Absinthe?

[Dover]

Not really about food per se, but figured this forum was probably the best place for this question.
A good friend of mine is getting married and said that he and his fiance would like a good quality absinthe (for the honeymoon?) rather than another set of dishes or typical wedding gifts. I asked what kind and he said he'd only just had it once recently at an awards ceremony for a writer friend of his so wasn't familiar with it but he'd try to find out what kind he'd had. So far he hasn't had any luck with that, soooooooo I'm hunting for information. Anyone here know anything about this drink? I'm researching it online but haven't been able to determine from reviews which might be a good choice. I also don't know if there is a marked difference between them similar to fine wine from different sources. Heck, I don't even know what it's supposed to taste like!

[Tesha]

1. Mr. Tesha's a big fan of dancing with the green fairy.

The first thing you need to know about Absinthe is that it
is most strongly flavored of licorice/anise. Since your friend
explicitly asked for absinthe, he probably knows this, but
you might still discreetly enquire; if they want it just because
they "heard it gets you really high" or some such, but hate
licorice, then they probably won't really appreciate your gift.

There's also a lot of culture/mystique that has grown up
around absinthe: various ways of mixing it with water,
dissolving sugar into it, and so on. Absinthe is always
diluted with water for drinking. This causes it to louche:
turn cloudy as terpenes precipitate out. The end result
looks something like very watery milk.

If you're giving absinthe as a gift to new inductees into
the club, it would be nice to give it as "a set" that includes
at least an absinthe spoon (a slotted/pierced spoon upon
which one places a sugar cube through which you pour the
water.



There are also absinthe glasses. These contain a lower
area that serves as a convenient measure for the absinthe
and then a larger upper area which will contain the water
you add (to suit your taste).

Also, there are at least two main families of absinthe:
Regular and "Suisse" (Swiss). The Suisse stuff contains
much more alcohol.

Finally, absinthe varies in its legality. For a while, any
absinthe that contains wormwood (and its active ingredient
thujone) was strictly illegal in America. You could buy this
stuff called "Absente", but it's a far cry from the real deal.
You could also buy pastis (for example, Pernod "51" and
Ricard), and they taste a lot like absinthe but have none
of the thujone in them. They are an absolutely standard
after-dinner drink in France, and you'll hear them referred
to as a "Frenchman's milk" (owing to that louching effect I
described earlier). The laws now been changed and at least
some real absinthes are legal in the US, but I think the
high-test stuff is still dubious. Regardless, it's pretty
easy to obtain.

We buy ours from a German web business:

http://www.alandia.de

We've thoroughly enjoyed a bottle of their La Bleue
Clandestine, a non-green 106-proof Suisse absinthe
and have now begun a second bottle. We've also got a
bottle of Suisse Verte waiting in reserve; maybe we'll
crack it open and do a side-by-side taste test and
report back. Well, assuming we can still type. ;)

In any case, good gifting and if you like the flavor of
licorice and you drink alcohol, try a bottle for yourself!

Tesha

[Dover]

2. Tesha, wow! Thanks so much for all that great information!

My friend specifically asked for absinthe and apparently has had it once so knows what it tastes like. He is someone who has a number of creative friends who live a somewhat Bohemian lifestyle, while he only skirts the edges and flirts with the possibility. So I'm guessing that's how he was exposed to this drink. He's definitely a newbie to it. And from what I've been reading online it seems to be making a comeback. I'm not a big fan of licorice, but will eventually try it at a local absinthe bar which I discovered in my research when the occasion presents itself. I doubt I'd like it enough to purchase a whole bottle, and it's expensive. I don't drink much, but as far as novel liquors and cocktails go, when I partake, I enjoy Chartreuse. That said, I noticed that Absinthe does have some similarities, being made with a long list of herb/flower ingredients and likewise was historically used medicinally.

Didn't know about the legality issue. Maybe the change in law is partially responsible for its apparent new popularity. And the ritual of preparing it sounds like a performance piece in and of itself!

I was looking for more info this morning and found what I think is a great website of absinthe enthusiasts called The Wormwood Society, who have provided their comparative tasting reviews and seem to agree on several varieties from France and others from overseas (with higher alcohol and thujone content than is permitted in the U.S. varieties). According to this group, absinthe's legendary mind-altering affects due to thujone are more myth than reality as it has been determined that the actual amount of thujone found in bottles of pre-prohibition absinthes are not significant (even if many use the hype and claim high thujone levels to sell their absinthe for big bucks). And they also discuss the preparation, things for newbies to avoid when deciding on a purchase, etc.
Seems very helpful but of course it's still only their opinions and personal bias. Mr. Tesh might find it interesting since he's a fan.

Here is the most recent favorite of this group:
http://www.wormwoodsociety.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=572

[housewolf]

4. Fascinataing information

I had no idea! This was all very interesting and I'm glad to know all that.

I don't drink, but I do like licorice. :)

Thanks for posting all that info, especially intersting to me was the info and pictures of the glasses.

[Dover]

5. Tesha, I'd be very interested in your comparison tasting...typos and all...hehehe.

I found a review of Suisse Verte on the Wormwood Society website and it received high marks.
Couldn't find the La Bleu on that site. That's a pretty...((hic))... high alcohol content!....((hic...hic..)) :silly: I wonder how many of those reviews are given while folks are imbibing and in the happy place?..hehe.


I like your idea of gifting the set with glasses and spoon and perhaps some sugar cubes.

[Tesha]

6. (FYI: The Suisse Verte is *144* proof!) (NT)

[Dover]

7. !!!! hic....hic...... hic...hic....... (n/t)

[Dover]

8. Have you tasted Chartreuse as well? I'd really like to hear a comparison of those two.

In thinking about it some more, Chartreuse does have a licorice/anise note to it although it's really too complex to otherwise describe it. So I guess it is possible I might like absinthe if I like Chartreuse. But I don't think I'd enjoy a very strong licorice flavor. I like to serve Chartreuse super cold rather than over ice. Serving temp can make a lot of difference. And Chartreuse doesn't do the louche.

[elleng]

3. makes the heart grow fonder!!!

:rofl:

[Lucinda]

9. I have yet to try it but always wanted to :)

And I love all things anise....yum.

[Tesha]

10. Okay, we just held a "taste-off".

In our lineup, we had, from left to right:

o Chartreuse (110 proof)
o Galliano (60 proof)
o Metaxa's Ouzo (80 proof)
o Pernod Pastis (80 proof)
o Absinthe Suisse La Bleue Clandestine (106 proof)
o Suisse Verte Clandestine (144 proof)
o Absente* (110 proof)

We tried each product straight and also mixed with about
1 part of the product to 2 parts water.

Mr. Tesha and I disagreed on some specifics but we agreed on
the general outlines.

Chartreuse is a non-anise drink. But in many ways, the
complexity of its flavors compared well with the absinthes,
especially the Verte. Mr Tesha felt that its flavors were very
much like the Verte except for the absence of the anise.
A back taste within it reminded me of añejo tequilas; Mr.
Tesha thinks its an "aged in oak barrels" flavor but I'm
not so sure. I also had some with soda (seltzer) and liked
that *QUITE* a lot; that may have been *MY* favorite drink
in this competition.

Galliano is a sweet liqueur. It goes down nicely straight
but, no surprise, doesn't profit from being mixed with water.
Its flavor is pretty basic: anise and sugar.

Ouzo isn't sweet but also drinks nicely straight. It reminded
Mr. Tesha of Good-n-Plenty. It was ruined by mixing it with
water, being left dull and relatively tasteless.

Pernod is your typical pastis. A nice, clean anise flavor and
not too many other flavorings. It mixes well with water.
(Pernod Ricard also sells a product called "51" which I
recall as having more-complex flavors.)

The Bleue Clandestine has some complex flavors. It isn't
"chic" to drink it straight, but I could imagine doing it.

The Verte Clandestine has quite a complex set of flavors.
Its proof is probably too high to enjoy it straight. It has
that same rich "back taste" that the Chartreuse has.

The Absente has the strongest flavors: it sort of stands up
and smacks you. It hits me like un-aged tequila: a bit too
brash for drinking for itself.

These are just our opinions, of course -- everyone has got
their own tastes.

Tesha

P.S.: We poured very small portions, and I'm writing this review
before we've finished all the samples. Otherwise, there'd probably
be a lot more typoooos. ;)

P.P.S.: Earlier today, I made some very nice deviled eggs with
Wasabi and Ginger. Strangely enough, they seem to have lost
all of their taste now. I wonder what happened to them? ;) ;)


* This was a pre-wormwood bottle. The product currently on the
market now claims to contain wormwood.

[Dover]

11. Holy smokes! What a lineup!!! Informal tastings might be a great excuse for a get together.

Everyone could bring a bottle of their favorite. Would surely make for a loooooong and crazy night...or two. But would allow people to try more varieties without the huge expense.

Thanks SO much for sharing your tasting with us. It was surely educational.
I hope you and the Mr. are still able to stand...although verticality is overrated...hehehe.
I haven't even heard of some your entries, so will have to look them up.

Tesha, was that your first taste of Chartreuse? Hope it was ice cold. Unlike absinthe, it can
be kept in the freezer.
I'll have to give the seltzer a try although I really enjoy it straight up, sipping it from a small chilled glass on a winter's night by the fire. I taste a little anise back note in it though don't know if there actually is any in there. It's so wonderfully complex and defies description. I've
actually only had the Chartreuse V.E.P. that has been aged,so haven't even tried the regular stuff yet. That might also make for an interesting comparison.

You didn't mention what Mr. Tesha's favorite was, but I'm guessing it was the Verte. It sounds wonderful and is the absinthe I'd be most likely to try of the ones you've mentioned. Maybe I'll get that one for my friend.

Anyway....bottoms up! Thanks again and have a wonderful evening!

[Tesha]

12. Thanks for the recommendation!

Yes, this was the first time either of us had tried Chartreuese.

We tried the straight-up products at room temperature
(and the water we mixed with was refrigerator "cool").
The seltzer (that I liked so much with the Chartreuese)
was cold, and yes, I also tried it over ice and that was
very good too.

Mr. Tesha is torn between the Bleue and Verte Absinthes;
they're different but I think he liked them both. I know he
doesn't think much of the Galliano or the Ouzo; they've
mostly sat on our shelf for a long time, there for the sake
of company that might want them. He likes the pastis well
enough as well but the Absente, having that "raw" taste,
wasn't to his taste.

Tesha

[Dover]

13. FYI - Chartreuse history/trivia

If you have any curiosity about the story of Chartreuse, the Carthusian monks who oversee its making, the monastary, and general history of this liqueuer's development and still secret recipe, I'd recommend a movie which was where I first heard about it. It's a little documentary called, Into Great Silence(2007), which follows the ascetic monks of the Chartreuse Monastary (situated in the Alps, the Chartreuse range) in their daily activities. There is very little talking as you might imagine, which heightens all the natural sounds. Anyway, the DVD of this movie has a bonus feature about the making of Chartreuse from collection of the herbs to the distillery and bottling. It will provide a whole new appreciation of this special, enigmatic drink. The medicinal elixer is still sold for comparatively little money in the pharmacies of France. It's called Elixer Vegetal de la Grande-Chartreuse and is very concentrated and potent and may just cure whatever ails ya. :P

website
http://www.zeitgeistfilms.com/film.php?directoryname=intogreatsilence

movie trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgNj2Sf_mgo

[tigereye]

14. fascinating discussion - seem to remember an interesting article in the New

Yorker a while back about the history and recent developments in absinthe.

[Dover]

15. Could it have been as far back as 2006?

Found this whole page of magazine articles written about absinthe (lots of gourmet magazines on the list) which mentioned a 2006 New Yorker article:

Absinthe In The News - http://www.absintheonline.com/acatalog/News.html


Green Gold (New Yorker Magazine 2006) - http://www.oxygenee.com/New-Yorker-Feb-2006.pdf

[tigereye]

16. may very well have been! Time tends to fly by around here as we run around