want to check out the classic cocktail recipes with absinthe as an ingredient (over 100!) listed at the Wormwood Society:

http://www.wormwoodsociety.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=25&Itemid=218

In addition to the tiki drinks calling for absinthe, I'm partial to the Sazerac, the Cocktail a la Louisiane, the Corpse Reviver #2, the Fourth Degree, the Arsenic and Old Lace, the Monkey Gland, the Brunelle, the Chrysanthemum, and the Death in the Afternoon, among others.

Oh my, Death in the Afternoon.

I'll say this about absinthe: While it doesn't make you hallucinate, it does have a different effect. Case in point:

I'm not usually a heavy drinker. I drink for flavor above effect. But once a year, I attend a local fantasy/sci-fi convention, and I tend to drink heavily at its after-hours parties. This year, the first night I drank an awful lot of good stuff - by now I know the people to talk to, so consumption included some $300-per-bottle anejo tequila a party's bartender had a friend retrieve from his hotel room in a glass (most parties use plastic cups for good reasons, mainly the packing of 60 people into hotel suites built to hold 15). I got home at 5 AM, ate something to try to cut the alcohol, and went right to bed. I woke up at 2 the next afternoon, not hungover but actually still drunk.

The following night, I attended a friend's birthday party as my first event of the night. Someone brought Lucid, I brought Kubler and the sugar, spoons and glasses. At first, just basic louche prep absinthe was going around, but then someone showed up with Champagne. For those who don't know, Death in the Afternoon (supposedly an invention of Ernest Hemingway) consists of your standard prep, sugar and water, with Champagne substituted for water. It's very potent and very tasty. That night, I had easily as much, if not a bit more alcohol than I had the previous night, but about 50% of that was absinthe. Result: I got home at 5 AM, ate something, went to bed, and woke up 8 hours later feeling absolutely great - sober and well-rested!

Your mileage may vary, but...

Mr. Moto, what is my best option for buying a relatively inexpensive absinthe fountain? I don't mind it being simple, or having plastic spots - I just can't pay $150-200 for anything right now. There used to be a $45 glass model sold by one "Bonnecaze & Cie" on Amazon.com, but I can't find it now.

The Death in the Afternoon cocktail was indeed invented Ernest Hemingway; it first appeared in print as his contribution to a book of celebrity cocktail recipes published in 1935 and it's named after a book he wrote in 1932 on bullfighting entitled Death in the Afternoon. Supposedly he invented it one afternoon aboard a fishing boat that had been swamped on a sandbar by a storm. Absinthe makes an appearance in a number of his novels and short stories too, by the way.

It's a delicious drink, but beware: it's highly intoxicating. I rarely drink more that 1-2 at a time. Interesting idea using the traditional preparation method and substituting champagne for water. Never tried it that way. Hemingway's original recipe reads: "Pour one jigger absinthe into a Champagne glass. Add iced Champagne until it attains the proper opalescent milkiness. Drink three to five (!) of these slowly." I typically use 1/2 oz. of absinthe and top with champagne; I find that more absinthe overwhelms the drink if you're using a traditional champagne flute. I'd also recommend using a sweeter absinthe; I've tried it with Lucid once or twice and wasn't impressed with the results, though it might not be bad with sugar added. My current favorite is Delaware Phoenix Meadow of Love, which presents with notes of candied anise and violets.

And if I may, here's a recipe of my own that you might enjoy. It's a variation on Hemingway's drink:

Death at Dawn

1 oz. blanche (white, or clear) absinthe (I use La Clandestine, but Kubler would work)
1/2 oz. St Germain Elderflower liqueur
2 large slices fresh, ripe white peach
2-3 oz. chilled Rose champagne

Muddle the peach in a mixing glass. Add absinthe, elderflower liqueur, and ice. Shake well. Strain (or double strain if you don't like peach puree floating in your drink) into a champagne flute and top with rose champagne. Enjoy!

Torch Guy, regarding your question about absinthe fountains, I'd recommend Absinthe Devil, an online vendor of absinthe accessories. I've dealt with them many times in the past (I bought my own fountain from them several years ago) and have always been impressed with their service:

http://www.absinthedevil.com/Absinthe_Fountains_s/3.htm

They have some nice glass fountains that are fairly inexpensive (they start at $49.95). Also, they have sales several times a year (anywhere from 10-30% off) that you can take advantage of if you register at the site and sign up to receive their e-mail updates. Hope this helps!

Thank you for the recommend. And the recipe -- I adore St. Germain. As does the local bartender I like*, so I'll pass him this recipe.

*I refer to St. Germain as "magic in a bottle". His comments on it: "St. Germain is to a bartender what bacon is to a chef. If a drink isn't very good, you can add a bit of this and it stands a fair chance of getting better"

I picked up a bottle of St. George Absinthe Verte yesterday, and I must say that I'm very impressed with it. The botanicals are really front and center, and aren't overwhelmed by the anise. Something in the mix (the stinging nettles?) gives it a mild numbing effect. It has very dark and cloudy louche, which I find quite lovely, this photo doesn't do it justice. My hat's off to the distillers.

I received my spoon, glass and sugar cubes. Next month I hope to have enough money to purchase a decent bottle.

Is it OK to store Absinthe in the fridge? Seems like if you are going to all the trouble to use cold water to louche, then the Absinthe should be cold too.

I believe I read 5 parts Absinthe to 1 part water...so think I am almost good to go. :)

Vamp, I think you meant 1 part Absinthe to 5 parts water?

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.

Mr. Moto, have you ever found or heard of any good use for Le Tourment Verte? I first had this stuff, as I think I noted, at a friend's house - he bought and enjoyed Lucid in Washington, moved to California and, unable to find the storied BevMo, hit a local liquor dump, and it was all they had. I refused to finish my glass, which wouldn't louche, and he called it "barely tolerable" and later claimed he was able to get a weak louche using ginger ale, though I haven't seen this in action.

I have a mini of it, and it smells like aftershave - tastes like it smells, too. I took it to Murray at the Zig Zag in Seattle, who stocks about 8 absinthes, and he said "Nope, can't do anything with it. We were sent a bottle. Tried it, didn't like it, sent it back." Usually, I consider Murray's advice final, or nearly so, but have you ever seen any remotely good use for this heavily-marketed, Scope-blue, anise-light stuff? I guess this shows that not all bad absinthe is Czech...

I've never had a cocktail with LTV in it that tasted good. Ever. Admittedly, I've only tried a few, so take that for what it's worth. The official LTV website does feature some "signature cocktails," if you want to test your mettle. I feel dirty linking to it, but here ya go:

http://www.letourmentvert.com/cocktails.php

I hear it's swell for de-clogging drains too. Pardon my sarcasm; it's just dreadful stuff by any reasonable standard.

If you want to try a really nice absinthe cocktail (ahem), have Murray mix you up one of these. I call it the:

Green-Eyed Lady

1 1/2 ounces white rum
1/2 ounce passionfruit syrup (3/4 oz. if you make your own using 1:1 simple syrup and passionfruit puree)
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
1/4 ounce absinthe (Vieux Carre works very nicely--no LTV!)
1/4 ounce white creme de cacao
1/2 ounce fresh egg white

Add all ingredients to cocktail shaker and give a hard dry shake. Add ice and shake hard again. Strain into chilled cocktail glass and float a single mint leaf on top. Play Sugarloaf at top volume and smile.

Don the Beachcomber has added a 1934 Zombie made with absinthe to their menu. I tried it, it was pretty tasty. There's a $2 upcharge for it.

Ted Haigh once made me a "Monkey Gland". That was yummy. And the historic concept behind it makes it a classic. :)

"some accused Voronoff's experiments of introducing AIDS to humans"

Gin, OJ, grenadine, and a slosh of absinthe - sounds harmless to me :D

Holy cow...good thing I checked on that ratio thing...LOL. Thanks for the info on storage.

On 2010-12-08 20:19, Jason Wickedly wrote:
Don the Beachcomber has added a 1934 Zombie made with absinthe to their menu. I tried it, it was pretty tasty. There's a $2 upcharge for it.

Jason, thanks the post. I was at Don's this weekend and tried the original Zombie with the Absinthe. It was pretty good. The bartender Doug also had this handout that talked about the history on Don, the Zombie and Absinthe.

First time that I have read about Don's speakeasy Ernie's Place.

We need to have our Zombie expert John-O try the Absinthe version.

DC

I'd love to try the stuff, make a real zombie but I'm not sre if I can have it. The Marines in Japan are barred from using/having it because the Corps still considers it a hallucinogen. I'm looking into whether or not my branch of service has followed suite.

The Zombie as made at TV's is quite tasty with absinthe instead of Pernod, but I don't have a preference; both are different, but equally good. Absinthe isn't sweetened, so it makes for a drier drink. Which way I order it depends on mood, and what else I've had.

Mr. Moto, have you tried Pacifique Absinthe from Pacific Distillery in Washington? I got a chance to try this; a friend bought a bottle, I brough my spoons, glasses and some sugar, and the result was very nice. Very pretty opalescent louche that had a flame-orange tint when held up to a bright light and a bluish edge.

Yep. Pacifique is one of my favorites; I'd venture to say that it's one of the top 5 absinthes commercially available in the US at the moment.

The DTB "Original" Zombie with absinthe is indeed delicious. As is Dave of the Purple Orchid's powerful (and bubbling, thanks to the dry ice) French Zombie, which also tastes like there is absinthe present as well.

I'm still working through a bottle of Herbsaint I bought a year and a half ago (making a great deal of whiskey Sazeracs with it as well) so I haven't bought any actual genuine absinthe yet. However, I've noticed Bev Mo has 50ML airline bottles of a couple of brands, which I might try first.

Caltiki Brent

You may want to check out the brand reviews at the Wormwood Society before you do:

http://www.wormwoodsociety.org/index.php?option=com_jreviews&Itemid=&url=Reviews-Directory_d1/

I'm not aware of any genuine absinthes that are sold in airplane size bottles. Oh, and I agree: a DTB Zombie made with absinthe is indeed a beautiful thing!