How to enjoy Absinth

Absinth can be very intimidating but It’s actually pretty good if you drink it correctly.

The other night I was out with my buddy Graham and went to an awesome new gastro pub, in Hollywood called the Pikey. I looked on the bar and saw they had the cold drip faucet that places that serve real absinth have so I immediately ordered two. Much to my surprise Graham had never tried Absinth, that’s when I realized I should do a public service and in my next blog teach all those that don’t know how the proper way to enjoy to Absinth and also debunk a few myths about the “Green Fairy”.

First a little back-story: The first time I tried Absinth I was 22 and in Prague, my very American friends and me went to some back alley bar with the mission of seeing the green fairy. So we asked the bartender for some shots of Absinth, because that’s how you drink it right? Wrong, let’s just say none of us saw the green fairy and the bartender got a huge laugh when I ran out the front door and projectile vomited in the alley. So there you go, learn from my mistakes and avoid being the world’s worst tourist. Learn how to drink this classic cocktail right and you’ll enjoy it for years to come.

Absinth used to be illegal in the US until very recently, so there are still a lot of myths about it. First of all it’s not the same recipe that you’ve read about or seen in movies and your not going to start hallucinating after drinking it.  What is available now is just a licorice hinted interesting and in my opinion tasty drink. Be aware it’s still a very potent liquor and you should always drink responsibly. So here is the responsible way to drink and enjoy Absinth.

Lesson 1: Don’t shoot it!! This is not Jager, Tequila, or a lemon drop, it’s designed to be savored, slowly, not in shooter form, remember my first story, you may have similar reaction if you try to down it in one gulp. The most important thing to remember is Absinth is a fun cocktail that should be savored, and sipped.

Lesson 2: Don’t light the shot on fire; I myself have been victim of this myth gone wrong. But there is fire involved, read on to find out when and how to do it.

Lesson 3: The basic recipe.

First pour a shot/drink of high quality Absinth in a highball glass. Second take a sugar cube, (you should use a special holder, but a spoon will work if your attempting this at home) and dip it in the Absinth. Third, light dipped sugar cube on fire let it burn for a few seconds. Fourth, slowly drip ice cold water over the lit sugar cube and let it drop into the Absinth slowly, turning the bright green liquor into a cloudy almost grey green cocktail. (*there is a special drip faucet you can and should use, but if attempting at home and on the cheap, just slowly pouring ice cold water over the lit slightly melted sugar cube will do) Fifth, drink slowly and enjoy.

So there you have it, your Absinth myths debunked.

Drink up!

Andy

Readers, this has got me dying to hear if you’ve had any hilarious tales with Absinth done the wrong way. The first story is just one of my many Absinth fails. Share if you dare, but do your best to keep it kinda clean.  – Thanks!

Also let me know if my recipe was helpful or if you’ve gotten to go out and try it and what you thought.