Absinthe was the toast of Europe for most of the 19th century, it was believed to spur creativity and great artists and writers were regular consumers of absinthe or the green fairy as it was called then. In the initial days, it was considered more as a tonic than liquor. Some of the great names in the field or art and literature preferred to drink absinthe over other alcoholic beverages. Classic absinthe is the version of absinthe that was available throughout Europe before it was banned in the beginning of the twentieth century.

Absinthe was the most popular drink in Europe when the bohemian movement was at its pinnacle. It was common to find great artists, thinkers, and painters drinking the cloudy liquid in a Paris café. Absinthe was affectionately called as the green fairy or the green muse back then. It was the most popular alcoholic drink in Europe and United States. Due to some unsubstantiated rumors, absinthe was banned in Switzerland and most of Europe at the beginning of the twentieth century. However, Spain and some other countries did not follow suit and ban absinthe.

Absinthe is more than a tasty alcoholic beverage. An elaborate ritual is to be followed to prepare your absinthe. First step is you pour an ounce of absinthe in a glass. The liquid is clear green in color. After this you place a flat perforated spoon on the glass and place a sugar cube on it. Next you pour ice cold water over the sugar cube slowly so that the sugar cube dissolves and falls in the glass along with the ice-cold water. As the water mixes with the green liquid in the glass it turns in to a cloudy opaque liquid. This effect is called as louching as the essential oils are released. Once it is diluted you stir the liquid with the spoon and then drink it.

Absinthe has made a successful comeback in the beginning of the 21st century as most European Union countries lifted the ban. The pre ban absinthe is considered classic absinthe and many bottles from the pre-ban era are found in France, Switzerland, Italy and the Netherlands. It is widely believed that classic absinthe has higher Thujone content and many pre-ban bottle contents were analyzed to determine the concentration of Thujone. Thujone is a component of wormwood which is used in the distilling absinthe. Many other herbs are also used in the preparation of absinthe. Classic absinthe contains Thujone in the range from zero to 75 milligrams per liter. However all absinthe whether classic or not contains high concentration of alcohol.

Today absinthe distillers make absinthe with different concentrations of Thujone to satisfy the various regulatory agencies in some European and North American countries. American citizens can buy genuine absinthe online from reputed manufacturers in Europe. Brands that come close to the original taste are generally considered classics. Various absinthe accessories and other products are also available online one such genuine place where you can buy absinthe spoons, glasses, labels, essences, etc is absinthekit.com.

With bottled Absinthe being so expensive, many people are interested in making their own Absinthe at home and want to know where to find recipe for Absinthe liquor.

Absinthe is a mythical, mysterious drink with an interesting history. It was originally created in the 18th century as an elixir or tonic by the legendary Dr Pierre Ordinaire in Switzerland. By the turn of the 19th century, it was being produced as an alcoholic beverage by Pernod Fils and soon became a very popular drink, even more popular than fermented beverages and other alcoholic drinks.

Absinthe, or the Green Fairy, is a very strong liquor which is made by distilling alcohol with herbs such as wormwood (artemisia absinthium), fennel and aniseed. Different distillers use different recipes but these are the three main herbal ingredients.

Absinthe has an anise flavor with a hint of bitterness, which comes from the wormwood. The drink was banned in many countries in the 1900s because of worries that it was leading to widespread alcohol abuse and that it caused hallucinations and insanity. These claims are completely unsourced and are just part of the mass hysteria of the time, and wine producers’ worries over the popularity of Absinthe. Absinthe is perfectly safe to drink and does not make you hallucinate.

Absinthe is usually consumed diluted with iced water. The traditional method of preparation is called the Ritual. This method involves pouring a shot of Absinthe into an Absinthe glass and dripping iced water over a sugar cube on a slotted spoon and into the Absinthe. The water causes the Absinthe to louche and then the drink is ready to consume.

Where to find Recipe for Absinthe Liquor

Commercial Absinthe is made by distilling herbs with alcohol. There are various recipes for distilling Absinthe at home, but home distillation is illegal in many countries without a license, so this is not to be recommended.

So, what are the options for making Absinthe at home?

1.Using an Absinthe steeping kit – You can either purchase a steeping kit online or make up your own by making a blend of herbs to steep in alcohol. Recipes online include herbs such as wormwood, fennel, aniseed, anise, hyssop, calamus root, angelica, lemon balm, coriander seeds, melissa, roman wormwood and many others. These herbs are added to alcohol and left to steep for a few days before the mixture is filtered. Some recipes call for one blend of herbs to be steeped first, then removed, and then another blend to be used as a finishing or coloring blend. Steeping will not give you a true Absinthe because there is no distillation involved.

2.Using Absinthe Essences – AbsintheKit.com produce Absinthe essences by distilling traditional Absinthe herbs with alcohol. These are the same essences that they produce for the Absinthe industry and are top-quality essences. Simply mix 20ml of essence with 730ml of Everclear or vodka to make a true Absinthe. They have four different types of essences available to make four different styles of Absinthe – a La Bleue style, a classic verte Absinthe, an orange flavored Absinthe and a strong Absinthe which contains more wormwood and so has a stronger and more bitter flavor. All four essences contain wormwood.

Making homemade Absinthe by using essences is much quicker and easier than steeping herbs and filtering. For a start you don’t have to bother about where to find recipe for Absinthe liquor because the thinking has been done for you. The essences are ready to use – simple and easy! Enjoy your Absinthe.

The world wide web is where to find Absinthe. On the Internet you can shop around, read about different Absinthe brands, educate yourself about Absinthe and order the Green Fairy online.

Where to find Absinthe Online

There are 3 main options when considering what Absinthe to buy:-

– Bottled Absinthe from a reputable distiller.
– An Absinthe making kit containing blends of herbs to steep and then filter.
– Absinthe essences to make Absinthe.

Buying bottled Absinthe

La Fee Verte, lafeeverte.net, have got an Absinthe Buyer’s Guide on their website which is a great reference on both modern and vintage Absinthes. You can use their site to find out all about Absinthe, its history, different brands of Absinthe and Absinthe from different countries, including Absenta from Spain and Absinth from the Czech Republic. It has details about every Absinthe you can think of and also lots of product reviews – a great place to get recommendations and to find out more about the Green Fairy. You can even post your own review once you have sampled an Absinthe.

When buying a bottle of Absinthe you need to make sure that it is a real Absinthe and not a fake or substitute Absinthe. Many substitute Absinthes were developed during Prohibition so there are many Absinthes around that do not contain grande wormwood, the key Absinthe ingredient. Using sites like La Fee Verte will help you to find a good quality Absinthe.

Buying a Herb Blend Absinthe Kit

Companies like Green Devil make Absinthe making kits which contain:-
– An Absinthe Herb blend to steep in alcohol.
– An Absinthe Flavoring and Finishing Blend to use at the end.
– Muslin bags for infusing the herbs.
– A filtration system to filter the alcohol and herbs mixture.

Green Devil claim that the finished Absinthe will have a thujone content of 70-90mg of thujone per liter, a very high dose of thujone. Thujone, the chemical found in wormwood, was one of the reasons why Absinthe was banned in the 1900s. Thujone was thought to have psychedelic effects like cannabis. Artists and writers like Van Gogh and Oscar Wilde claimed that Absinthe gave them their genius and that the Green Fairy was their muse. Research has since shown that bottled Absinthe will not give you hallucinations, or genius, and is very low in thujone.

A kit from companies like Green Devil will not make a true Absinthe because there is no distilling involved, you are simply flavoring the alcohol.

Buying Absinthe Essences

AbsintheKit sell Absinthe essences on their online shop AbsintheKit.com. These essences are great because they are already distilled from the finest traditional Absinthe herbs and all you need to do is to mix an essence with Everclear or vodka. You will get a true Green Fairy experience from these Absinthe essences because they are distilled. They are also sold to the Absinthe industry, so you know you are getting quality.

It is possible to get Absinthe essences shipped world wide if you order from AbsintheKit.com and the site also sells replicas of antique Absinthe glasses and spoons.

So, I hope this information has helped you with where to find Absinthe.