Cocktailia

Absinthe Ritual, French Method

• 1 ounce absinthe
• 1 sugar cube
• cold water

Pour absinthe into glass, preferably a traditional absinthe glass. Rest a slotted spoon across the glass and place sugar cube in the center. Drip four to six parts cold water over the sugar and into the glass and stir. The absinthe should turn cloudy, or “louche“.

The bottle pictured is one of the two we brought back from Prague last year. This year it’s now legal to sell absinthe in the US as long as it contains less than ten parts-per-million thujone, a chemical occurring in artemisia absinthium, grand wormwood, and allegedly the cause of the hallucinogenic effect of the spirit. But from what I gather, absinthe does not contain nearly enough thujone to create a noticeable effect consumed in reasonable amounts. It is toxic, but you’ll die of alcohol poisoning long before your thujone levels get high enough to have an adverse effect.

The Czech method is another variant on the absinthe ritual.