|
|
|
|
ABSINTHE
- THE NEW HALLOWEEN DRINK? |
|
Whether its at a Halloween party,
nightclub decorated with a Halloween theme or some other spooky event,
many adults enjoy cutting-loose and drinking on Halloween. In the last decade
or so, an old world drink has risen from the grave and
become very popular once again, and that drink is Absinthe.
Absinthe is an herb flavored distilled
liquor, usually emerald green in color, that turns a white
milky color when mixed with water. It
was invented by Dr. Pierre Ordinaire and was first produced commercially in 1797 by Henry-Louis
Pernod. Called
"La Fee Verte" (The Green Fairy) by the French, Absinthe was
very popular during the late eighteen-hundreds and has now
made a come-back. For more information about Absinthe visit
The Wormwood Society.
Every
October, my wife and I host two different types of
Halloween parties, one of which is a formal sit-down dinner
party just for our closest adult friends. The evening typically begins with dinner
and dessert, followed by drinks and conversation.
This past
Halloween, we decided to try something a little different,
we served our guests Absinthe in the traditional Parisian
manner. They had all heard of the potent liquor and
were eager to try it.
Since there is a lot of mystery
and misconception surrounding this unusual liquor, I began
by explaining the difference between reality and fantasy
when it came to Absinthe. Drinking Absinthe does not cause
chemically induced hallucinations and make you run wild into
the night. Well, not anymore that any other strong alcoholic
drink does.
It
is very strong, typically having an alcohol content ranging
between forty and eighty percent, that's anywhere from eighty to one-hundred-sixty proof! It will cause intoxication quickly
if not consumed in slowly and over time. Like all
alcoholic beverages, it should be drank in moderation.
Since we really wanted to create
an atmosphere conducive to the Green Fairy, we changed out
the orange and black Halloween candles to bright green ones, switched
on lamps that we had earlier replaced the ordinary light
bulbs with green colored bulbs and
played background music
by Nox Arcana to set the mood.
Once the dinning table was cleared, we placed a Perigord
Absinthe glass and special slotted spoon before each of our
honored guests. Each glass received a single shot (one
ounce) of emerald green colored Absinthe. While just about any type of
glass can be used, serving this drink in special absinthe
glasses such as the Perigord style that have a liquor
reservoir at the bottom is both an elegant and practical
way to serve this exotic drink.
Our guests were instructed to
rest the slotted spoon on the rim of the glass and place two
sugar cubes on top of the spoon.
Lastly, from our beautiful
Absinthe fountain, each guest was shown how to dispense
about three ounces of the ice-cold water slowly over
the sugar cubes, causing them to dissolve with the water and
flow down through the slots in the spoon.
The spoon is then
used to stir the mixture, which will turn milky colored,
called louche. Our guests loved this unusual drink and it turned out to be
the ultimate in Halloween treats!
Buyer beware! Not all Absinthe
is created using the original formula as a base. There are many
Absinthe imposters on the market.
|
|
