Drink Absinth

Absinth

Brief History and background

Absinth has played a role in the lives of numerous influential writers, artists and even politicians. Van Gogh drank the green substance many a night, and thus inspired some of his greatest works. Hillary Clinton, on a trip to the Czech Republic drank absinthe in a Prague bar with then Czech President Vaclav Havel.

Absinth derives its reported hallucinating powers from thujone, a constituent of the herb wormwood, and found in absinthe. This is the substance that unfortunately has caused it to become illegal in many countries and controlled in others. A note on hallucinations, in order to actually hallucinate from absinthe one must have a large build up of thujone in their system - meaning you have to consistently drink it for over a month before any hallucinations may occur. However, ask at a liquor shop off the beaten trail in Prague or Madrid and you may be able to get the original. But even if you can't find the original, at 140 proof Absinthe will always put you in an altered state of mind. Lucky for those that wish to try Absinthe, wormwood and all, it has been re-legalized in the United States as of Jan. 1 2008. Before the US only sold absinthe imitators, but now you can buy the real thing in any major liquor store.

There are two types of Absinth, which is important because of the differences in the way in which they are traditionally drunk. Parisian Absinthe native to France, and the older Bohemian Absinth (see http://czechabsinthe.wordpress.com) which is still legal in the Czech Republic.

Awakening the Green Fairy

Parisian Absinth

Parisian Absinth (a favorite of shock rock singer Marilyn Manson) is prepared with:

a glass
absinth spoon(or any object with holes that can rest on the glass)
sugar cube
Parisian absinth
pitcher of cold water

Fill your glass with 1.5 to 2.0 ounces of Absinth. Then rest the absinth spoon on top of the glass. Place the sugar cube on top of the spoon.

Now, slowly drip the cold water over the sugar cube. The sugar cube will slowly begin to melt and dissolve into the water. Because it is Parisian absinth louches will form--white swirls that will make the absinth cloudy. Continue this until the entire sugar cube is dissolved into the glass.

To finish your absinth pour in more cold water until you have a 1 to 1 ratio of absinth to water.

Bohemian Absinthe

Some would say the original absinthe, Bohemian absinthe has had a long history underlying dissident movements and radical thinkers. To prepare a glass of this absinthe you will need:

a glass
absinthe spoon(or any object with holes that can rest on the glass)
sugar cube (but in this case regular table sugar will suffice)
Bohemian absinth
glass of warm water
lighter

Fill your glass with 1.5 to 2.0 ounces of Absinth. Then rest the absinth spoon on top of the glass. Place the sugar cube on top of the spoon. Now pour enough absinthe over your sugar cube to saturate it enough for the next step.

Light the spoon with the absinthe and sugar on fire--at 70% alcohol, the absinthe will definitely burn. Allow the cube to burn until it turns brown and carmalizes.

Pour the water over the sugar cube to exstinguish the flame, and continue pouring until you have a 1 to 1 mix. Mix the absinthe, and notice how the Bohemian absinthe will become an intense green color--the source of the stories of green fairies.

Reminder

Absinth is an extremely strong drink, so when in countries that sell absinth drink with friends (it's funner anyway)-lest you find yourself face down on the cobblestone streets of Paris or Prague the next morning.