How To Make Absinth or Absinthe
Absinthe, also known as Absinth, Absynth, Absenta and the Green Fairy, is a strong alcoholic liquor flavored with natural herbs including wormwood (grande wormwood Artemisia Absinthium), aniseed and fennel. With Absinthe now being legal in many countries many people want to know how to make Absinth or Absinthe.
Josef Archleb of the Dobruska Distillery in the Czech Republic used the following recipe for his Absinth:-
For the Absinthe base – Grande wormwood, alcohol and water.
For the distillate – Anise seed, star of anise, cinnamon, grande wormwood, hyssop, mace, alcohol and water.
Henri-Louis Pernod of the Pernod Fils distillery in France, used a wine base and herbal ingredients including wormwood, fennel, aniseed, hyssop, angelica, lemon balm, star anise, juniper, dittany, veronica and nutmeg to make his classic French Absinthe.
Recipes online also include additional herbs like calamus root, mint, coriander, caraway seeds and cloves. The herbs are either distilled, which is illegal in many countries without a license, or steeped in a neutral alcohol and then filtered. Only distillation gives a true Absinthe, steeping will just give you an idea of the flavor of Absinthe.
How to Make Absinth or Absinthe the Easy Way
A real wormwood Absinthe can be made by using essences from AbsintheKit.com. This company sell their essences to the Absinthe industry, as well as consumers, and make their essences from natural top-quality herbs using high tech carbon dioxide distillation. All you have to do at home is to mix 20ml of essence with 730ml of Everclear or vodka and the end result is a real wormwood Absinthe.
They have 4 types of essences available:-
– Classic Green Essence – Use this essence if you like classic verte style Absinthes.
– Clear Absinthe Essence – Use this essence if you like the Blanche or La Bleue clandestine style Absinthes of Switzerland.
– Orange Essence – For a yellow-orange colored Absinthe with a natural orange flavor – Absinthe with a twist!
– Strong 55 Essence – This essence makes an Absinthe with a higher thujone content (55mg rather than 35mg) and therefore a more bitter wormwood taste.
You can either buy an essence for $3.95 ($4.95 for Strong) and make one bottle of Absinthe (750ml) or you can buy an Absinthe kit for $29 ($39 for Strong) which makes 14 bottles of Absinthe. A kit also includes artistic bottle labels and a handy plastic measure.
Once you have made your home-made Absinthe you will be asking how to make Absinth or Absinthe to serve. Absinthe is usually diluted with water and this way of preparation is called the Ritual. To prepare Absinthe this way you need to :-
– Pour a shot of Absinthe into a large glass or Absinthe glass.
– Place a sugar cube on an Absinthe spoon resting over the rim of the glass.
– Slowly drip iced water over the sugar and into the Absinthe. This will cause the Absinthe to louche, become cloudy.
– Keep adding water to taste – a ratio of between 3:1 and 5:1 water to Absinthe is usual.
– Stir and enjoy your Absinthe drink.
That’s how to make Absinth or Absinthe!
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