An Absinthe revival can be experienced due to the authorization of some brands of Absinthe in 2007 in the United States. Yet, some people don’t really know how to use Absinthe correctly or even what Absinthe is.
What is Absinthe
Absinthe is not a hallucinogen or a drug. It is a strong alcoholic beverage with an alcohol by volume of up to 75% and an anise flavor.
Dr Pierre Ordinaire prepared Absinthe as an elixir in Couvet, Switzerland in the 18th century. Henri-Louis Pernod was distilling Absinthe and selling it commercially by the turn of the 19th century. Pernod used a wine alcohol base distilled with variety of natural herbs and also fennel, aniseed, star anise,wormwood (Artemisia Absinthium), hyssop, lemon balm, angelica, juniper, dittany, nutmeg and melissa.
In France the popularity of Absinthe is more than wine. The traditional process of using and preparing Absinthe was born with the Absinthe bars.
Absinthe contained psychoactive chemicals and cause hallucinations, convulsions, insanity and death due to which it was restricted in France. These claims were unreal and now every one knows that. Absinthe is not responsible for such effects. Absinthe was authorized in several countries in the 1990s.
How to Use Absinthe the Traditional Way
To prepare Absinthe in the traditional way is to use the “Ritual”.
You will need:-
– A large glass or Absinthe glass of appropriate size.
– Absinthe
– An Absinthe spoon– replica glasses and spoons can be purchased online at AbsintheKit.One can visit the site AbsintheKit.com to make his own Absinthe. One can prepare his own Absinthe by using top-quality Absinthe essences.
– Get a sugar cube.
– Iced water carafe.
One has to pour a shot of Absinthe into the glass.
The spoon should be kept motionless on the rim of the glass before putting the sugar cube on it.
Slowly drip, rather than pour, the iced water over the sugar to dissolve it.
The Absinthe louche appears when the water is mixed into the Absinthe. Because of insolubility of the essential oils in the water the mixture gets cloudy.
The taste of the Green Fairy can be enjoyed by the stirring the Absinthe.
It is very easy to get drunk on Absinthe though it does not give hallucinations. The herbs used in the preparation of Absinthe are sedative in nature and stimulants. This blend of herbs can give a very different drunkenness effect than the others. Some describe it as a “clear headed” drunkenness.
The Czech or Bohemian Method
With this method, once you have poured the shot of Absinthe into the glass you dip the sugar cube into the alcohol and then set it alight on the spoon with a match. A person can add the iced water after the sugar has caramelized and melted from the spoon into the Absinthe.
The Bohemian method is a modern method and is a bit of fun really rather than a serious method of drinking Absinthe. It can be risky as the whole glass of Absinthe can catch fire, a bit of a waste of Absinthe! Be careful.
The Ritual is the very famous way of using Absinthe however it can also be used in cocktails.