Absinthe, the green fairy

La fée verte, the Green fairy, or as it is more colloquially known absinthe, has been the emerald colored obsession of many a great artist. Oscar Wild thoroughly enjoyed it, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was hooked on it and Van Gogh practically bathed in it nightly. While this list of celebrity may seem slightly out of vogue with the modern power drinker, it’s important to remember that in the late nineteenth century absinthe was the beverage lubricating the minds that brought about a creative revolution and laid the ground work for today’s artistic counter culture. Sadly, nowadays very few people drink absinthe, some because it had until recently been banned in the U.S., and some because they don’t like the taste, but mostly people don’t drink absinthe because they just don’t know anything about it. So as Purim approaches, and people begin frantically purchasing libations for the holiday, I thought it would be fun to drink a glass of my favorite absinthe (which I may or may not have purchased outside of the U.S.) and share with you the wonders of this little green drink.

For those of you who don’t know, absinthe is a high alcohol content (often between 50-75% alcohol by volume) spirit made from green anise, sweet fennel and other various herbs. Many people mistake absinthe for being a liqueur because of its sweetness, but it is in fact a spirit that gains its flavor and sweetness directly from its ingredients and as a result has a very pervasive licorice flavor. There are also a number of regional variations of absinthe that I would further go into if not for the fact that A) to do so would be uninteresting and B) I am on my second glass and the walls are starting to melt. The most common and famous form of absinthe is the French Verte (Green) style. Personally, Verte absinthe is my favorite since I find it to be the most authentically bohemian. Truly there is something to be said about holding a cold glass of absinthe and thinking to myself that I am about to experience the same auditory hallucinations that Guy de Maupassant must have had while he was writing Pierre et Jean.

Verte absinthe pours a brilliant green color and has a very pleasant, yet pungent, licorice aroma. Because most absinthe is around 100 proof the best way to drink it is by diluting it with water. There are two exceptional ways to do this, the traditional method and the bohemian method. The traditional method involves placing a slotted spoon over a glass filled with a shot of absinthe and ice. A sugar cube is placed on the slotted spoon and three parts water to your one part absinthe is then slowly poured over the sugar cube. With this method slow is the key as it serves to make sure that the non-water soluble ingredients in the absinthe (like the anise and the fennel) come out of the solution and cause the drink to cloud. You then tip the spoon into the glass and mix/dissolve what’s left of your ice cube into the drink. The result is an opalescent beverage referred to as louche, that is sweet and refreshing with a wonderfully herbal aroma.

The Bohemian method takes elements of the traditional method and makes it better with fire. You start with the same shot of absinthe (no rocks this time) and the same slotted spoon with sugar cube. The difference is that you presoak your sugar cube in absinthe and once you have it securely on the slotted spoon you set it ablaze. Then, tip the sugar cube into the glass of absinthe setting the shot on fire. Once it has burned for a few moments take a shot of water and pour it into the glass to douse the flames. Mix thoroughly and enjoy. This tends to create a much stronger drink with a richer flavor and a more velvety mouth feel. Anyone who has ever visited the Lower East Side hot spot Apotheke has probably seen this grand spectacle performed and wondered quietly to themselves, “why would the owner of this bar try so hard to set it on fire?”

Which I guess brings us to the stigma. Most people think that absinthe makes you hallucinate. It does not. It never did. There are no hallucinogenic properties of magic chemicals that cause you to actually see green fairies. Absinthe is simply an extraordinarily alcoholic drink that needs to be imbibed with caution so as to avoid the delirium tremens that comes with over indulging. So this Purim give the Green Fairy a try because no alcohol matches the whimsical nature of Purim quite like it.

Zechariah Mehler is a widely published food writer and expert in social marketing. Follow him on Twitter @thekoshercritic