The mysterious and often misunderstood absinthe is criminally underused in cocktails. If you want the full low-down on the spirit then check out our guide here, but in short, it’s a highly alcoholic spirit with a fascinating past interwoven with artists, bohemians, prohibition, the Moulin Rouge and much more.
Most drinkers that aren’t overly familiar with it are most likely to identify it as a testing, throat burning shot of 60% alcohol, but there is a lot more fun to be had with it. Whether verte (green) or blanche (uncoloured), well-made absinthe brings a unique spicy-sweet aniseed flavour with layers of herbal cleanliness offsetting the booze nicely. Wormwood and fennel are the two other botanicals you’ll commonly find.
As with any spirit, the best way to dip your toes into it (not literally) is with cocktails. The serious oomph and complex herbal intensity can bring a sprinkling of magic to a cocktail, elevating it impressively. Let’s take a look at a few easy-to-make classics and couple of more challenging serves for the mixologists out there.
Death in the Afternoon
If you want simple, then you’ve got it. The only complicated thing here is sourcing yourself a good value and good quality absinthe and Champagne, after that it’s just combining the two. The namesake of Hemingway’s Spanish bullfighting book, he apparently created it himself to make a totally refreshing and gorgeously light cocktail. The acidic brightness, the soft brioche, the herbal botanicals, it’s such a yummy palate cleanser.
Ingredients
40ml Absinthe
Champagne to top
Method
Absinthe first, and then top up with Champagne before a gentle stir to combine. That’s it.
Absinthe Spider Highball
A Highball is a simple cocktail which is essentially a spirit and mixer, perhaps with a garnish or other ingredient. We always recommend it as an introduction to a new spirit, and the Spider is a simple serve bringing out the boozy spice of absinthe with the warmth of ginger ale. Angostura bitters bring some bitter complexity to the depths too.
Ingredients
20ml Absinthe
2 dashes of Angostura
Ginger ale to top up
Method
Pour in your absinthe to an ice-filled glass, top up with ginger ale and swirl into a couple of Angostura dashes.
Absinthe Mojito
This brings out the cleansing refreshment that absinthe can be so delicious for. We’ve gone for a 50/50 mix of lemonade and soda, but you can adjust this depending on personal preference and absinthe used. The combination of fresh and sweet citrus with the cooling mint and complex herbal spice of the absinthe is intense but so yummy.
Ingredients
45ml lemonade
45ml soda
25ml absinthe
Lime wedges and mint leaves (garnish)
Method
Drop some lime wedges into glass half-filled with crushed ice along with a few sprigs of mint. Pour over absinthe and your lemonade and water, before giving it a good churning stir to extract the flavours.
Corpse Reviver No.2
Okay, so if you’re really cautious about the absinthe flavours, then this is one for you. One of the common ways absinthe is used is for rinsing the glass. Because it’s so intense, it still has a great impact on the cocktail even though it’s poured away. Originally designed to ‘revive a corpse’ i.e. remedy a hangover, this is a committed start to a second day of drinking.
Ingredients
1-2 dashes of absinthe
25ml Gin
25ml Cointreau
25ml Lillet Blanc
25ml fresh Lemon juice
2.5ml sugar syrup (optional)
Lemon twist to garnish
Method
Add some absinthe into your glass and swirl to coat the glass before discarding. Next, shake all your other ingredients with ice until the shaker feels chilled, and strain into your rinsed glass without fresh ice.
The Green Beast
For a rather intimidating name, this is somewhat of a cocktail clean freak. Absinthe is often use as a rinse or just in small doses, but here it stars with little else competing. It’s a modern classic, offsetting the intense absinthe with the coolness of cucumbers, water, and lime. A little syrup is needed for balance, but mainly this is a clean, vegetal delight with green flavours everywhere.
Ingredients
30ml absinthe
20ml simple syrup
20ml lime juice
100ml chilled water
4 slices of seedless, peeled cucumber (some for garnish)
Method
Muddle the cucumbers with the syrup in the bottom of your glass, and pour over absinthe, lime juice and ice. Bring it to the top with chilled water, and delicately place a cucumber slice for garnish.
Green Fairy
An icon of the Moulin Rouge, The Green Fairy is one of the better-known absinthe creations… so much so that some people simply call absinthe by it. The spirit takes centre stage here, dancing with the zip of lemon, the bitterness of Angostura, the sweetness of a little sugar and the silky texture of egg white. It all comes together for an intensely herbal zing that packs a hell of a punch for a fairy.
Ingredients
25ml absinthe
25ml lemon juice
25ml chilled water
10ml Sugar syrup
1 dash Angostura bitters
1 egg white (or 15ml aquafaba)
Lemon peel to garnish
Method
Dry shake all these ingredients and then repeat with ice (you’ve got to earn cocktails round here). Strain into a pre-chilled cocktail glass. A twist of lemon peel to garnish and you’re away.
Last Resort
We’ll finish with something a little more complex, but still pretty easy to pull together. This concoction only uses 20ml of absinthe, but remember it’s concentrated and intense flavour and plays a vital role here. Building on the Brandy Sour, the Last Resort cocktail uses the fresh tang of absinthe and lime juice to complement the richness of French pear brandy. One egg white provides that moreish frothy viscosity, and alongside Peychaud’s bitters, all the ingredients accentuate one another’s botanicals and aromatics deliciously.
Ingredients
20ml absinthe
50ml French pear brandy (Massenez Poire Williams)
20ml lime juice
20ml simple syrup
2 dashes of Peychaud’s bitters
1 egg white
Grate nutmeg for garnish
Method
Swirl the absinthe in the glass, and add pear brandy, lime, syrup, and egg white into a shaker with no ice – this will emulsify the egg whites. Then repeat with ice and double strain into your glass before topping off with a little freshly grated nutmeg and the beautiful bitters.
You’ve got your cocktail recipes, now all you need is a great bottle of absinthe to get them made – check out our recommendations at the end of our Absinthe Guide.