You Don't Know from Absinthe
Give the green fairy another chance: Authentic absinthe is back
Since the U.S. lifted its ban on absinthe last year, a blitz of new, authentic liqueur has hit New York. Absinthe-based cocktails are a status symbol in bars all over town; even speakeasy impresario Sasha Petraske has joined the party with White Star, his new Lower East Side absinthe den.
If you've tried faux absinthe (it's all we could legally get for a century) in the past and written it off as tongue-numbing jet fuel, take note: This is the real deal, the same green muse that exalted boho Paris and inspired Hemingway.
The prize for most authentic goes to La Fée Absinthe Parisienne, made from a 19th- century recipe in accordance with France's Musée de l'Absinthe. Like most absinthe, it has an initial wallop of anise, but then a host of other herbs and botanicals come into play, most notably grand wormwood, the evergreen-scented shrub that was falsely blamed for the spirit's fabled hallucinogenic properties (no, even real absinthe won't make you trip your face off).
Like all authentic absinthe, La Fée is too high-octane to be drunk straight. It's best served in the traditional manner, as is the custom at White Star: Slowly pour five parts of cold water over a sugar cube into one part absinthe until the mixture turns milky (absinthists call this louching). Or ease your way in with an absinthe cocktail, like the Primavera from Bobo bartender Naren Young:
Primavera
4 basil leaves
2 cucumber slices
3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
1 1/2 ounces gin
3/4 ounce St-Germain elderflower liqueur
1/2 ounce absinthe
1 egg white
Ice
Club soda
In a cocktail shaker, gently muddle the basil leaves with the cucumber slices and lime juice. Add the gin, St-Germain, absinthe and egg white and shake vigorously. Fill the shaker with ice and shake again for 20 seconds. Strain into an ice-filled Collins glass and top with a splash of club soda.
La Fée is available for $60 at Astor Wines & Spirits, 399 Lafayette St.; 212-674-7500 or astorwines.com
