PrintWhat the heck do I do with absinthe?
A friend gave me a bottle of real absinthe the other day. There's so much stuff on it, what with the sugar cubes and the special absinthe spoon (which I do not own) and the water being added drop by drop, etc. Is all of this really necessary. It's like I'm afraid this particular drink is already demanding too much of me, and thus far, I haven't even taken it out of the box yet. So do you really have to do all of that? I know, I sound like an idiot.
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18 Comments:
lol yea you kind of do. See in order for the absinthe to properly "louche" this means to turn cloudy from clear and draw all of it's wonderful aromas out, water has to slowly be added, some use a 4:1 to ratio, I prefer a 2:1 ratio...You can sweeten to your liking....However there are a great number of cocktails you can make with absinthe minus the ritual including the wonderful "Sazerac" for more info check out the cocktails section of my blog...
www.flyboyznyc.com
PS...What kind of absinthe did you get???
Mheusler at 8:11PM on 02/11/08
Just pour it over some rocks and add water. The whole sugar nonsense is more marketing gimmick than anything else.
Another thing you can do with it is flambé some prawns in it. Sauté your prawns in olive oil, a knob of butter, minced garlic, shallot and shaved fennel. Some fresh thyme, white pepper and cayenne pepper is good too. When the prawns are about 3/4 of the way cooked, throw some absinthe in the pan and light it up. Woohoo! Flames! The prawns should be done by the time all the alcohol burns off. Plate them immediately, with the fennel, finish with some coarse sea salt.
seyo at 8:23PM on 02/11/08
I would guess that any recipe calling for pastis could take absinthe as a sub, if you're really just looking to use it up.
renzata at 9:48PM on 02/11/08
you might wish to check out wormwoodsociety.org for more info on Absinthes as well. They're rather helpful folk.
EtherMaiden at 11:12PM on 02/11/08
It looks like radiator fluid, and I'm pretty sure tastes worse. Forget the green fairy that makes you giggle and have fun...think more along the lines of an evil emerald medusa that turns your tongue and guts to stone. Abandon all hope if ye open that bottle.
erinlovestoeat at 12:05AM on 02/12/08
There are several drinks in the very excellent "Savoy Cocktail Book" that use absinthe. All of them are amazingly strong.
ccbweb at 1:24AM on 02/12/08
Green fairy, LOL. I'd recommend either using it in cocktails or as is traditional -- with the sugar, and the spoon, and the water, and the whatnot. The reason there are traditions is because they work (well, there are exceptions...). Absinthe may taste nasty without sugar and water.
It'll also (probably) keep you from drinking too much and sending yourself into a green death :D.
levinedym at 1:58AM on 02/12/08
david lebovitz has an absinthe cake posted on his site. it looks pretty good, you might want to give it a try, here's the link http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2006/07/#000286
avryan at 5:35AM on 02/12/08
For what it's worth, many real Absinthes (not fake herbal infusions or oil-additive liquors) are perfectly delightful without the addition of sugar. While they are often also sip-able neat, adding water to create the louche will release some of the complexities of the flavour. Many notes in a good Absinthe are only detectable once the liquor has achieved a good louche.
EtherMaiden at 8:37AM on 02/12/08
Wikipedia recently ran this as a "Wiki How..." I remembered it when you mentioned absinthe. Looks wild!!
chiff0nade at 8:56AM on 02/12/08
"Absinthe may taste nasty without sugar and water."
Sounds like you've never had any.
seyo at 10:23AM on 02/12/08
Looks like you now have an absinthe assignment. Try it in various applications... plain, with water/sugar, in cake, with shrimp and fennel... and get back to us!
Kerosena at 11:29AM on 02/12/08
"For what it's worth, many real Absinthes (not fake herbal infusions or oil-additive liquors) are perfectly delightful without the addition of sugar"
Fake herbal infusion? Faked since 1866?
The Independent Liquorist:. by L. Monzert, Practical Liquorist and Chemist, Published by Dick & Fitzgerald, 18 Ann Street, New York, 1866:
151.- Absinthe
Take 26 ounces of fennel seed.
5 ounces anise-seed.
13 ounces liquorice root.
8 gallons alcohol 95 per cent.
6 do. water
4 ounces peppermint.
12 ounces wormwood.
Let the whole infuse ten days. Press it in a fruit-press, and filter through a paper pre-pared filter. (See filter No. 1.)
Also you are totally wrong about sipping absinthe neat, EtherMaiden. Chilled water is added to release the herbal oils and thereby the absinthe effect. Real absinthe is not available in the USA unless you wish to be suckered by the hype. Absinthe kits are a good cost effective way of making this historic beverage & as you see Americans have been doing it since 1866 :-)
Billy_Ous at 1:28PM on 02/12/08
@chiff0nade - thanks for the article. Interesting.
I did some checking on my particular bottle, Le Tourment Vert, and it's not exactly ranked A #1, but it's awful purty, and I'm sure will still be wonderful for experimentation.
@kerosena - I shall report back. Unless I fall into a Beaudelarian/Poe-ian funk and slash my lace covered wrists with decadence eternal.
chisai at 4:03PM on 02/12/08
In a pinch you can sub a dinner fork or that fancy sterling silver cake spatula that is getting tarnished in the drawer (with the cut outs) for the spoon. If you went to those websites I am sure they had a picture of one (mine is flat anyway even though technically "the spoon") so you have an idea of the concept.
Then sit back and await the face numbing - head tingling effects to begin! Fun stuff!
sparkalina at 4:25PM on 02/12/08
I just bought a bottle of Lucid, which is considered "real" absinthe, here in Georgia. The guy at the liquor store told me they've reduced the amount of wormwood used, which is the stuff that makes you want to cut off your ear to use it as a dinner dish? But the back of the bottle says this:
"LUCID is formulated by world renowned Absinthe expert T.A. Breaux and is distilled in strict accordance to traditional French methods. ... Each bottle of LUCID is carefully prepared by skilled craftsmen, using ancient copper Absinthe alembics. Unlike most contemporary imitators, LUCID is distilled entirely from spirits and European herbs, and uses no artificial additives or dyes. LUCID recalls the rich tradition of Absinthe, and is crafted using a full measure of Grande Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), green anise, sweet fennel, and other fine European herbs traditionally used in making fine Belle Epoque Absinthe."
Anyway, I can't wait to try it. I'm waiting for a suitably festive occasion with friends to do the whole ritual. Plus, the bottle is beautiful! Black bottle with green glowing cat eyes on it.
Editmom at 10:04AM on 02/13/08
Forgot to mention that it was "almost" prohibitively expensive (for me) -- about $50 for 750mL. If I hadn't been so fascinated by the whole absinthe story, I probably wouldn't have bought it. But I do want to try it, and the fact that it has been illegal in the U.S. and is now LEGAL just piqued my curiosity too, too much!
Editmom at 10:08AM on 02/13/08
Buy some Peychaud's bitters and a bottle of Old Overholt straight Rye whiskey and make a Sazerac. It's quite a nice drink. Absinthe poured over a little cracked ice makes a nice digestif after dinner. We did both at Christmas, Sazeracs before and on the rocks after,
NO_Pam at 10:54AM on 02/13/08