Absinthe: the green fairy, the grand wormwood. La fee verte. Thought of as a dangerous hallucinogen, and banned by prohibitionists in the late 19th and early 20th century, absinthe has long had a reputation for being wild and bohemian.
If you’ve ever seen Moulin Rouge you might remember the scene where absinthe causes Ewan MacGregor to see visions of Kylie Minogue dressed in a fairy costume screaming with Ozzy Osbourne’s voice.
So naturally I’ve always been curious about it.
It’s most associated with artists and writers of the avante garde. Painters and poets like Vincent Van Gogh, Charles Baudelaire, Arthur Rimbaud and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec were all devotees of the green fairy.
“After the first glass of absinthe you see things as you wish they were,” Oscar Wilde once quipped.
“After the second, you see things as they are not. Finally, you see things as they really are, and that is the most horrible thing in the world.”
Wilde described seeing the waiter watering the sawdust, and flowers and tulips springing up in the café.
It sounds like Oscar Wilde was seriously tripping.
However recent studies show absinthe contains a very low amount of the compound thujone, but not enough to cause hallucinations. The high alcohol content probably explains why Wilde was seeing flowers spring up—or maybe it was just his notable opium habit.
In reality absinthe is an anise-flavored spirit with a 60-70 per cent alcohol content and an unusual licorice scent. At $40-60 it seems incompatible with the student budget until you consider just how long a bottle will last.
Absinthe isn’t going to get you high—it will however add a kick to your cocktail. It has a sharp complex flavor to go along with its fascinating cultural history.
Also, you can set it on fire.
The Bohemian Method
1 oz absinthe
1 absinthe soaked sugar cube
3-4 oz of cold water
Equipment:
1 fork or spoon
1 match
A fork and a match you ask? Well, traditionally you would have used a special kind of slotted spoon for this method but a fork will do just as well. 
1) Soak your sugar cube in some kind of alcohol so it will catch fire easily.
2) Place it on a slotted spoon, or if you have no fancy spoons use a fork.
3) Light it on fire and drop it in your drink. Then put the fire out with a shot of water.
The Flaming Green Fairy
If you just like to watch the world burn you can forget the water and let the flames die on their own. Just remember this will remove some, but not all, of the alcohol.
Not Quite a Corpse Reviver #2
1 oz gin
1 oz lemon juice
1 oz Cointreau (optional)
1 oz appertif of your choice (a light dry white wine)
1 oz tonic water or Perrier (optional)
1 dash absinthe
ice cubes
I don’t have any wish (or the funds) to buy Cointreau and Lillet Blanc to make myself a proper corpse reviver #2, so I made my own. It might not satisfy the cocktail purists, but this recipe works just fine.
Make your own absinthe cocktail loosely based on the corpse reviver by picking out your favorite light white wine, mix all those ingredients together and garnish with whatever you like. It won’t be a authentic but the result is still delicious.
If you want to taste a real corpse reviver #2 check out the restaurant Absinthe on Wellingon St. They serve a variety of absinthe cocktails one of which is titled “Unicorn Blood.” One of these days I’ll get around to trying it.
Hopefully you do too! Just be careful kids, because believe me, this is some strong liquor.
