There is much interest in Absinthe, know as the Green Fairy or La Fee Verte. People want to know what type to buy, how to buy it, how to prepare it and what is the recommended amount of Absinthe to use when preparing a drink.
First you need to buy a quality Absinthe which is rich in essential oils and that contains wormwood. There are many Absinthe substitutes and fake Absinthes on sale which contain southernwood or roman wormwood instead of common wormwood (artemisia absinthium). Make sure you buy a proper real Absinthe. If you live where a good quality Absinthe is hard to find, then you can make your own using essences from AbsintheKit.com.
After you have your Absinthe, you will need to learn the Ritual called La Louche. This is the traditional French way of preparing Absinthe which uses one shot. Following are the instructions:-
To perform the Ritual, you will need a lump of sugar, a slotted Absinthe spoon, iced water, and Absinthe glass.
– Pour between 25 – 50 ml of Absinthe into a glass.
– Rest the special spoon over the rim of the glass and place a cube of sugar on it.
– Showly drip iced water over the suger either by using a steady hand to pour from a carafe or from the tap of the fountain. Dripping it slowly will give the sugar chance to dissolve and drip through the slots of the spoon. You will see a “louche” effect as the water mixes into the alcohol. The Absinthe louches because the oils of the herbs which are alcohol soluble, make the mixture ilky when water is added.
– Sit back and enjoy your Absinthe drink.
Similar to the Ritual is the Bohemian or Czech Method and is a modern way of preparing cheap Czech Absinthes. The Bohemian method is scorned by Absinthe followers.
Instructions for using the Bohemian method:-
– Pour between 25 to 50 ml of Absinthe into a glass then dip the sugar cube into it to soak the sugar.
– Place the Absinthe spoon on the rim of the glass and place the cube of sugar on the spoon.
– Set the sugar cube alight for one minute to allow the surgar to melt and caramelize. The sugar will drip through the slots of the Absinthe spoon and into the Absinthe.
– Place the spoon into the glass and pour the iced water into the Absinthe to put out the flames and to cause the Absinthe to louche.
– Enjoy the Absinthe drink.
To really enjoy your Absinthe properly then you will want some Absinthiana – Absinthe glasses, spoons and perhaps even an Absinthe fountain to control the flow of the water. Replicas of antique spoons can be purchased from AbsintheKit.com.
What amount of Absinthe is recommended to use when preparing an Absinthe drink? Use a US shot glass full or approximately 45 ml. Obviously, Absinthe can be used in cocktails – search for recipes online.