What I Learned Last Night. Absinthe and the Green Fairy. April 15, 2009

Absinthe.
The Liquor. The Spirit. A mysteriously green retro elixir, intoxicatingly delicate and flowery, with subtle herb flavors, distinct anise , soft fennel flavors, but don’t trust this Spirit. she fools you, as it’s known to be highly intoxicating, and possibly a hallucinogenic. It’s that wormwood. Also called the Green Fairy. the mystic around absinthe is as intoxicating as its aromas and flavors. Ab..sinnntheee…. Just saying the word has a lovely mouth feel…. The breathy beginning and pursing of the lips “Aaaab…”, pressing the tongue into the teeth for “Sin..” with the ending vibration….Theee…” Ordering is a pleasure.

Absinthe, had been illegal for the past 80 years, but has recently been re-released and rediscovered by the chic chic bar hopper cocktail-ologists and elitist Francophiles, like moi. I’m increasingly enamored and scared of The Green Fairy. Adoringly intoxicated by its flowery anise herby flavors and aromas… Its delicate grasp.. Its numbingly amorous qualities… Its luminescent green velvety milkie opalescence.. Its vintage prohibition bohemian lifestyle and mystic… Its Parisian underground Moulin Rouge Impressionist-painter-writer-thinker feel. The wormwood hallucinogenic murderous tales. Its ritualistic preparation: the slotted spoon, the beautiful silver and crystal spigoted fountain, the vintage crystal parfait glass. Icy and sweetened with a sugar cube. I like that it was introduced to me long before I knew the tale of what I was drinking.
The Absinthe experience summed up by viewing the Impressionist painting "The Absinthe Drinker" by Viktor Oliva (1861-1928). I see you green fairy, perched siren beckoning. Masochistic Lorraine’s new numbingly sadistic green fairy friend in that Miss Cottington's Pressed Fairy (you know that book?) kind of way: mesmerizing, enchanting, enticing, but aloof, seductive, and untrustworthy

Twice the proof, twice the strength of most other spirits, absinthe was the liquor of choice in for the 19th-century Parisian artists, intellectuals, free thinkers, and the literary set. Devotees of the Green Fairy are said to include Oscar Wilde, Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso of course, Artur Rimbaud, Paul Verlaine, Charles Baudelaire, and ol' Van Gogh, who’s ear lopping incident has been attributed to an over indulgence in absinthe. Heartbreak hotel. Blame it on the wormwwod. Or his artistry.

My introduction to the green fairy began at a handsome marine biologist’s Belltown apartment. It was December 2006. Becky, Brenda and I. And he was a handsome franchophile too. Well, he became a computer programmer, which is not half as much fun, but, that's neither here nor there. In my mind he will always be a Francophile marine biologist and my nostalgic introduction to the boheim and mystic that is Absinthe. Maybe we should have had wormwood induced something.

What I Learned Last Night: How To Serve Absinthe, a ritualistic Preparation
1. Absinthe is properly served with ritualistic preparation, a ritual that will fill you with anticipation and set you in the right melancholy and amorous mood. This absinthe ritual is as important as the actual drinking.

2. To serve absinthe you will need:
~A fancy crystal glass. This glass must be clear, uncolored to best appreciate what will become a foreboding but luminescent green velvety milkie opalescent elixir. The best glass would be vintage cut crystal, as this will illicit the right prohibition vibe for appreciating this mystic aperitif. Yes, a cut crystal glass with a wide brim and a textured stem that you can run your long cocktailed ringed fingers against; as I have a feeling absinthe drinkers are tactile types.

~A special perforated silver spoon. The more 1920's filigree style the better.
~And if you are truly an absinthe fan you should have the spigoted fountain
~Iced water
~A single cube of fine sugar
~ a melancholy and mysterious aura about you.

3. Fill your textured stem vintage vibe glass 1/5 the way up with absinthe pouring the herbaceous bright green liquor directly from the bottle, taking in the anise aroma right away.

4. Place the slotted spoon on top of the glass and the lump of sugar on top of the spoon. Slowly pour cold water over the sugar. This will dissolve the sugar into the absinthe, creating a luminescent green velvety milkie opalescent intoxicating cocktail. A proper pour is 1 part absinthe to 5 parts water – not to be drank neat.
5. Breath in its herbal, black licorice aromatics.
6. Sip. Tasting its gentle flowery anise herby flavors

7. And I like em at the Tin Table at the Century ballroom.
8. I like 'em at Gainsbourge Bar and Bistro in Greenlake, a lovely absinthe selection and all day happy hour on Mondays. That's a lovely find of a Francophile bar. Stop by on Sundays and Mondays for personal attention from Otis. Oogle pictures of the pretty french wives of Surge Gainbsourge on the wall.
9. I like em at Liberty when meeting your dear friend Brenda and dispelling truths and falsities about men.

9. But most of all I like absinthe while slowly swing dancing.
10. Ernest Hemingway’s "Death in the Afternoon" cocktail: Pour one part Absinthe into a crystal Champagne glass. Slowly drizzle chilled Champagne into absinthe until it attains the proper opalescent milkiness. Drink three to five of these slowly. Greet your green fairy. She'll help you write.