When you have bought or made your own Absinthe how to prepare it is the next issue because Absinthe is not like any other alcoholic beverage, it is usually served diluted with iced water. This way of serving Absinthe is the traditional way that Absinthe was served in La Belle Epoque in France and Switzerland. One can go through “The Ritual” or “La Louche” to gather information.

Absinthe How to Prepare using The Ritual

To perform the Ritual, you will need the following:-

– Absinthe – A good quality Absinthe containing real herbal ingredients such as wormwood, aniseed and fennel. One must get the Absinthe having the thujone content.
– An Absinthe glass – an antique Absinthe glass or replica one is important item. Replicas of antiques like Pontarlier glasses and Eiffel Tower spoons are available at AbsintheKit.com.
– One must take a slotted Absinthe spoon.
– Take a cube of sugar.
– One can use iced water in a carafe or in an Absinthe fountain.

Instructions for preparing the perfect Absinthe drink:-

– Pour 25-50ml of Absinthe into the glass.
– One has to rest the Absinthe spoon over the rim of the glass and place a cube of sugar on it.
– Iced water can be slowly drip over the sugar from the tap of the fountain or from a carafe. The sugar dissolves by it’s slow dripping and drip from the opening of the spoon. One must see a lovely “louche” effect after mixing the water into the alcohol. The insolubility of the essential oils in water makes the mixture cloudy when water is added to Absinthe.
– A person can have fun with Absinthe commonly known as the Green Fairy.

The Bohemian or Czech Method

This method of preparing Absintheis not traditional but is a modern way of preparing cheap Czech Absinthes. The Bohemian method is not appreciated by many Absinthe followers.

You will need:-

– Absinthe
– Take an Absinthe glass
– The use of an Absinthe slotted spoon
– Use a cube of sugar
– One must have a lighter or a match
– Iced water

Instructions and tips for using the Bohemian method:-

– Pour 25-50ml of Absinthe into the glass and dip the sugar cube into it to soak the sugar.
– Take the Absinthe spoon to keep sugar cube on it and rest on the rim of the glass.
– The sugar cube should be kept alight for sometime to caramelize and melt. It is necessary to drop the sugar through the spoon into the Absinthe.
– It is necesary to keep the spoon into the Absinthe and pour the iced water into it for releasing the flames and causing the Absinthe to louche.
– Enjoy your Absinthe drink.

* Care should be taken with this method because the Absinthe in the glass may set alight too *

Absinthe can also be used in many cocktails. Ernest Hemingway liked mixing it with champagne and referred it as “Death in the Afternoon”.

There are many mysteries, stories and legends surrounding Absinthe about it’s preparation, its history, the ban and the revival. Now one can enjoy drinking this famous mythical drink.

Absinthe Green Fairy is an alcoholic drink with an interesting history. Although it was developed as an elixir in the 18th century it is one of the most controversial and well known drinks of everytime.

The strongness of Absinthe lies between 45 and 75% Alcohol by volume. It is named as “Green Fairy” due to it’s emerald green color. It is a distilled liquor made from herbs. The three necessary herbs are wormwood (Artemisia Absinthium), fennel (fennell) and green aniseed. Henri-Louis Pernod was the first to commercially distilled Absinthe used other herbs to produce his famous original Pernod Absinthe recipe. The herb calamus was thought to be psychoactive along with wormwood and nutmeg. As soon as the iced water is poured over the sugar on the Absinthe spoon it causes Absinthe to louche. As the oils cannot mix with water so they cause the Absinthe to cloud.

Absinthe Green Fairy and the Art World

Absinthe is famous for inspiring many artists and writers associated with the Bohemian culture of the Montmartre area of Paris. Vincent Van Gough, Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin, Charles Baudelaire, Edgar Degas, Ernest Hemingway and Oscar Wilde come under popular Absinthe drinkers. Absinthe gave inspirations and their genius to various writers and artists. A few paintings are also based on Absinthe and Absinthe drinkers.

Absinthe’s association with old Montmartre, the Moulin Rouge and the Bohemian sect, was only the relieve required by prohibition campaigners. In 1915 the sale of Absinthe was made illegal due to it’s link with the murder of a family and the growing problem of alcohol addiction in France. Many countries banned it but it remained legal in the Czech Republic, the UK, Spain and Portugal.

Wormwood contains the chemical thujone which was blamed for the psychedelic effects of consuming the Green Fairy. According to the belief thujone and THC in cannabis were similar. Absinthe only contains minute quantities of thujone. Research has shown that Absinthe is just as safe as any other strong liquor and that it is the alcohol content not the thujone that is dangerous. Numerous studies and articles have been written on the subject. It can be a drink which gives pleasure if consumed in moderation.

During the time of prohibition many people enjoyed buying and drinking vintage style Absinthe in Absinthe bars in the Czech Republic, served in the classic Absinthe large glassesand in surroundings decorated with vintage Absinthe posters. Absinthe is authorized in most countries although thujone levels are controlled in the EU and the United States only legalize Absinthe with small amounts of thujone.

The website AbsintheKit.com can help a person in getting Absinthe online by the bottle or in placing an order for Absinthe essences.Bottled Absinthe Green Fairy can also be made at home by visiting the site. Thujone is not used in a few new Absinthes that are prepared for the US market.

To get a decadent drink one can mix Absinthe Green Fairy with champagne!

The Absinthe fairy was used on Absinthe label and posters. The film Moulin Rouge showed Absinthe, the Green Fairy as the favorite drink of artists and writers.

Absinthe Fairy Followers

Famous devotees of La Fee Verte, the Green Fairy, were Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Charles Baudelaire, Paul Gauguin, Oscar Wilde and Ernest Hemingway who created his own Absinthe cocktail “Death in the Afternoon” – a mix of Absinthe and champagne. Writers and artists claimed that Absinthe gave them their genius and their inspiration and many pieces of art of the time feature Absinthe or Absinthe drinkers. The Belle Epoque period of history was popular as the hey day for Absinthe.

Absinthe, also famous as Absynthe, is a strong liquor manufatured from herbs and essential oils. An extract from the plant wormwood or artemisia absinthium is the essential ingredient of Absinthe. Wormwood gives Absinthe its characteristic bitter taste whereas herbs such as aniseed, anise and fennel give the spirit it’s anise flavor.

Thujone, a chemical found in wormwood oil, was thought to be psychoactive and to give psychedelic effects, cause hallucinations and eventually insanity. The prohibition campaigners ammunition get Absinthe banned in France in 1915. The buying or selling of Absinthe was banned. It was banned in many other countries also. The Green Fairy was always sold in Spain, Portugal, the UK and the Czech Republic.

Absinthe Fairy and Prohibition

During the prohibition period, distilleries, such as the Pernod Fils distillery, started producing Absinthe substitutes such as Pernod Pastis to market to the people who were missing the anise flavor of Absinthe. The another substitute of Absinthe was Ricard.

As bootleg absinthe was still distilled and sold in several nations which showed that the distilling of Absinthe is existing there.

Being home of Absinthe Switzerland had to wait until 2005 for Absinthe’s legalization. You can now buy Absinthe and Absinthe essence kits online along with Absinthiana such as glasses, spoons and fountains. Drinking Absinthe out of a special antique or replica glass with a proper spoon give effects to the Absinthe preparation ritual.

Absinthe contains minute quantities of thujone which cannot harm anyone so it is not banned in most of the nations. Absinthe is much higher in alcohol than other spirits such as whisky and vodka but was never designed to drink neat. The clouding that happens when the water mixes with the alcohol can be enjoyed by mixing it with iced water.

The real wormwood Absinthe and the essences are available on the sites to make own bottled Absinthe.com.

Absinthe effects are ill-famed among the people. Absinthe is known throughout the world for it’s colorful history and the mysterious myths that surround it.

Absinthe was made in Switzerland in the 18th century as an elixir or tonic. Its main ingredient, the herb wormwood (Artemisia Absinthium), has been used in medicine since ancient times in the following ways:-
– As a tonic
– Antidote to poisoning caused by hemlock and toadstools
– To improve digestion
– To treat parasitic intestinal worms.

In the 19th century Absinthe started to be distilled and sold by Pernod after which it became popular in La Belle Epoque period and joined with the Bohemian culture of the Montmartre area of Paris. According to many popular artists and writers Absinthe freed their minds and inspired them. Many people assume that Van Gogh cut off his ear under the influence of the Green Fairy, Absinthe.

Many people began to think that Absinthe was harmful because of the effects caused by it. It was even described that a French man murdered his whole family after drinking Absinthe. A person should had consumed enough quantity of other alcoholic beverages after drinking the Absinthe.

The Absinthe effects were blamed on the wormwood extract in the drink which contained a chemical called thujone. Thujone had qualities same as TCH. Absinthe was banned and made illegal in France and many other nations in 1915. Countries Spain, Portugal, the UK or the Czech Republic has never banned it.

Many people researched thujone and Absinthe and it was found that drinking Absinthe was just as safe as drinking any strong spirits, and liquor with a high alcohol by volume, and that Absinthe contained only very minute quantities of thujone. Absinthe was, therefore, made legal again in many countries in the 1990s. EU legislation refers that bottled Absinthe having 10mg/kg or less of thujone can only be sold and US law gives the right only to the sale of Absinthe with trace amounts of thujone.

The Absinthe ban meant that several new Absinthe-like products had been made to replace Absinthe for satisfying people’s appetite. Even today these beverages are available along with artificial Absinthes which have been created for the US market. Anyone needing a real Absinthe will require an Absinthe having contents of the vital ingredient and wormwood. To make bottled Absinthe it is necessary to purchase Absinthes or Absinthe essences which contain real wormwood and which can be soluble with vodka or Everclear. These essences are used by the Absinthe industry and can be bought online through sites like AbsintheKit.com. They come with instructions of using them and should be used with Absinthe spoon and glass.

One must think about Absinthe effects if drinking it in heavy amount. The drinking amount of the Absinthe should be appropriate because it is too strong from whisky!