How Much Absinthe is Recommended?

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

First you will need to buy quality Absinthe which is rich in essential oils and that contains wormwood. There are many Absinthe subsitutes on sale that contain southernwood or roman wormwood instead of common wormwood. It is important that 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.

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

To perform the Ritual, you will need a lump of sugar, a slotted Absinthe spoon, iced water, and Absinthe glass.

- Pour 25-50 ml of Absinthe into the glass.
- Rest the Absinthe spoon over the rim of the glass and place a cube of sugar on it.
- Slowly drip iced water over suger either by dripping from the tap of the fountain or by using a steady hand to pour from a carafe. Dripping it slowly will give the sugar time to dissolve and drip through the slots of the spoon. You will see a "louche" effect as the water mixes into the alcohol. The Absinthe louches because the essential oils of the herbs are soluble in alcohol but not in water and so make the mixture cloudy or milky when water is added.
- Sit back and enjoy your drink.

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

Here are the instructions and tips for using the Bohemian method:-

- Pour between 25 - 50 ml of Absinthe into a glass and dip the sugar cube into it and soak the cube.
- Place the Absinthe spoon on the rim of the glass and place the cube of sugar on the spoon.
- Set the sugar cube on fire for one minute to allow the sugar to melt and caramelize. The sugar should drip thru the slots of the spoon and into the Absinthe.
- Place the spoon into the glass while pouring the iced water into the Absinthe to put out flames and to cause the liquid to louche.
- Enjoy the Absinthe drink.

For real enjoyment of your Absinthe then you will want some Absinthiana - Absinthe glasses, spoons and perhaps even an Absinthe fountain to control the flow of the water. You can find replicas of antique spoons and glasses for purchased from AbsintheKit.com.

So, when preparing Absinthe drink, what is the recommended amount of Absinthe to use? Use a US shot glass full or approximately 45 ml. Obviously Absinthe can be used in cocktails so to a Google search to find recipes online.