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In his New York Times coverage of the recent legalization of absinthe in the USA, our pal Pete Wells mentioned that the new, less napalm-esque formulations don't necessarily require the sugar drip louching technique formerly necessary to make the stuff at all palatable. We respect that, but when you're dealing with the less swank stuff, some of us with a li'l pomp & skeleton to us like a bit of ritual.
The standard louche entails propping a slotted spoon across a glass with a shot of absinthe in it, placing a sugar cube into top, and slowly dripping water over it until the sugar dissolves, and the absinthe and water solution turns a cloudy green. We like that.
We also like playing with fire -- another standard, but far more spectacular serving technique. (Forgive the slight blurriness of the photos -- we were short a tripod, and stuff was, well, on fire.)
(UPDATE 12/18 -- since writing this, I've been lucky enough to sample the St. George absinthe about to hit the market, and it's of such exquisite quality that it would be simply criminal to set it aflame. Save the blaze for the smuggled-in Czech stuff, and nab yourself some St. George the very moment it arrives at your local absintheteria.)
1. Pour a shot of absinthe into a glass. Fill an un-slotted absinthe spoon or teaspoon with sugar, and dip into absinthe just enough to dampen the sugar.
2. Light a match and touch it to the sugar.
3. Allow the sugar to bubble and caramelize.
4. Dip the flaming spoon into the absinthe and stir. This will likely cause the absinthe in the glass to catch fire.
5. Pour in an equal amount of cold water to extinguish the flame.
6. The water will cause the absinthe to turn cloudy. Stir if needed to dissolve the sugar further, and drink.
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1-26-2008 @9:31PM Proudfoot said... Absolutely right - it's the thujone. Wormwood is bitter as heck - early Celts used it to counter the cloying sweetness of the heavier meads and ales, long before hops. Poor man's Absinthe? Steep an ounce of dried wormwood Artemisia absinthium (4 ounces fresh) in a pint of brandy (with a few crushed juniper berries if you've got 'em) for a week. Water and sweeten to taste. It's a tonic used at the turn of the century for gals with the vapors. The thujone? A mild psychedelic.
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5-01-2008 @3:47PM Sir Issac said... I'm going to give this a try but hope I don't burn the house down.
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12-10-2007 @5:08PM ryan said... I have been interested in Abisenthe since reading James Ramsey Ullman's "The Day On Fire" , 40some years ago, have been planning to get it illegally but now I can just order it. Sooooo you say , get to it! Right after the Holidays. Also I will be going to San Francisco for xmas and plan to go to an Bar that specializes in Absenthe drinks. So that will be my first drink for the New Year. Ok I hear yuh already , shut-up-and-drink. Happy Holidays all....
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12-10-2007 @6:16PM salsa said... IMO burning _good_ absinthe is an abomination. The traditional way to drink absinthe is diluted with cold water, possibly with sugar added. The Czech absinthe fire ritual developed in the 1990's and should be considered to absinthe drinking what doing funnels is to beer drinking-- a party thing for people looking to get all messed up. Remember, kids: burn your fuel and drink your booze-- not the other way around!
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12-10-2007 @10:56PM Kat K. said... Agreed, #2 - I'd never suggest flaming up the good stuff, but when life hands you Hill's, you might as well get a show along with your cocktail.
All in good fun.
Kat - AOL Food
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12-11-2007 @8:42AM Tina said... Funny. I was tempted to vote "yes, I'd try this" in the main article this is linked to, but even though that was the question, there was no appropriate answer. Card stacking?
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12-12-2007 @9:11AM Scotty Shuffield said... Years back as a Sailor in Japan, we used to drink absinthe in local Japanese bars. They would serve it up in a shot glass, then torch it, and after a few seconds of burn time, you'd blow out the flames and down the shot. It gave a warm and fuzzy feelilng all the way down. I have never consumed it in the traditional European style, so I guess I'll have to snag a bottle and try it out.
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12-11-2007 @10:18AM tankacy2 said... I ordered a bottle of the Lucid a few months ago. I tried the sugar cube ritual and just the look of it made me not want to drink it. It looks like old dish water. The taste was odd. I tried to find something to hide that taste and all I came up with was put it in something kind of licorice tasting so now I mix my with root beer. OK it sounds crazy but it tastes good enough to at least get it down this way. THE BUZZ YOU GET FROM IT IS WORTH THE NASTY TASTE. IT IS DEFINITELY NOT YOUR AVERAGE ALCOHOL BUZZ. IT IS A GOOD FEELING KIND OF BUZZ. I NOTICED ALL THREE TIMES I DRANK IT THAT IT MADE ME HUNGRY ALMOST LIKE WHAT YOU USED TO HEAR FROM POT SMOKERS GETTING THE MUNCHIES. Its not for everyone and when mine is gone I probably won't buy it again but I at least did try it.
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12-11-2007 @10:55AM fasote said... Come on people, now it is just another alcohol based drink- it no longer contains the narcotics of the 19th century so why ban it any more than say Tequilla or Gin. Maybe this is a sign that America is being slighly less prudish.
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12-11-2007 @11:01AM steve said... no chance i will tocuh that crap
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12-11-2007 @11:13AM Rik said... fire louching is for college kids drinking czech swill, and trying to be Johnny Depp. It goes right down there with jello shots. Checkout youtube for a tutorial-look for the suave,french guy. Then of course, you can check out the Johnny Depp scene, and the others for kicks. BTW-thujone, the active ingredient in wormwood was never a narcotic. It may be considered a mental stimulant, hense the sense of clarity while..um, in a stupor:-) Some did however mix laudenum into their absinthe-again, see the Johnny Depp clip.Absinthe was declared illegal due to a smear campaign by the French wineries after a severe drought destroyed their crops. Absinthe was declared the National Drink of France at that time, so the wineries spread propaganda, and it took. So enjoy your Absinthe, and don't worry about cutting your ear off, or going on a killing rampage. Manson, the kid from Columbine,and taliban all drank milk.
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12-11-2007 @11:34AM Paul said... Drank it for years, actually prefer quality Absinthe louched with ice cold water only - sugar makes it too sweet. Have NEVER "fired" it and never will. Love the hint of anise and light subtle flavors. No hallucinations, no hang overs, no headaches.
It has actually been available in the US for years, but nothing beats it in a cafe in Paris in the Spring.
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12-11-2007 @12:05PM jbeanzz said... Fasote-
You are incorrect. Absinthe is still made with wormwood (artemesia) which, when prepared properly has a slightly narcotic undertone. It's not your standard alcohol based drink. It is similar to Jaegermeister, in that you get the alcohol buzz and then something slightly more like a pot buzz that does not last as long.
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12-11-2007 @12:13PM Mike said... Wonder if it'll make her clothes fall off like Tequila.
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12-11-2007 @12:42PM fasote said... The wormwood was to sweaten the narcotics that this was originally distilled from...
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12-11-2007 @12:44PM George said... Agreed, lighting the absinthe on fire is an abomination. There are a lot of good (and a few GREAT) absinthes out there, and below is a URL for a site that reviews them. What new or inexperienced people fail to see is that you don't drink absinthe to get f***ed up- this isn't your generic Bacardi or Jack. You drink it to savor and enjoy it... the "ritual" or doing the ice water thru the sugar on the spoon thing is part of that. Do you HAVE to do it? No, but IMO it helps with the anticipation and the savoring of it. Good absinthe is like good wine, or a good old single malt- meant to be savored, not slammed. This isn't some frat boy, get-drunk-and-screw stuff- at least, it's not supposed to be.
Absinthe reviews can be found here: http://www.feeverte.net/guide/archives.html
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12-11-2007 @11:22PM fasote said... jbeanzz - have you ever studied chemistry or cultural histories of the world before WWII? Absinthe was originally made out of the dregs of the opium poppy base - after both morphine and heroin were extracted. Once there was nothing else they coud get, they then added water and sugar to ferment. Once fermented they added wormwood and a few other herbs then distilled. This is the version that scared the French Goverment. The absinthe I have had in Eastern Europe was the modern variety made of distilled wormwood. Big difference.
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12-11-2007 @1:37PM Kat said... Lighting GOOD absinthe on fire is an abomination. Lighting Hill's, etc. on fire is, well, you're not losing much, and you're gaining a light show.
Once people find out that you're an absinthe fan, they'll give you absinthe in the same way that they'll give you kitty figurines if they find out you like cats. Might as well put it to use.
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12-11-2007 @2:18PM Darren K. said... Well it's about TIME America! The "land of opportunity" is finally going to let us enjoy a very
interesting drink and I'm happy. I had my first (and only thus far) experience with "La Fee Verte" over New Years this year in Berlin. (I wanted to go all out and have a big time New Years). So there was a pub crawl and there was everything from beer to vodka and all sorts of spirits they were pouring down our drunken throats! Each bar had a different drink, and the guide fed us vodka in between stops. I had heard of Absinthe mainly due to being Johnny Depp and Marilyn Manson fans. So to end the bar crawl we took a shot of Absinthe and it was definitely interesting. No spoons or fire or fanfare, just a shot.I look forward to trying it again soon!
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12-11-2007 @2:13PM K.T. said... Thujone is the narcotic that is said to cause the halucinations. There are recipes available. You can go to www.erowid.com to obtain more info on the stuff.
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