In 2007, the U.S. government reversed its 95-year-old policy, once again allowing the sale of liquor products labeled absinthe into the country—and, accordingly, absinthe cocktails have experienced a revival. Since then a slew of old and new brands hailing from France, Switzerland, Austria, and America have hit the market. All of them have less than ten parts-per-million thujone, the compound in wormwood that's dangerous in high doses but considered safe (and certainly nonhallucinogenic) at these small levels.
Many people do not realize that absinthe tastes like anise, fennel, or licorice, depending on your frame of reference. But bartenders do. They've been using it (and substitutes like Pernod and Herbsainte) in the best absinthe cocktails for more than a hundred years.
So what is absinthe, exactly? It's an anise-flavored liquor that makes most people immediately think of ouzo, pastis or arrack. Typically, it's a clear or translucent-green drink that's mixed in a 1:3 to 1:6 ratio with cold water dripped through a fork or special slotted absinthe spoon holding a sugar cube (which helps cut the absinthe's bitterness). The addition of the water creates what's called the louche, the clouding effect that makes the drink much more opaque.
Here, five cocktails that feature absinthe in different ways: as a primary flavor, as a rinsing agent, and even as breakfast.
1. Abinsthe Frappe
Absinthe is usually very high in proof, clocking in at nearly 70 percent alcohol compared with 40 percent for most vodka, gin, and whiskey. It needs water to bring it down to drinking strength. That's the concept behind the Frappe, an easy way to transform the well-known Absinthe Drip into an iced drink. To make the basic Drip, simply add an ounce of absinthe to a glass, set a sugar cube atop a slotted spoon over the glass, and slowly drip icy cold water over the cube until it dissolves. Those absinthe fountains that you see in old pictures are full of cold water, not absinthe, and allow boozers to dilute the drink to their preferred level. The absinthe in the glass will "louche," or turn cloudy. Add three to five times as much water as absinthe, to taste.
Appetizer Pairing: Goat Cheese and Onion Tarts. A rich cheese like goat cheese works well with absinthe, and the onions accentuate the spirit's savory herbaceousness.
Entrée Pairing: Spiced Tuna Steaks with Fennel and Red Peppers. The bold flavor of absinthe can stand up to steaks, burgers, and other hunks of meat. With this spicy tuna steak, the soft anise flavor is downright soothing.
2. Death in the Afternoon
What could be more decadent than absinthe and Champagne? Absinthe and Champagne and oysters. Death in the Afternoon is not only the name of a Hemingway book, it's also the author's name of a drink he contributed to a book of celebrity cocktail recipes in 1935. His instructions are: "Pour one jigger absinthe into a Champagne glass. Add iced Champagne until it attains the proper opalescent milkiness. Drink three to five of these slowly." I heartily recommend drinking less than five of these, and you may also try pouring the absinthe on top instead; some brands of absinthe will float for a time on the Champagne, and this makes a nifty visual effect.
Appetizer Pairing: Oysters Rockefeller. Both this decadent oyster dish and the Champagne cocktail contain absinthe—and loads of history.
Entrée Pairing: Fennel- and Dill-Rubbed Grilled Salmon. Champagne works well with grilled or smoked salmon, and the fennel in absinthe matches the herb rubbed on the fish.
3. Chrysanthemum
The Chrysanthemum Cocktail, adapted here from the classic Savoy Cocktail Book, is an unusual combination of dry vermouth, the liqueur Benedictine, and absinthe. Each of these ingredients has many herbs or spices as part of its recipe, and it's pretty amazing they don't clash when they come together. In absinthe, the three flavors most brands have in common are anise, fennel, and wormwood, though different varieties add everything from mint to stinging nettles.
Appetizer Pairing: Meatball Sliders. The herbs and spices in the Benedictine—including juniper, myrrh, saffron, aloe, arnica, and cinnamon—would taste great mixed into the sliders.
Entrée Pairing: Whole-Wheat Pasta with Pecorino and Pepper. Strong flavors like pecorino cheese and peppercorns demand an equally complex and savory set of flavors, as found in the Chrysanthemum.
4. Absinthe Sazerac
Absinthe has a very strong flavor in addition to its high alcohol content, so most recipes don't call for very much of the alcohol. A large number of cocktails including the Sazerac, Corpse Reviver #2, and even some tiki drinks call for just a rinse of absinthe. It is poured into the glass, swirled, then discarded. But it still adds a layer of complexity, especially in the aroma, to the final cocktail. Use Peychaud's bitters if at all possible.
Appetizer Pairing: Rye Twists with Anise, Fennel, and Orange. This pairing plays with the duality of the rye (in whiskey and twists), fennel (in absinthe and bread), and citrus (in drink and food).
Entrée Pairing: Gnocchi with Gorgonzola Sauce. A good Sazerac is a little sweet, but the rye whiskey is spicy. Reduce the sugar in the drink to better pair with the creamy Gorgonzola sauce in this dish.
5. Absinthe Suissesse
In this cocktail, absinthe is paired with orgeat, an almond-flavored syrup. The egg white and cream give the drink a frothy, milkshake-like texture. (As with wormwood in absinthe, the danger of raw eggs in cocktails can be exaggerated.) In New Orleans, many people consider this a breakfast drink.
Appetizer Pairing: Twice-Baked Almond Croissants. Sticking with the breakfast theme, we pair the almond in the orgeat with these almond croissants. Poached eggs on artichoke bottoms with white truffle cream and mushrooms
Entrée Pairing: Poached Eggs on Artichoke Bottoms with White Truffle Cream and Mushrooms. Almond, orange, absinthe, and cream balance the dish's artichoke and truffle cream.
The History of Absinthe
So how did the most vilified drink in modern history actually get its start? As a cure-all medical remedy, of course.
In the late 18th century, according to legend, a Swiss doctor with the nicely rhyming name of Pierre Ordinaire used alcohol and the wormwood that grew in the Alps as ingredients in an elixir that was quickly copied or otherwise spread through Europe over the next few decades.
In the 1840s, it was given to French soldiers as a treatment for malaria, and they brought their new habits back with them. (Just as both the gimlet and the term "limey" can thank the British Royal Navy's fear of scurvy for their introduction roughly around the same time.) By the end of the 19th century, happy hour in France was known as "the green hour," prices on the "green fairy" dropped dramatically, and absinthe drinks rivaled (if not surpassed) wine as the most popular drink in France, particularly among the lower classes.
But with the increasing power of the temperance movement, a couple of splashy murders, and possibly the encouragement of drought-stricken wine growers worried about their livelihoods, absinthe became the poster child for devil drinks. By 1915, people were hard-pressed to find legal absinthe anywhere in the world. Wormwood (or its critical extract, thujone), it was said, drove people insane.
Though "absinthe" production continued in a couple of countries (legally in Spain, not so legally in Switzerland, and then in the '90s in the Czech Republic), "post-ban" absinthe often came to be disparaged because of generally poor quality and dubious ingredients (what makes absinthe true absinthe is a certain type of wormwood, grand wormwood or artemisia absinthium). Absinthe became the stuff of certain shady bars, home brewers, and much legend and rumor.
Recently, however, smart liquor entrepreneurs figured out that most laws banning absinthe don't actually ban the drink itself but instead ban liquors with more than a certain amount of the wormwood compound thujone (now measured at 10 parts per million). When the federal government gave the OK to two low-thujone absinthes (Lucid and Kubler), absinthe suddenly became viable in the American market.
