Hows my little Green Fairy?

I've been enamored by the idea of absinthe since somewhere around 2003 when I read an article in Maxim about this drink that had "mind altering" properties. It was just an idea until last November when Laura and I found a bottle in a store in Wisconsin.

After drinking (nay, choking it down) it using the traditional louche method of preparation before the wedding we were going to, I decided I would like to find a way to make absinthe drinkable. Besides, the shits expensive.



A side effect of this day-long experiment is also my pursuit to see if the green fairy really does exist. My prediction at this point is that I'm just going to be drunk by 2:00 and ready for a nap by 4. During my time off I have placed this duty upon myself and will faithfully carry it out for my faithful readers, hard as it might be.

9:30am
Czech or Modern Bohemian Method
I'm choosing this method first because of two reasons. If you don't know, good absinthe is around 110-130 proof. So having burning liquid and any sort of intoxication do not mix well. This method is frowned upon by absinthe purists because of some snobby thing it does to the flavor. I say screw em.

The method: Dripping Absinthe over a sugar cube into the glass, ignite the sugar cube and the caramelized sugar drips into the glass, after about a minute stir in remainder of sugar and some ice water to create the louche effect. Absinthe used: Lucid

So that was largely dissapointing. I was expecting some exciting flame or something more. What I got was pretty, but still a quite small blue flame. As far as drinkablity goes I would actually say this method is more drinkable than the traditional way.

Czech or Modern Bohemian Method Success. Though a mild one.

Just like in Myth Busters, I need to try this again to achieve my desired flame effect, next glass I will soak the cube in the absinthe for a bit then I will burn the cube.

11:00am Soaking the cube did not lengthen the flame time or change the amount of flame. I dripped on more after the flame went out for another try, and it seemed to burn longer. For this to be a cool effect though it needs to work on the first try. Another day I might try a longer soak for the cube. I have other methods to try today.

Please note this photo was taken in the dark on the second, second try.

Interlude: To find the Green Fairy one must slowly sip their Absinthe, so not to become intoxicated with alcohol quickly and overpowering the side effects.

1:30pm
Straight
I've learned over the years one can't really judge how much they like something without trying it at the same time as another for a very accurate comparison. Drinking absinthe straight is not necessarily frowned upon, in fact a purist will congratulate you for not ruining it with water. But you don't get the cool louche effect.



“Anti-alcoholics are unfortunates in the grip of water, that terrible poison, so corrosive that out of all substances it has been chosen for washing and scouring, and a drop of water added to a clear liquid like absinthe, muddles it.” —Alfred Jarry

The Method: Sipping from a shot glass to attempt to appreciate flavor differences. Absinthe used: Absente & Lucid

Absente: smells faintly like nail polish remover. It has a very strong herbal flavor which isn't bad if this was a green tea. There was a long delay before the expected shudder one gets when taking shots. Unfortunately I have another sip left. This is extremely strong, and this one is only 55% alcohol.

My stomach has just asked me to take a break between samples.

2:00pm
Lucid: Lucid has a much stronger herbal smell, it hardly smells like alcohol. Although it does make my stomach churn a bit from the smell. Wow! This didn't make me cringe! It has a much brighter flavor and less herbaly. I keep thinking its got a flavor of lemon but it doesn't, I think maybe its just a crisp citrus taste. Either way, I'm going to need to take a break from this while my stomach get back in line. Lucid is 62% alcohol. This one will sneak up on you for sure.

3:00pm
Classic French Absinthe Ritual.
Pour absinthe into a glass, place a slotted spoon over the glass and a sugar cube on top of the spoon. Pour ice cold water over the sugar cube until it breaks down completely. Add more water if needed to suit your tastes.



This had a very strong herbal flavor and smell. I can't imagine having more than one of these in a sitting. The sugar makes it very sweet and since only water is added it seems like a very light tea. I'm not a fan.

This is the point that I burnt out with drinking Absinthe today. It has such a strong herbal flavor paired with high alcohol and top it off with some very apparent dissolved sugar, I was spent. The results? Maybe if I focused harder on drinking this liqueur more frequently I might have had better success finding the fabled fairy or intoxication, but really all I felt was sick of drinking it. I can at least leave to rest I still do not like Absinthe much and now need to seek out some way to mix it rather than the traditional methods.

With that I'll leave you this quote I found when looking up the drink.
“The first stage is like ordinary drinking, the second when you begin to see monstrous and cruel things, but if you can persevere you will enter in upon the third stage where you see things that you want to see, wonderful curious things.” —Oscar Wilde