Easy Guide to Food And Drinks

December 18, 2009

What is the Recommended Amount of Absinthe?

Filed under: Wine Spirits — Tags: , , — CakeAuthor @ 5:25 pm

There is renewed interest in Absinthe, which is also known as the Greeny Fairy or La Fee Verte. People want to know what is the recommended amount of Absinthe to use when preparing a drink, how to buy it, what type to by and how to prepare it.

First be certain to buy a quality Absinthe which is rich in oils and that contains worm wood. There are many Absinthe subsitutes on sale that contain southernwood or roman wormwood instead of common wormwood. Make sure you buy a 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.

Once you have got your Absinthe, you will need to learn The Ritual, or La Louche. This is the traditional French or Swiss way of preparing Absinthe and it uses one shot of Absinthe. The instructions:-

To perform the Ritual, you will need an Absinthe glass, a slotted Absinthe spoon, a lump of sugar and iced water.

- Pour between 25 to 50 ml of Absinthe into a glass.
- Rest the special Absinthe spoon over the rim of the glass and place a cube of sugar in it.
- Drip slowly iced water over the sugar either by dripping from the tap of the fountain or by using a steady hand to pour from a carafe. Slowly dripping it will give the sugar time to dissolve and drip through the slots of the spoon. You will see a lovely “louche” effect as the water mixes into the alcohol. The drink louches as the oils of the herbs are souble in alcohol but not in water and therefore make the mixture cmoudy when water is added.
- Sit down and enjoy.

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 many Absinthe followers.

Instructions for using the Bohemian method:-

- Pour 25 to 50 ml of Absinthe into the glass and dip the sugar cube into the Absinthe and soak the sugar.
- Plcace the cube of sugar on the Absinthe spoon and rest the spon on the rim of the glass.
- Set the sugar cube on fire for one minute to allow the sugar to caramelize and melt. The sugar will drip through the slots of the Absinthe spoon and into the Absinthe.
- Put the spoon into the glass while pouring the iced water into the Absinthe to put out flames and to cause the Absinthe to louche.
- Enjoy.

To enjoy your Absinthe then you will want some Absinthiana - Absinthe glasses, spoons, and perhaps an Absinthe fountain to control the flow of the water. Online you can find replicas of antique spoons and glasses for purchased from AbsintheKit.com.

So, what is the recommended amount of Absinthe to use when preparing an Absinthe drink? Use approximately 45 ml or a shot glass full. Obviously, you can use Absinthe in cocktails too – search for recipes online.

Interest Information About Absinthe

Filed under: Wine Spirits — Tags: , — CakeAuthor @ 5:25 pm

About Absinthe

Absinthe is a uniquely strong liquor which is between 45 and 75% ABV (alcohol by volume), about twice as strong as other types of alcoholic beverages such as whisky and vodka.

Otherwise known as “The Green Fairy” or “La Fee Verte”, Absinthe was the drink associated with La Belle Epoque and Bohemian Paris. It was first given to French soldiers in the 1840s to treat malaria and they bought the drink home with them. Absinthe bars opened over Paris and Absinthe hours or “L’heure verte” took place daily. In the middle of the 19th century pernod, who were the distillers of Absinthe, were making almost 30,000 liters of Absinthe every day to be sold to the French people!

All About Absinthe The History of Absinthe

History says that Dr Pierre Ordinaire created Absinthe in the Swiss town of Couvet in the 18th century as an elixir for his patients. The Absinthe recipe eventually got into the hands of Henri-Louis Pernod who first distilled Absinthe in Couvet and then later in Pontarlier, France under the name of Pernod Fils.

Pernod began with a base of wine and several herbs including common wormwood (artemisia absinthium), aniseed, fennel, lemon balm, hyssop, angelica, dittany, star anise, nutmeg and juniper.

Well known drinkers of the Green Fairy were Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Oscar Wilde, Ernest Hemingway, Degas, Gauguin, Verlaine and Baudelaire.

Absinthe became more popular than wine, In France, and the prohibition movement campaigned to get Absinthe banned because:-

- Thujone, in wormwood, was thought to be similar to THC in cannabis and thought to be psychoactive.
- Absinthe was linked with artists, writers and courtesans of Montmartre and their loose morals.
- Absinthe was thought to cause hallucinations, convulsions and to drive people insane.

It was claimed that an Absinthe drinker murdered his whole family – which was just the excuse that the prohibition movement were looking for to persuade the government to ban Absinthe. The buying, selling and consumption of Absinthe was made illegal in france in 1815 and in other countries around this time.

Many studies have shown that Absinthe only contains very small amounts of thujone and is perfectly safe to drink and this includes vintage Absinthe. Legalized in most all countries since the 1990s, there has been an Absinthe revival in many countries, including the USA.

All About Absinthe About Essences in Absinthe

To enjoy Absinthe, you can either order bottles of Absinthe online or you can make your own Absinthe using essences from AbsintheKit.com. These essences are used by the Absinthe industry and are made using traditional herbal ingredients such as fennel, aniseed and wormwood. Your own Absinthe can be simply be made by mxing with either Everclear. Essence is available in four different types.

Preparation of Absinthe

The proper way to prepare Absinthe is to follow the following ritural:-

- Pour 25 - 50 ml of Absinthe into an Absinthe glass.
- Slotted Absinthe spoon is rested on top of the glass.
- Place a sugar cube on the slotted spoon.
- Drip iced water over sugar using an Absinthe fountain or pour slowly from a carafe.
- Watch the louche.
- Drink your great tasting Absinthe drink.

I hope you have now learned all about Absinthe, the mysterious drink with a very interesting past and a great taste.

July 10, 2009

What Percentage is Absinthe?

Filed under: Wine Spirits — Tags: , — CakeAuthor @ 11:20 am

Absinthe is a strong anise flavor liquor which is made by distilling alcohol with herbs such as aniseed. wormwood and fennel. We know it is strong and can get you drunk easily, but what percentage is Absinthe and what is its proof?

Let’s look at the alcohol by volume levels of popular brands of Absinthe:-

La Fee XS Absinthe Francaise 68% abv or 136 proof
Doubs Mystique Carte D’Or 65% abv is 130 proof
La Clandestine Absinthe 53% abv or 106 proof
Jade Edouard 72% alcohol by volume (144 proof)
Sebor 55% abv (110 proof)
Jade Nouvelle Orleans 68% alcohol by volume is 136 proof
Mari Mayans Collectors 70 is 70% abv (140 proof)
La Fee Parisian which 68% alcohol by volume (136 proof)
Lucid Absinthe 62% abv (124 proof)
Jade Verte Suisse 65% abv or 130 proof
Pernod Absinthe 68% abv (136 proof)
Kuber 53 is 53% alcohol by volume or 106 proof
Pere Kermanns 60% abv (120 proof)
Jade PF 1901 68% alcohol by volume is 136 proof
La Fee XS Absinthe Suisse 53% alcohol by volume or 106 proof
Roquette 1797 75% alcohol by volume or 150 proof
La Fee Bohemian 70% abv (140 proof)

Let’s compare Absinthe to several other beverages:-

Whisky such as Johnnie Walker Black Label Scotch 40% alcohol by volume is 80 proof
Absinthe can be 75% alcohol by volume (150 proof)
Table Wine which is 9-12% alcohol by volume is 18-24 proof
Beer is about 4 or 5% alcohol by volume (8-10 proof)

The information on the alcohol.com website has worked out that if you have one shot of 190 proof Everclear is equivalent to drinking 2.85 bottles of beer and about 3 brandies. With this information we can establish that one shot of Absinthe is equivalent to two.25 cans of beer. So, the 22 shots Absinthe is equivalent to 49.5 cans of beer!

As you can see, Absinthe is much stronger than types of fermented drinks such as wine and beer and even stronger than whisky. We therefore need to be careful when consuming Absinthe, not because it will make us have hallucinations, or any other psychedelic effects, but because it is strong and intoxicates quickly. We need to take particular care when mixing Absinthe with other alcoholic drinks in cocktails.

Care always needs to be taken when making your own Absinthe drink. If you buy an Absinthe kit from Green Devil then you are steeping herbs in a neutral alcohol such as vodka or Everclear. Everclear has an abv of 95% and a proof of 190 so it is much stronger than commercial Absinthe. Absinthe essences for Absinthekit.some have to be mixed with a neutral alcohol such as Everclear or vodka. Your finished Absinthe will be whatever the proof or abv of the neutral alcohol you have used.

In Absinthe what is the percentage? For commercial Absinthe just look on the bottle label or, if you are ordering online, look at the product details for abv or proof. If you are making your own Absinthe from a kit, you need to look at the bottle of Everclear or vodka that you are using.

May 1, 2009

What are the well known Effects of Absinthe?

Filed under: Wine Spirits — Tags: , , , , — CakeAuthor @ 6:34 am

Now that Absinthe is again

legal in countries around the world, people are asking “What are the effects of Absinthe?”, “Will it make me trip?”, “Will I meet the Green Fairy?”.

Absinthe is a mythical drink with many legends and stories surrounding it. Created in Switzerland as an elixir or tonic by Dr Pierre Ordinaire, Absinthe quickly became a best selling alcoholic beverage when Henri-Louis Pernod started distilling it in France. It overtook beer, cider and even wine as the most popular drink in France in the period known as La Belle Epoque, the golden age leading up to the First World War.

Famous drinkers of the Green Fairy include Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Oscar Wilde who said “After the first glass of Absinthe you see things as you wish they were. After the second you begin to see them as they are not. Finally, you see things as they really are, and that is the one of the most horrible thing in the world.”

Pernod made Absinthe from a wine base and flavored it with many natural herbal ingredients. Many manufacturers used additional herbs such as coriander, calamus root and mint.

What are some of the effects of Absinthe?

Absinthe was popular in the time commonly known as “The Great Binge”, when beverages contained cocaine and heroin was thought safe to use in medicine. Absinthe was linked to these types of drugs and thought to be psychoactive and so cause:-

- Hallucinations
- Extreme excitability
- Convulsions and spasms
- Destroying the intellect
- Insanity
- Addiction
- Brain damage
- Violence
- Death

Artists and writers drank Absinthe saying it helped them gain inspiration and was responsible for their genius. Famous Absinthe poetry.

Absinthe, so the prohibition led people to believe, was going to the collapse of the nation. Doctors tested wormwood and thujone, the chemical from wormwood ,on animals and claimed that it was like cannabis and that it caused epileptic fits. The prohibition movement blamed Absinthe for causing a man to murder his whole family, after he had only consumed two glasses of Absinthe and copious amounts of other alcoholic beverages. The consumption of Absinthe was also famously blamed for Van Gogh cutting off his own ear and for his suicide.

Absinthe was thought to contain huge amounts of thujone, up to 350mg per liter but high tech tests on vintage bottles have proved these claims to be completely false. Absinthe only contained very small amounts, up to 6mg, not enough to cause anyone to hallucinate. Absinthe has been shown in studies to be as safe as any other alcoholic drink.

Absinthe will not help you see green fairies but it is very strong drink, up to 75% alcohol — so will get your drunk rather quckly and easily. The mysterious blend of alcohol and herbs will give you a strange drunken experience, a “lucid” or “clear headed” drunkenness – a completely new experience!

So, what are the effects of Absinthe? There are no bad effects except if you overdo it and perhaps get a hangover. Absinthe is a drink to be enjoyed and to make you have a feeling of well being. Buy Absinthe of good quality which contains real wormwood or make your own with essences from AbsintheKit.come and enjoy the exciting taste of the Green Fairy. Absinthe kits are available from http://absinthekit.com/.

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