The Green Fairy’s Return

Fairy’ Absinthe, distilled in part from the herb wormwood, is greenish in color and licoracy in flavor. It is also the spirit associated with Parisian artists and writers and garden-variety bohemians of the late nineteenth century. Nicknamed “the green fairy,” absinthe was first banned in 1906 because a ketone in wormwood oil—thujone— could cause hallucinations and even brain damage when the spirit was drunk over time and to excess.

A wealth of new absinthes with less thujone hit the market after the ban was lifted in 2007, but they too should be handled with care. Their 60-plus percent ABV (alcohol by volume) alone could have you seeing snakes on the ceiling.

ABSINTHE
MARTINI

The iconic cocktail, with that storied “something extra”

2 ounces gin

½ ounce dry vermouth

½ ounce absinthe

Combine ingredients in mixing glass. Add ice, shake, and strain into glass.

BLUE
MOOD

Chase it away.

2 ounces Cîroc vodka

1 ounce absinthe

1 ounce blue curaçao

Combine ingredients in mixing glass. Add ice, shake, and strain into glass.

THE
MACABRE

Blood-red

2 ounces Absolut vodka

½ ounce absinthe

½ ounce Chambord

½ ounce grenadine

Combine ingredients in mixing glass. Add ice, shake, and strain into glass.

MOULIN
ROUGE

Shades of Toulouse Lautrec

2 ounces peach schnapps

1 ounce absinthe

1 teaspoon grenadine

Club soda

Mint sprig for garnish

Combine schnapps, absinthe, and grenadine in mixing glass. Add ice, shake, and pour with ice into glass. Top with club soda to taste and garnish.

PAOLO AND
FRANCESCA

Love in the inferno. Sambuca negra (black sambuca) is lightly flavored with coffee.

1 ounce absinthe

1 ounce sambuca negra

2 ounces hot espresso

Combine ingredients in mixing glass, shake, and pour into glass.