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.