From news.funet.fi!sunic!hagbard!eru!bloom-beacon!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!apple!usc!wuarchive!udel!haven.umd.edu!decuac!islay.dco.dec.com!jcp Sun Apr 28 16:40:27 EET DST 1991 Article: 12887 of sci.med Xref: jyu.fi rec.gardens:2285 rec.food.drink:3131 sci.med:12887 Path: jyu.fi!news.funet.fi!sunic!hagbard!eru!bloom-beacon!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!apple!usc!wuarchive!udel!haven.umd.edu!decuac!islay.dco.dec.com!jcp From: jcp@islay.dco.dec.com (Jolly C. Pancakes) Newsgroups: rec.gardens,rec.food.drink,sci.med Subject: Comments and Recipes for Absinthe Message-ID: <1991Apr28.020140.6120@decuac.dec.com> Date: 28 Apr 91 02:01:40 GMT Organization: Electric Otter Sushi Bar Lines: 81 Originator: jcp@islay.dco.dec.com I've been meaning to repost these recipes for absinthe for some time but just haven't gotten to it. A couple of people asked for pointers to further information, and I have included a little. Unfortunately most of the older books from which I got info on absinthe were from various libraries and I can't give a good bibliography. There are a few pages devoted to the culture of absinthe drinking in an essay on Rimbaud by William Ober in his book _Bottoms Up!_ (a rather unusual book, check it out). Alexis Lichine mentions it in his books on spirits. Wormwood and its chemical constituents are well documented in Mrs. Grieve's _Herbal_ (a very good source book on herbs; I have found that British sources tend to be much more thorough and grounded in research than American ones, which tend to rely on hand me down tales and hearsay). True absinthe was marked by its intense green color (which usually came from herbs other than wormwood, which is a gray-green at best). This lead to cases in which the drink was adulterated with copper salts, doubtless to the consumers detriment. The best absinthe contained 70-80% alcohol, which in itself makes a case for why it might be a dangerous drink. Of beverages still legal for sale in most places, both Campari and Fernet Branca contain wormwood, but are not nearly so alcoholic. The 1911 edition of the Britannica remarks, "There is some reason to believe that excessive absinthe-drinking leads to effects which are specifically worse than those associated with over-indulgence in other forms of alcohol. The manufacture and sale of true absinthe is still legal in Spain. Absinthe #1 1 pint vodka 2 tsp crumbled wormwood (dried) 2tsp anise seed 1/2 tsp fennel seed 4 cardomom pods 1 tsp majoram 1/2 tsp ground coriander 2 tsp chopped angelica root 1 2/3 cups sugar syrup Place vodka in large jar with tight fitting lid. Add wormwood and shake well; steep 48 hrs and strain out. Crush seeds and pods in mortar. Add them and all remaining spices to vodka and steep in a warm place 1 week. Filter and sweeten. (The sugar syrup mentioned above is your standard simple syrup.) Absinthe #2 1 tsp crumbled wormwood 1 cup vodka 2 Tbsp chopped peppermint leaves 1 piece of lemon peel, 3/4"x2" 1/3-1/2 cup sugar syrup Steep wormwood in vodka for 48 hours. Strain out and add peppermint leaves and lemon peel. Steep for 8 days, strain nd sweeten. Smells good but is more bitter than #1. Absinthe Wine All herbs are dried. 2 tsp peppermint 2tsp dried wormwood 2 tsp thyme 2 tsp lavender 2 tsp hyssop 2 tsp majoram 2 tsp sage 2 pints port Steep herbs one week, filter and bottle. My notes describe this as "bitter, aromatic and potent". -- jcpatilla jcp@decuac.dec.com "Otter, otter, otter ! Floating on the sea! Eating fish and urchins, happier than thee!" î