What is the Recommended Amount of Absinthe?
Written by Post on June 29th, 2009 in Food & Drink.
There is much renewed interest in Absinthe, which is also known as the Greeny Fairy or La Fee Verte. People want to know how to buy it, what type to buy, how to prepare it and what is the amount of Absinthe to use when preparing a drink.
First it is important that you need to buy a quality Absinthe that is rich in essential oils and which contains wormwood. Be sure to buy Absinthes that contains wormwood instead of the many fake or substitute Absinthe that are on sale. Make sure you buy a real Absinthe. If you live in a country where it is hard to find a good quality Absinthe then you could make your own Absinthe using essences from AbsintheKit.com.
When you have 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 are:-
To perform the Ritual, you will need a lump of sugar, a slotted Absinthe spoon, iced water, and Absinthe glass.
– Pour 25 to 50 ml of Absinthe into a glass.
– Rest the special Absinthe spoon on the rim of the glass and then place a cube of sugar in it.
– Slowly drip 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. Give the sugar a chance to dissolve and drip slowly through the shots of the spoon. You see a lovely “louche” effect as the water mixes into the alcohol. The absinthe louches because the oils of the herbs are solube in alcohol but not in water so therefore makes the mixture cloudy or milky when water is added.
– Sit down, relax and enjoy your Absinthe.
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 Absinthe followers.
Tips and instructions for using the Bohemian method:-
– Pour between 25 – 50 ml of Absinthe into a glass and dip the sugar cube into it and soak the cube.
– Place the Absinthe spoon on the rim of the glass and place the cube of sugar on the spoon.
– To allow the sugar to carmelize and melt, set the sugar cube on fire for one minute. The sugar will drip through the slots of the Absinthe spoon and into the Absinthe.
– Place the spoon into the Absinthe pour the iced water into the Absinthe to put out any flames and to cause the Absinthe to louche.
– Enjoy the drink.
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. Replicas of antique spoons and glasses can be purchased from AbsintheKit.com.
So, what is the recommended amount of Absinthe to use when preparing an Absinthe drink? A US shot or about 45 ml. Obviously, Absinthe can be used in cocktails – search for recipes online.
