Making Your Own Absinthe
On the first year of the garden, we planted six tomato plants, one smallish row of lettuce that bolted overnight, and, just for fun, a dozen wormwood plants (Artemisia absithium). Of course, by then the absinthe craze had faded and the silver-slotted spoons were long gone. It didn’t take much for us to soak way too much of those plants (in our houses, of course) in a jug of alcool (grain alcohol), then correct the awful taste of wormwood with a full bottle of pastis. Man, it was strong, and it worked, too. A few years ago, we gave Martin Picard at Au Pied de Cochon a pickle jar full of absinthe; when we later visited the restaurant, about a thousand dollars in cash was sitting in the liquid and people were drinking it right out of the jar. Disgusting. Picard would add more booze when the level dropped. So you have this huge jar of plants and money just sitting there with the top on. Every season we try to concoct a better mix—at home, of course. You’ll need a gram scale for this recipe.
Recipe information
Yield
Makes about 6 cups (1.5 liters)
Ingredients
MIX A
MIX B
Preparation
Step 1
In reality, you should macerate Mix A for a few days in a 1 quart (1-liter) bottle of 190 proof (95 percent) clear alcool, then dilute and distill it. But since it is dangerous and mostly illegal, we don’t suggest it. After you get a clear distillate, you would macerate Mix B in it for a few days to impart the greenish tinge (though not the fake mouthwash color) and a light herbaceous tone. Then you would add clean water and strain it through a coffee filter to bring down the alcool content to 90 proof (45 percent). So if you’re bottling in old wine bottles, it should be half mixture, half water. Cork, shake, and serve.
Step 2
Another option (that purists would find disturbing) is to put Mix A in a muslin bag and tie it closed. Soak the bag in 190 proof clear alcool for 3 days in a dark, cool room. Remove the Mix A bag, add Mix B in a muslin bag, and leave again for 3 days, same process. Then remove the second bag and filter the liquid through a series of coffee filters. Add an equal amount of clean water. Or, you can substitute simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water; dissolve the sugar in the water) for part of the water.
NOTE
Step 3
Here is how to find our herb man, a one-stop shop for absinthe ingredients: Herbarôme-la Bottine aux Herbes, 3778 A Rue Saint Denis, Montreal, QC H2W 2M1, (514) 845-1225; labottineauxherbes@bellnet.ca.
