Chasing
The Green Fairy
By
George Brozowski
She
flew into my arms even though trapped within a tall green bottle
with only her eyes visible through that cloudy glass. She appeared
coy and shy and was elusive because she had been ostracized
for a hundred years. Those who knew the green fairy less intimately
called her by her more formal name, Absinthe.
She
was exiled from civilization because she was publicly associated
with violent crimes, social disorder, crazy and criminal activities
and was even held responsible for causing epilepsy and tuberculosis.
She transformed mild men into ferocious beasts and turned women
into wanton whores. She was portrayed as dangerously psychoactive
and produced violent hallucinations, ruined families and destroyed
countries. Yet she was loved by Charles Baudelaire, Henri de
Toulouse-Lautrec, Amedeo Modigliani, Edgar Degas, Vincent Van
Gogh, Oscar Wilde, Aleister Crowley, Mark Twain, Franklin Roosevelt,
Pablo Picasso and Frank Sinatra. By 1898 she had worn out her
welcome across the world and began to disappear into the long
night. In 1912 the United States said its final goodbyes to
her. It wasn't until 2000 that she was welcomed back. Has she
been reformed or rehabilitated? Has she changed in any way?
Well, I guess it's time to open the bottle and see.
By
the way, all the talk of hallucinations and insanity can actually
be traced to the alcohol content of Absinthe which is generally
around 62% alcohol by volume which equals 124 proof. When you
consider that most hard liquor is 35% to 50% alcohol by volume
or 70 to 100 proof, this stuff rocks. There are only two spirits
more potent; Bacardi 151 rum at 151 proof and Everclear at 190
proof which is as potent as it gets because simple distillation
cannot remove the remaining water. The wormwood in Absinthe
was also a suspect cause of insanity but that has proven erroneous.
Absinthe
is simply a distillation of neutral alcohol and various herbs
and water. Traditional absinthes were redistilled from a white
grape spirit (eau de vie), while lesser absinthes derived their
alcohol from grain, beets, or potatoes. The principal botanicals
are grande wormwood, green anise, and florence fennel, which
are often called "the holy trinity".
This
green fairy was created by Lucid in the Loire Valley of France
using original copper absinthe stills many of which were designed
by Gustav Eiffel in the 1800's. A 750 ml bottle will set you
back about $60.00 but it is well worth the price of admission.
As
I pour the Absinthe into the glass, the color hovers somewhere
between an extremely pale green bordering on extremely pale
yellow and slightly cloudy.
The nose is fresh green and herbal, anise and licorice, licorice,
licorice.
WOW a small straight up sip makes my mouth tingle all over on
the inside and when that settles back the tingle inhabits the
top of my tongue and goes on for a few minutes more. The licorice
taste is dominant throughout.
Now,
to try her clothed in her favorite attire. The Absinthe ritual
of La Louche is said to release the power of the green fairy.
Ice cold water is carefully dripped through a slotted spoon
that holds a sugar cube so the sweet drops fall gently on the
surface of the absinthe below until there is a 3 (water) to
1(absinthe) solution. As this ritual progresses the Absinthe
turns a milky, opalescent white.
The
poet Arthur Rimbaud described the delights of absinthe and the
Louche ritual this way:
"When
the poet's pain is soothed by a liquid jewel held in the sacred
chalice, upon which rests the pierced spoon, the crystal sweetness,
icy streams trickle down. The darkest forest melts into an open
meadow. Waves of green seduce. Sanity surrendered, the soul
spirals toward the murky depths, wherein lies the beautiful
madness - absinthe."
The
result is much more palatable, smoother and the flavors more
subtle. Now this is a drink you could definitely settle back
with outside a café on a spring day on the Champs Elysees
and while away a decidedly decadent afternoon. Speaking of which,
you must try Ernest Hemingway's "Death in the Afternoon"
cocktail, a concoction he contributed to a 1935 collection of
celebrity recipes. His directions are as follows: "Pour
one jigger absinthe into a Champagne glass. Add iced Champagne
until it attains the proper opalescent milkiness. Drink three
to five of these slowly." Papa always had a way with words!
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