When you have bought or made your own Absinthe how to prepare it is the next issue because Absinthe is not like any other alcoholic beverage, it is usually served diluted with iced water. This way of serving Absinthe is the traditional way that was used in La Belle Epoque in France and Switzerland. It is known as “The Ritual” or “La Louche” and is easy to learn.

Absinthe How to Prepare using The Ritual

To perform the Ritual, you will need the following:-

– Absinthe – A good quality Absinthe containing real herbal ingredients such as wormwood, aniseed and fennel. Thujone is essential element for the Absinthe.
– One will need an Absinthe glass – An antique Absinthe glass or replica one. A person can visit AbsintheKit.com to buy replicas of antiques.
– A slotted Absinthe spoon is famous as a cuillere.
– A cube of sugar.
– Take iced water in an Absinthe fountain or in a carafe.

Instructions for preparing the perfect Absinthe drink:-

– Pour 25-50ml of Absinthe into the glass.
– Place a cube of sugar on the Absinthe spoon which is resting over the rim of the glass.
– Either by dripping from the tap of the fountain or by using a carafe one can drip iced water over the sugar. When it is drip slowly then the sugar get chance to dissolve and drip through the slots of the spoon. You should see a lovely “louche” effect as the water mixes into the alcohol. The mixture becomes milky when added with water because the essential oils of the herbs in Absinthe are soluble in alcohol but not in water.
– One can enjoy the Green Fairy or the Absinthe.

The Bohemian or Czech Method

This method of preparing Absintheis not traditional but is a modern way of preparing cheap Czech Absinthes. Several Absinthe followers scorned the Bohemian method.

You will need:-

– Absinthe
– Importance of an Absinthe glass
– An Absinthe slotted spoon
– Take a cube of sugar
– A lighter or match is needed
– Iced water

Instructions and tips for using the Bohemian method:-

– Pour 25-50ml of Absinthe into the glass and dip the sugar cube into it to soak the sugar.
– Take the Absinthe spoon to keep sugar cube on it and rest on the rim of the glass.
– It is necessary to alight the sugar cube for one minute for it’s caramelization and melting. One should carefully drip the sugar from the slots of the spoon into the Absinthe.
– It is necesary to keep the spoon into the Absinthe and pour the iced water into it for releasing the flames and causing the Absinthe to louche.
– This is the way of enjoying Absinthe drink.

* Care should be taken with this method because the Absinthe in the glass may set alight too *

Absinthe can also be used in many cocktails. Ernest Hemingway is famous about mixing it with champagne and called it “Death in the Afternoon”.

A large number of legends, mysteries and stories are there encircling different aspects of Absinthe. Enjoy drinking this famous mythical drink.

Absinthe Green Fairy is an alcoholic drink with an interesting history. In the 18th century it was developed as an elixir and today it is among the most controversial and popular drinks of all time.

Absinthe is incredibly strong between 45 and 75% Alcohol by volume. As it is emerald green in color so it is named as “Green Fairy”. Herbs are used to prepare this distilled liquor. The three important herbs for it is wormwood (Artemisia Absinthium), green aniseed and fennel (fennell). Henri-Louis Pernod was the first to commercially distilled Absinthe used other herbs to produce his famous original Pernod Absinthe recipe. Other ingredients such as the herb calamus were used by some manufacturers and this herb along with wormwood and nutmeg were though to be psychoactive. When the chilled water is poured over the sugar on the Absinthe spoon the essential oil extract from the herbs causes Absinthe to louche. The oils are insoluble in water that’s why cause Absinthe to cloud.

Absinthe Green Fairy and the Art World

Absinthe is famous for inspiring many artists and writers associated with the Bohemian culture of the Montmartre area of Paris. People know Vincent Van Gough, Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin, Charles Baudelaire, Edgar Degas, Ernest Hemingway and Oscar Wilde as Absinthe drinkers. A lot of writers and artists were impressed with Absinthe believing that it gave them inspiration and their genius. Painters like Van Gogh and Picasso even featured Absinthe and Absinthe drinkers in their paintings.

The prohibition campaigners required Absinthe’s association with old Montmartre, the Moulin Rouge and the Bohemian sect. In 1915 the sale of Absinthe was made illegal due to it’s link with the murder of a family and the growing problem of alcohol addiction in France. It was legal in only the Czech Republic, the UK, Spain and Portugal.

Wormwood contains the chemical thujone which was blamed for the psychedelic effects of consuming the Green Fairy. According to the belief thujone and THC in cannabis were similar. Since Absinthe is mainly alcohol, ethanol therefore it contains small amount of thujone. Studies prove that Absinthe is just as safe as any other strong drink and the alcohol content in it can be harmful not the thujone. There are various studies and articles written on the subject. A person should be careful about the quantity while consuming it as it is double strong in comparison to the vodka or the whisky.

During the time of prohibition many people enjoyed buying and drinking vintage style Absinthe in Absinthe bars in the Czech Republic, served in the classic Absinthe large glassesand in surroundings decorated with vintage Absinthe posters. Today Absinthe is legal in many countries with controlled thujone levels and the United States only allows Absinthe with decent quantity of thujone.

Absinthe bottle or Absinthe essences can also be purchased from the Internet.An individual can make his own Absinthe Green Fairy to bottle at home by going through the website. Thujone is not used in a few new Absinthes that are prepared for the US market.

Absinthe Green Fairy is a delicious spirit which can be used in cocktails – mix with champagne for a truly dissolute drink!

The Absinthe fairy was used on Absinthe label and posters. In the film Moulin Rouge Absinthe, the Green Fairy, was the favorite drink of artists and writers.

Absinthe Fairy Followers

Famous devotees of La Fee Verte, the Green Fairy, were Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Charles Baudelaire, Paul Gauguin, Oscar Wilde and Ernest Hemingway who created his own Absinthe cocktail “Death in the Afternoon” – a mix of Absinthe and champagne. Absinthe not only gave writers and artists their genius and their inspiration but also most pieces of art of the time highlight Absinthe or Absinthe drinkers. The Belle Epoque period of history is known as the hey day for Absinthe.

Absinthe is prepared from herbs and essential oils. Absinthe is prepared from the herb wormwood. Wormwood gives Absinthe its characteristic bitter taste and herbs like aniseed, anise and fennel give the spirit its anise flavor.

Thujone, a chemical found in wormwood oil, was thought to be psychoactive and to give psychedelic effects, cause hallucinations and eventually insanity. Due to the loose morals of the drinkers in Montmartre prohibition campaigners ammunition banned Absinthe in France. The buying or selling of Absinthe was banned. It was banned in many other countries also. Spain, where Absinthe was called Absenta, Portugal, the UK and the Czech Republic did not ban the Green Fairy.

Absinthe Fairy and Prohibition

During the prohibition period, distilleries, such as the Pernod Fils distillery, started producing Absinthe substitutes such as Pernod Pastis to market to the people who were missing the anise flavor of Absinthe. Ricard was another Absinthe substitute.

As bootleg absinthe was still distilled and sold in several nations which showed that the distilling of Absinthe is existing there.

Although Absinthe was made legal in many countries in the 1990s but in Switzerland it was legalized in 2005. You can now buy Absinthe and Absinthe essence kits online along with Absinthiana such as glasses, spoons and fountains. A special antique or replica glass with a proper spoon really adds to the Absinthe preparation ritual.

Studies showed that the thujone content in Absinthe was safe so it was legalized in many countries. Absinthe is much higher in alcohol than other spirits such as whisky and vodka but was never designed to drink neat. It should be mixed with iced water which allows you to enjoy La Louche – the clouding that happens when the water mixes with the alcohol.

For making own bottled Absinthe one can get the real wormwood Absinthe and essences from several websites.com.

The effects of Absinthe are infamous. Absinthe is famous throughout the world for its colorful history and the hidden myths.

In the 18th century Absinthe was prepared in Switzerland as an elixir or tonic. The herb wormwood (Artemisia Absinthium) which is main ingredient of it has been used in medicine in various form since ancient times
-It can be used as a tonic
–  To negate poisoning caused by hemlock and toadstools
– To improve digestion
– Known treatment of parasitic intestinal worms.

During the 19th century Absinthe started to be distilled and sold by Pernod and became famous in La Belle Epoque period and linked with the Bohemian culture of the Montmartre area of Paris. Various well known artists and writers such as Van Gogh, Verlaine, Baudelaire, Oscar Wilde and Hemingway believed on the effects of Absinthe saying that it freed their minds and inspired them. Some say that Van Gogh cut off his ear while under the influence of the Green Fairy, Absinthe.

Lots of people began to believe that Absinthe was harmful claiming that it was psychoactive, an hallucinogen and could give rise to violence and mental illness. It was even described that a French man murdered his whole family after drinking Absinthe. Other alcoholic beverages must have been taken in decent amount after drinking the Absinthe.

The Absinthe effects were blamed on the wormwood extract in the drink which contained a chemical called thujone. Similarities are there between thujone and TCH which is found in the drug cannabis. In France and many other countries Absinthe was banned and made illegal during the year 1915. Countries Spain, Portugal, the UK or the Czech Republic has never banned it.

Many people researched thujone and Absinthe and it was found that drinking Absinthe was just as safe as drinking any strong spirits, and liquor with a high alcohol by volume, and that Absinthe contained only very minute quantities of thujone. Absinthe was, therefore, made legal again in many countries in the 1990s. The bottled Absinthe which contains 10mg/kg or less of thujone can be sold as per EU legislation.

The Absinthe ban meant that several new Absinthe-like products had been made to replace Absinthe for satisfying people’s appetite. These beverages are still sold along with artificial Absinthes which have been prepared for the US market. The vital ingredient and wormwood which gives Absinthe it’s characteristic bitter flavor are the contents of real Absinthe. Absinthes or Absinthe essences that contain wormwood and are soluble with vodka or Everclear can be used to produce bottled Absinthe. These essences are used by the Absinthe industry and can be bought online through sites like AbsintheKit.com. They come with instructions of using them and should be used with Absinthe spoon and glass.

One must think about Absinthe effects if drinking it in heavy amount. Remember that Absinthe is twice as strong as whisky and drink it in moderation!