Absinthe's Recommended Amount is How Much?

There is much interest in Absinthe, the drink known as the Green Fairy or La Fee Verte. People want to know what is the recommended amount of Absinthe to use when preparing a drink, how to buy it, what type to by and how to prepare it.

First you need to buy a quality Absinthe which is rich in essential oils and that contains wormwood. There are Absinthe substitute and fake Absinthes on sale that contain southernwood or roman wormwood instead of common wormwood (artemisia absinthium). Be sure you buy a real Absinthe. For those who have a hard time finding good quality Absinthe then you can make your won Absinthe using essences from AbsintheKit.com.

Once you have gotten your Absinthe, you will need to learn La Louche, The Ritual. This is the traditional French or Swiss way of preparing Absinthe and it uses one shot of Absinthe. Following are the instructions:-

The Ritural is peformed with a slotted Absinthe spoon, a lump of suger, iced water and Absinthe glass.

- Pour 25 to 50 ml of Absinthe into the glass.
- Rest the special Absinthe spoon over the rim of the glass and place a cube of sugar in it.
- Showly drip iced water over the suger either by using a steady hand to pour from a carafe or from the tap of the fountain. After giving the sugar a chance to dissolve and drip it slowly through the slots of the spoon. You should see a "louche" effet as the water mixes into the alcohol. The absinthe louches because the oils of the herbs are solube in alcohol but not in water so therefore makes the mixture cloudy or milky when water is added.
- Sit down, relax and enjoy your Absinthe.

The Bohemian or Czech Method is very similar to the Ritual but is a modern way of preparing cheap Czech Absinthes. Absinthe followers rather scorn the Bohemian method.

Instructions for the Bohemian method:-

- Pour between 25 - 50 ml of Absinthe into a glass and dip the sugar cube into the Absinthe and soak the sugar.
- Place the sugar cube on the Absinthe spoon and rest the spoon on the rim of the glass.
- Set the sugar cube alight for one minute to allow the sugar to caramelize and melt. The sugar will drip through the slots of the Absinthe spoon and into the Absinthe.
- Put the spoon into the Absinthe and pour the iced water into the Absinthe to put out any flames and to cause the Absinthe to louche.
- Enjoy.

If you want to enjoy your Absinthe properly the you will want some Absinthiana – Absinthe glasses, spoons and perhaps even an Absinthe fountain to control the flow of the water. Replicas of antique spoons and glasses can be purchased from AbsintheKit.com.

So, what is the recommended amount of Absinthe to use when preparing an Absinthe drink? About 45 ml or a shot glass full in the US. Obviously, you can use Absinthe in cocktails too – search for recipes online.