Absinthe

There are some things that are really intriguing to me and one of those is absinthe (or the green fairy which is an even more intriguing name).  I know that the current version doesn’t have thujone which as long been blamed for the psychotropic and hallucinogenic nature of the drink.  Of course, it is strong alcohol and was often, historically mixed with cocaine so it might be that should blame somewhat. I also think if you drink anything all day long, eventually you might have hallucinations… That being said, I have only had absinthe once and that was in a mixed drink with so many other ingredients that I am not certain absinthe was even included.  Lucky for me, my good friend, Jackie Trischman, bought an absinthe fountain and had us all over last Friday to give it a shot.  You have to LOVE having a friend who thinks buying an absinthe fountain is a good idea. So the process is simple:  An absinthe spoon is draped over a glass. What is an absinthe spoon? One that lets you drape if over the class and has slots to allow the next steps to transpire. A sugar cube is placed in the open slots in the middle of the spoon, the absinthe is poured over the cube and then water is allowed to drip slowly over the sugar cube into the glass until the sugar cube is dissolved. Final part is drinking the drink which is licorice flavored and strong, strong, strong. I didn’t have hallucinations but I did enjoy the drink.  This will never be my favorite drink but it did make me feel like a bohemian writer/artist living in France. Thank you, Jackie, for making me feel part of a culture I have always loved. I might not be Toulouse-Lautrec or van Gogh, but I can drink like them!