Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
New Orleans
Absinthe is like an Irish Setter, rambunctious and an effort to handle, but rewarding once you’ve managed to do so. Putting absinthe’s dubious history aside (imagine how the Internet would magnify the Fin de Siecle panic over absinthe), the strong flavors of absinthe pose a problem in cocktails. Anise is a potent aroma and even small amounts can drown out other flavors, leading to at best boring, and at worst unpleasant cocktails if the consumer is not a fan of licorice. I generally regard absinthe as a garnishing ingredient akin to bitters, but there are some fabulous cocktails that rely on absinthe for their existence. Because I use absinthe mostly for rinses, our absinthe consumption velocity is low. Fortunately, St. George Spirits offers an absinthe in a 200ml bottle. Their absinthe is a re-assuring “dead leaf” green instead of a more vibrant color signaling the presence of a dye.
Two of the three cocktails I write about in this post were created in New Orleans, and we should stop for a moment to appreciate the contribution of New Orleans to the world of cocktails. The Absinthe Frappé, Sazerac, Vieux Carré, Corpse Reviver #2 and Ramos Gin Fizz are all from New Orleans; there are some other drinks associated with the city, such as the Hurricane, that have more murky origins. There’s a hint of two common Gallic threads running through most of these drinks (excluding the Ramos Gin Fizz, which is a workout to make if you shake it): first is the use of cognac followed by rye and later bourbon after the Phylloxera blight of the 1860s through 1890s curtailed the production of cognac. Cognac is an appellation d’ origine contrôlée category of brandy. It is the product of specific grape varietals grown in the Cognac region of France; brandy contains alcohol produced from any fruit (hence things like apple and pear brandies). The second Gallic thread is use of absinthe.
Sazerac
The Sazerac is the most problematic of the three cocktails. It is basically a rye Old Fashioned with an absinthe rinse. I find that at rinse proportions, I can keep absinthe’s licorice flavors at bay. While making Sazeracs where I was too vigorous with shaking out the rinse, I realized how important absinthe is to the Sazerac. Without it, you really have made a rye Old Fashioned, and if your simple syrup proportion assumed the support of a detectable amount of absinthe, the drink will be very dry indeed. If I am drinking straight rye, I prefer have unadulterated ryes such as Far North Spirit’s Roknar, High West’s Rendezvous Rye or Corsair’s Ryemageddon. After the too-dry Sazerac, I started retaining more of the absinthe and playing around with adding more sugar by substituting some cognac for rye. Then I found Simon Difford’s Sazerac recipe with its massive chilled water dilution. Water dilutions often open up cocktails so that you can appreciate more of the component flavors and that is very true with this recipe. The cognac and bourbon remove some of the spiciness of the rye and lend more earthiness. The absinthe integrates the spice and earth in the mid palate, and the Peychaud’s bitters creates a bridge from the mid palate to the Angostura bitters in the after taste. You can control how dry the drink is by how much simple syrup you add. The water makes perception of all that possible. Simon Difford recommends throwing this cocktail. Throwing is a middle ground between shaking a cocktail, which creates a lot of aeration (and small ice crystals—removing these is one of the main reasons that recipes often recommend double straining) and stirring a cocktail, which introduces minimal aeration. If you do not have a Boston Shaker (two metal cups or a glass cup and a metal cup), you can stir your Sazerac without much loss of taste. I estimate throwing to be the seventh order Taylor Series term for this drink—it’s barely perceptible.
Corpse Reviver
The Corpse Reviver #2 is a more easily executed cocktail and very approachable, which makes it a great drink to serve people who are not into cocktails, don’t like brown liquors, or don’t like bitter flavors. The number 2 version appears around 1930 (Difford’s Guide has another great history page on the Corpse Reviver). The original Corpse Reviver #2 uses Lillet Blanc which I always substitute with Cocchi Americano. I prefer the slightly bitter taste of Cocchi and don’t have the bar space for a low-velocity bottle of white fortified wine. Without the absinthe rinse, the Corpse Reviver #2 would be a pretty generic sour with the triple sec providing most of the sweetness. It’s worth noting that the equal portions of gin, triple sec, fortified wine and lemon juice technically make it a Word, but the flavor is definitely that of a sour. The absinthe rinse makes the drink more complex, complementing the botanicals from the gin and balancing the citrus from the lemon juice and triple sec. As a consequence, don’t be too aggressive in emptying the rinse from the glass. You need a decent puddle at the base of the coupe. This is a very round drink reminiscent of the Lemon Drop. The fore taste is the sugar from the triple sec. The mid taste has a combination of the gin botanicals, lemon and a hint of orange. The absinthe appears in the later part of mid taste and shares the after taste with the lemon, but neither one lingers, producing the a spherical shape instead of the tear drop shape of the Old Fashioned, Manhattan and Words.
If you prefer a more dry, and in this case more sour cocktail, replace the triple sec with dry curaçao. If you really like herbaceous drinks, replace the triple sec with Yellow Chartreuse.
Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
In Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder, the absinthe takes center stage, and it works! Once more, I have linked to the Difford’s Guide recipe. Other recipes will produce an enjoyable drink, but the proportions in Difford’s recipe make a more nuanced, dryer version that will hold your attention for longer. I think that the secret is the chilled water dilution; without it, I find the drink a little too sweet and that the flavors of the Luxardo Maraschino and the absinthe drown out the gin and some of the grapefruit. If you do not have Cherry Heering, you can substitute three dashes of cherry bitters or omit entirely if necessary. You could also omit the Campari, but Campari is a core cocktail ingredient appearing in hundreds of cocktails so it’s worth the bar space. The sweet of the Luxardo, Cherry Heering and simple syrup form the fore taste. In contrast to the Corpse Reiviver #2, the absinthe is main attraction in the mid; it then starts a conversation with the gin botanicals and grapefruit sour and bitter, giving way to the bitter of the grapefruit and Campari in the after taste, which lasts longer than in the Corpse Reviver #2.
The bitter aftertaste makes the drink for me. It cuts through the licorice so that you can contemplate the transition of flavors throughout the drink rather than unrelenting licorice. Because of that, Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder surprises. I think I first made it because of the clever name. Unlike the Sazerac or Corpse Reviver #2, my assumptions about how the drink would taste were wrong. The ingredients complement each other in a way that permits the absinthe to shine while not overwhelming. Licorice lovers will not care, but if you typically prefer absinthe as a rinse and no more, Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder is worth your time. The drink has more balance than anticipated after a scan of the recipe.
A small bottle of absinthe makes a worthwhile addition to a bar. It opens the possibility of making some very good drinks and can pleasantly surprise. I have learned that these drinks are better when I am generous with the rinse which is contrary to my initial impulse. The reward is a richer, more complex and flavorful cocktail.