Bluffers Guide to Cocktails – The Great Aphrodisiac
Next up on the National Drink Day Calendar is Absinthe Day on Thursday 5th March. So let’s get up to speed with the Urbansocial Bluffers Guide to this aphrodisiac!
This highly potent spirit has been pretty controversial over the years as drinks go, mainly due to the dangerous mix of distilled herbs from which the drink derives its unforgettable flavor. It only became a legal liquor in the USA since 2007!
Made from a mix of chamomile, hyssop and other herbs, its potency and supposed hallucinogenic capabilities are owed to the addition of wormwood, a shrub-like perennial containing thujone. In the early 1900’s, it was outlawed in most nations, having a reputation for making men go mad. It rose to great popularity as an alcoholic drink in late 19th- and early 20th-century France, particularly among Parisian artists and writers, with the likes of Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, Vincent Van Gogh and Pablo Picasso all known for being Absinthe drinkers.
Also known as the Green Fairy, has often been considered to contain aphrodisiac properties, which heighten sexual desire. With that in mind, here’s our Top 3 ways to enjoy Absinthe the Aphrodisiac!
1) The Original Louche Ritual
The Absinthe ritual of La Louche is renowned to unlock the true power of the Green Fairy, gently liberating the essential oils of the herbs, which is the secret behing the effects it gives to the drinker. This is why connoisseurs think it pointless to drink absinthe neat. Sit back and relax with the Green Fairy!
Ingredients: 1 part Absinthe, 3 parts iced water, sugar cube
Pour a shot of Absinthe into a wine glass and place a perforated spoon over the glass, with a a white sugar cube on top. Slowly pour iced water over until the sugar dissolves, and watch as the diluted drink slowly transforms colour to a beautiful milky green.
2) L’arc de Triomphe
Featuring the unique influence of bitter orange marmalade, this cocktail is a bold and colorful treat, that’s a perfect afternoon cocktail, as it’s a long drink with not too much of the hard stuff!
Ingredients: 1 ounce Absinthe, 1 ounce fresh orange juice, 1 ounce fresh lemon juice, 1 ounce bitter orange marmalade. ¾ ounce egg white, Angoustura bitters, 1 ounce soda water, str of orange zest, for garnish
Add the Absinthe, orange juice, lemon juice, marmalade, egg white, and a dash of bitters to a pint glass with the spring from a Hawthorn strainer (remove the spring from the strainer and drop it in the glass). Dry shake for 30 seconds, until it is nice and frothy. Open it up, add ice, and shake well to make cold. Pour the soda water into a beer glass or wine glass. Strain the drink into the glass, add 2 dashes of bitters and garnish with orange zest and enjoy!
3) Local Sazerac
The Sazerac is one of the oldest known cocktails, with its origins in pre-Civil War New Orleans. The original drink, created by Antoine Amédée Peychaud in the 1830s, is based on a combination of cognac and bitters and is reported to be the first cocktail ever invented in America. The cocktail was named by John Schiller in 1859 upon the opening of his Sazerac Coffee House in New Orleans.
Ingredients: 3 big dashes of Absinthe, 2 ounces of Brandy, ¼ ounce simple syrup, 2 dashes of bitters, Lemon zest
Fill a round glass with ice and Absinthe. Set aside. Pour the brandy, simple syrup, and bitters into a cocktail shaker, and stir to combine. Empty the ice from the prepared glass, and strain the drink into it. Twist the lemon zest over the glass and rub the rim. Discard the zest, and drink up!
Most of us have a story or two to tell about Absinthe….Let us know your experiences of the Green Fairy!
