28 AMERICANWAY
OCTOBER 1 2008
D R I N K
Absinthe-Minded
Fall’s hottest gatherings?Around ice-coldwater dripping over sugar cubes into
glasses of exotic, anise-flavored— and until recently, illegal— absinthe. Here, a
primer on the seductive elixir and its famous green-huedgrip.
—RobBrinkley
TheHeadyRitual
Oh, the appeal of the preparation. Absinthe is tradi-
tionally poured into a short, taperedglass, overwhich
a special slotted spoon is placed. Awhite sugar cube
is plopped in the spoon’s
bowl and— slowly, ever
so slowly— ice-cold
water is dripped over the
cube. (Target ratio: three
tofive ounces ofwater to
one ounce of absinthe.)
Themixture down below
turns amilkywhite.
Flavors are unlocked.
Stories begin. Absinthe as
a social moment? Indeed.
Absinthe “fountains”— large jars for the icewater,
with spigots all around— allow you and your friends
to share in the fun. Get your own absinthe glasses,
spoons, and fountains via the Internet (seeWhere to
Find It below) andwatchwhat happens.
TheBackStory
Absinthe is a distilled spirit concocted from herbs,
most prominently the leaves andflowers of
Ar-
temisiaabsinthium
, also known aswormwood.
Medicinal wormwood cropped
up in ancient Greek andEgyp-
tian lore, but itwasn’t until the
freewheelingFrench— rich,
poor, andbohemian alike— of
the 1800s adopted an anise-
and fennel-infused liquid version
of it (the formwe know today)
that absinthe hit its stride. And
did it ever: By 1910, absinthe
consumption reportedly outpaced that ofwine. Yes,
inFrance. That’s huge. But itwas absinthe’s legendary
strength— it can be almost 70percent alcohol—
that led to its nearlyworldwide banning, specifically
in theUnitedStates in 1912 and inFrance in 1915.
Urban legends abounded: Itwas a hallucinogen; it
couldmake you a degenerate, turn you into amartyr,
and, well, drive you crazy. Guesswhat? It’s back. In
a bigway. (TheUnitedStates gave it the green light
just last year.)
EdvardMunch
’s
TheScream
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
FAMouS
ABSinTHE
iMBiBERS
OscarWilde,
Vincent vanGogh
(it’s rumored to have
driven him crazy,
leading him to chop
off his own ear),
Ernest Hemingway,
EdvardMunch
WHEREYou’vEScEnE iT»
Absinthe requiredwhilewatching; popcorn optional:
Moulin
Rouge
(EwanMcGregor swills some),
BramStoker’sDracula
(GaryOldman andWinonaRyder
share some), and
Alfie
(SusanSarandon tempts Jude Lawwith some).
FilEundER:WHYAREWEnoTSuRpRiSEd?»
Shock rockerMarilynManson has begun
bottling his own take on the tonic called—what else—Mansinthe. It’s distilled inSwitzerland
from vermouth, aniseed, fennel, and herbs. It even has aManson-donewatercolor of a rather
eerie-lookingman on the label.
TopTonicS»doubsMystique ($73)
French, modern, ultrapremium
»duplaisverte ($38)
Swiss, rich
and refreshing, unique golden/green hue
»MataHari ($37)
Austrian, new twist on an 1881 recipe
»pernod
($70)
French, the original absinthe
WHEREToFind iT»
.com,
,
