Albert Maignan's "Green Muse" (1895): a poet succumbs to the Green Fairy
Absinthe has a long history which I've mostly ignored. I had an aunt who brought some back from Paris and let me try as a child. I thought it disgusting. The dominant flavors--anise and fennel--are two of my least favorite things. Fennel, called finocchio in Italian,* is particularly wretch-worthy in my book.
But, I bought some recently, in my quest to render and mimic adult beverages in plastic. Here is what raw absinthe looks like rendered in plastic:
Part 1 of a retail educational display
The silver utensil is called an absinthe spoon. It is used to hold a sugar cube over the spirit. Ice cold water is then slowly dripped onto the cube, dissolving the sugar. About midway through the process--the French call it making the louche--a distinct cloudiness ensues. The final result is milky green beverage that looks like this:
Part 2 of a retail educational tool
Clueless but curious, I looked into what is going on with this drink. Absinthe contains anethole, a molecule having the following structure:
The first thing to note is that the molecule is a trans alkene. It's also an ether, and an aromatic molecule. Anethole is very soluble in pure absinthe which is high in alcohol (around 110 proof); it is much less soluble in water--especially cold water--and adding water causes the anethole to precipitate. The precipitate is the louche. Ouzo uses the same molecule except that the anethole actually crystallizes and floats on the drink. Here is video showing the making of an absinthe louche:
Gotta wonder if Trooper York ever visited that Brooklyn joint featured in the video called Maison Premiere. Probably not. It sounds too French. Who wants to hang out at a place french-themed?
[added] In the comments, ricpic mentions a painting by Degas--"The Absinthe Drinker"
"The Absinthe Drinker" Degas (1876)
According to the Wiki:
The woman in the painting was derided as a whore and the entire image was seen as a blow to morality and the degradation of society due to absinthe.
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*Absinthe is also known as "The Green Fairy." I'll bet there's a story behind that.
I always wanted to try that stuff. It seems creepy, and illicit. The kind of thing they serve in hell before dirty fornication, and then who knows what. So, you can understand my desirous fascination with the green fairy.
I like fennel (more the seed and the bulb, but even the green leafy part is okay). It is the nick name for homosexual in Italy though.
I prefer Sambucca with coffee (Ouzo is okay if you are on the wrong side of the Adriatic). I have a better of good Absinthe but I have not opened it. Had it for years. Maybe I should.
Original absinthe had trace amounts of a hallucinogen called thujone, In the good old days, Coca-Cola had the real thing, Lillet had more quinine, Seven-Up had lithium, and bromoseltzer had bromine.
I liked in the movie Dracula where absinthe figures heavily the person is slipping into a sort of trance from the drinks from the intoxicating environment, from the dense atmosphere and especially from the vibes of the person she's with, the camera tracks around the table where the people are sliding into their chairs, slipping, slipping, showing around objects on the table clutter about the space glints of a bottle the letters out of focus except "sin", slipping slipping into another state of mind. And I thought, ew, that was good.
"It makes a ferocious beast of man, a martyr of woman, and a degenerate of the infant, it disorganizes and ruins the family and menaces the future of the country." ~ Wikipedia
So it's just like modern feminism, but without the impotence.
...the camera tracks around the table where the people are sliding into their chairs, slipping, slipping, showing around objects on the table clutter about the space glints of a bottle the letters out of focus except "sin", slipping slipping into another state of mind.
Great Lakes Distillery in Milwaukee has started producing a very good absinthe. The flavor is excellent, so much that the sugar cube isn't necessary, just a melting ice cube.
Most of the time I use absinthe as an ingredient in a Sazarac, which if done right may be the best cocktail in America.
Let me ask you a serious question, Nick: What is your preferred type of glass for a negroni? I make them shaken in a stemmed cocktail glass, but some prefer a DOF glass.
20 comments:
I always wanted to try that stuff. It seems creepy, and illicit. The kind of thing they serve in hell before dirty fornication, and then who knows what. So, you can understand my desirous fascination with the green fairy.
I like fennel (more the seed and the bulb, but even the green leafy part is okay). It is the nick name for homosexual in Italy though.
I prefer Sambucca with coffee (Ouzo is okay if you are on the wrong side of the Adriatic). I have a better of good Absinthe but I have not opened it. Had it for years. Maybe I should.
Original absinthe had trace amounts of a hallucinogen called thujone, In the good old days, Coca-Cola had the real thing, Lillet had more quinine, Seven-Up had lithium, and bromoseltzer had bromine.
Bitter living through chemistry.
Bromoseltzer had bromide not bromine. I should know better.
@Evi: I would buy a little bottle of the good stuff and try it. But don't drink it straight--add the water and make the louche.
Absinthe is illegal in many places.
Many who drank it apparently died young.
For those interested
I liked in the movie Dracula where absinthe figures heavily the person is slipping into a sort of trance from the drinks from the intoxicating environment, from the dense atmosphere and especially from the vibes of the person she's with, the camera tracks around the table where the people are sliding into their chairs, slipping, slipping, showing around objects on the table clutter about the space glints of a bottle the letters out of focus except "sin", slipping slipping into another state of mind. And I thought, ew, that was good.
According to edutcher's link:
"It makes a ferocious beast of man, a martyr of woman, and a degenerate of the infant, it disorganizes and ruins the family and menaces the future of the country." ~ Wikipedia
So it's just like modern feminism, but without the impotence.
...the camera tracks around the table where the people are sliding into their chairs, slipping, slipping, showing around objects on the table clutter about the space glints of a bottle the letters out of focus except "sin", slipping slipping into another state of mind.
Chip, which version? I'd like to find that clip.
Many who drank it apparently died young.
Well, I'm too old to die young.
"Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder" was a Nathan Lane line in Modern Family.
I've never seen "Modern Family" but it seems like an obvious pun. Not surprised it's unoriginal.
Great Lakes Distillery in Milwaukee has started producing a very good absinthe. The flavor is excellent, so much that the sugar cube isn't necessary, just a melting ice cube.
Most of the time I use absinthe as an ingredient in a Sazarac, which if done right may be the best cocktail in America.
Nevermind Chip--I found it straight off. I wasn't a fan of that remake.
I did find this artsy film on The Art of Louching. I like the PSA at the very end: "friends don't let friends burn absinthe -- water your absinthe."
In Modern Family, the gay boys were drinking martinis w/ a touch of absinthe.
What are you doing watching a show like that, Spinelli?
Let me ask you a serious question, Nick: What is your preferred type of glass for a negroni? I make them shaken in a stemmed cocktail glass, but some prefer a DOF glass.
Asking for a friend.
Oh and if Trooper were awake he could tell me the preferred garnish for cosmopolitan: twist or slice?
Who decides this stuff?
I say a proper cocktail should be 1 part vodka + 2 parts not vodka. Freeeeeeddddddddooooomm!!!!
There's a famous Degas painting titled Absinthe Drinker In A Cafe. She's really zonked out.
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