The only time I’ve ever tried absinthe, I got in trouble for it. Last year I was stopping over in Dubai for a day at the tail end of a business trip, and I wanted to check out the Burj Dubai (the world’s tallest building, currently under construction). There was a cool “tourist bar” next door - the UAE, as a Muslim country, is only allowed to sell alcohol to tourists in venues with special licenses - and they had at least 20 different absinthe cocktails. The newly legalized version of absinthe, from what I understand, is similar to the old concoction in its licorice taste only - no hallucinations! No matter how many times I explained this to A, he was NOT convinced. So the only way to prove to him that the new absinthe is safe for happy hour is to make him a great drink at home with it.
I found this recipe featured as the cocktail of the week on Gourmet.com back in March (this variant of a Manhattan is actually called “The Waldorf”, invented by a bartender in Seattle).
Ingredients: absinthe (I went with the recommended brand of Pernod), Maker’s Mark bourbon, sweet vermouth (in general, the Rosso style is sweet, and the white type is labeled as dry), Angostura bitters. Start with a martini glass full of ice water too, to pre-chill it.
This cocktail is really quite simple to make. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, then add one ounce of bourbon.
Then add one ounce of absinthe. Check out how neon green it is!
Next goes one ounce of sweet vermouth. (Apparently just the smell of the absinthe was already working on me - sorry about the camera shake blurriness…)
Finally, top with three dashes of bitters.
Shake and strain into the cold martini glass.
July 17th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
The real Absinthe , which is illegal in most of the countries is completely different than the one you talk about. Ive tried it in Czech, its way too strong.
Im curious for “The Waldorf” , should try it next time i go to the local pub.
July 18th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
>is similar to the old concoction in its licorice taste only
Yes! All absinthe sold in the USA must test thujone free! The same is not the case in Europe which has a different classification system.
I understand how the effect of drinking real absinthe with thujone can be described as an hallucination (But that’s not a precisely correct description.) It is, as has been described elsewhere, more of a clear-headedness; a clarity of not only vision, but thought. Perceptions seem to be sharpened. While you might not be hallucinating images that aren’t there, the images that are there seem to be somehow enhanced — more vibrant. It’s very much a hyper-aware altered state of inebriation.