Absinthe Drip

My first cocktail as part of the 100 Cocktail Bucket List project is one of the simplest to make, but also has a lot of history and intrigue attached to it. Absinthe was banned in the United States and most European countries by 1915 because of fears that one of the chemical properties contained in wormwood (thujone) was a dangerous psychoactive drug. Commercial production started again in Europe in the 1990's, and production in the United States was authorized beginning in 2007.

Because absinthe is typically a very high proof spirit, it is typically consumed as a cocktail by adding ice cold water which is dripped over a sugar cube held over the glass by a special slotted absinthe spoon, The resulting cocktail will turn a milky white, called the "louche," which opens up all of the other herbal notes in the drink that would have otherwise been overpowered by the anise flavor and/or the alcohol content.

I had purchased some Le Tourment Vert (LTV) absinthe some time ago, based almost exclusively on the very cool looking bottle. Having read up on the subject some more in the intervening months, I opted to purchase Lucid brand absinthe, which is generally considered to be very good (unlike LTV ), and which is, unlike some of the other highly regarded absinthe brands, readily available within a block of where I work.

Unlike LTV, which had yielded very poor results when trying to use it to create an Absinthe Drip (no louche, so real difference in the flavor profile once water was added), the Lucid produced a lovely, milky cocktail which tasted of a generous assortment of herbs (not just anise).

All in all, a great start to this project. 99 more to go!

Absinthe Drip

2 oz absinthe (Lucid)
sugar cube
4 oz ice cold water

Pour absinthe into cocktail glass or special absinthe glass (these glasses generally have a bulbous bottom with a flared top - the absinthe should be filled to the line between to two halves of the glass). Place an absinthe spoon (or other slotted spoon) over the glass, and place sugar cube on the spoon. SLOWLY drop the ice water over the sugar, dissolving the sugar into the absinthe. The absinthe should go from a clear spirit to a milky white (the louche).

100 Cocktail Bucket List

A buddy of mine recently linked me to an article in the Houston Press regarding a list that Anvil Bar & Refuge had developed of the 100 Cocktails To Try Before You Die. While lists like this are always subjective, and inevitably leave out drinks which are near and dear to any imbibers' heart (no Esquivel??), the Anvil list does contain a very strong selection of cocktails which would appear on most lists as "classics" not to be missed. Looking at it from the perspective of someone interested in creating quality cocktails at home, I identified 30 on the list that I have made since "repurposing" this blog in early May - and there isn't one of the 70 cocktails left on the list I don't want to, or had not planned to, try eventually.

Given that, I have come up with an idea, somewhat based on that movie "Julie and Julia" (well, "somewhat" is probably an understatement - "extremely loosely based on the premise of" is more accurate):

I intend to create every one of the cocktails on this list by midnight on
December 31, 2009.

This gives me 121 days to make 100 cocktails (I will remake the 30 I have already made as part of this effort - they were great the first time, so why not?), which I think is more than enough cushion to accomplish my goal. Some of my assumptions at the onset of this project, which are open to change at any time:

• I will attempt to go in order as much as is practical (things which might throw me off might be if I have to create or find a special ingredient I wouldn't normally have laying around)
  
• I will make all of the cocktails personally - drinks at bars or made by others won't count
• I will attempt to take pictures of every creation
• I will also attempt to blog about what drink I make each time, at a minimum including the drink title, recipe, and a picture (and pics could come later as I don't have a fancy schmancy cell phone with a camera)

There will be no punishment for not accomplishing this (unlike a real bucket list, where if you don't complete the list, you're dead - cause and effect notwithstanding.) This actually solves an issue I have been having lately with trying to determine what to have every day (I know, rough life). This gives me a structure, a method to my drunkenness, which is easy to follow and easy to gauge my progress against.

Things start off this evening with the first drink on the list - an Absinthe Drip.

And yes, I know I use quotes and parentheses far too often. I'm not blogging about proper sentence structure here, people.