A lazy Saturday calls for...

Absinthe!  Absinthe seems dangerous!  Mysterious!  Exciting!

Everything seems to be coming together around here for me to have absinthe.  I've been wanting to try it ever since I saw Total Eclipse when I was in college.  Watching turn-of-the-century poets drinking fancy green drinks that make them hallucinate looked pretty wild.  Sign me up!  Unfortunately, until relatively recently absinthe was illegal in most countries.  Imagine my disappointment when I learned that it probably wasn't hallucinogenic.  On the bright side, it's probably not hallucinogenic.  

When the New York Times recently reviewed a bunch of commonly available absinthes, I took notice.  When David Lebovitz wrote up a recipe for absinthe ice cream, I took notice.  Odin must be speaking to me.  I went out and bought a bottle of Kübler absinthe at my local liquor superstore, Bevmo, as quickly as possible (one mustn't anger Odin, right?).  I followed the suggestions of the New York Times article, and skipped the cool sugar cube and spoon trick.  Just absinthe and water for me.  But I decreased the amount of water to mix, two parts water to one part absinthe.  When you add the water, a bunch of stuff that is in the absinthe that is alcohol soluble but not water soluble comes crashing out of solution in a bright white cloud.  Neat party trick, really.

Just an ounce of absinthe and two ounces of water made our entire downstairs smell heavenly.  It's sweet-smelling of black licorice.  Mild and only slightly sweet tasting.  Really a relaxing, gentle dessert drink.  I'll keep you posted on whether or not I have trippy dreams tonight...  Happy Saturday.