I previously wrote about all the different drinks I had in New Orleans and I mentioned that I had absinthe, but I thought it deserved its own moment.

Well, that moment has come.

Where to start? Absinthe is super potent and was actually banned in a lot of places for a while. According to distillerytrail.com, " Absinthe was banned in the U.S. in 1912, and in several European countries around the same time due to its alleged dangerous properties. It was made legal in the U.S. in 2007 with regulated thujone levels. It is generally made with wormwood, anise, and fennel and contains no added sugar."

Absinthe is often referred to as 'the green fairy' because of its color. Absinthe is anise-flavored. Not sure what anise tastes like? Think black licorice. If you don't like black licorice, you probably won't like absinthe.

We found Tony Seville's Pirates Alley Café near Jackson Square in New Orleans. They are known for absinthe and pirates!

I had a 'Death in the Afternoon' which was a drink allegedly invented by Hemingway. It's absinthe mixed with champagne. I love champagne, but why ruin it with absinthe? My order actually came as a pair, but for the second one, I asked if I could just have champagne.

Tim ordered a middle of the road traditional absinthe and watching the preparation was pretty cool. I didn't know it was such a process. Wikipedia explains it better than I could, "The traditional French preparation involves placing a sugar cube on top of a specially designed slotted spoon, and placing the spoon on a glass filled with a measure of absinthe. Iced water is poured or dripped over the sugar cube to mix the water into the absinthe. The final preparation contains 1 part absinthe and 3–5 parts water. As water dilutes the spirit, those components with poor water solubility (mainly those from anisefennel, and star anise) come out of the solution and cloud the drink. The resulting milky opalescence is called the louche (Fr. opaque or shady, IPA [luʃ]). The release of these dissolved essences coincides with a perfuming of herbal aromas and flavors that "blossom" or "bloom," and brings out subtleties that are otherwise muted within the neat spirit. This reflects what is perhaps the oldest and purest method of preparation, and is often referred to as the French Method."

Neither one of us necessarily love absinthe, but we figured we were on vacation, might as well give it a whirl!

Also, I would like to note that New Orleans was hit by Hurricane Zeta about a week after we were there. It is very humbling to know that we just missed the storm and it is great to see that the places we patronized seem to be bouncing back and doing fine!

Tasha Tries Absinthe

 

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