BTW: She Said Yes!

I'd been holding onto a sample of 1914 Pernod Fils (from Oxygénée) for a few years, waiting for a special occasion, and last October finally had an event worth such a momentous drink: I asked Liz to marry me :)

It tasted as wonderful as we'd expected! There was no question that we'd dilute it with a slow drip to enjoy the louche. The far glass is antique (1860s?), purchased at Lucullus in 2001.

Vintage Absinthe Paraphernalia

If you know where to look [cough, cough], you may be able to score some fine antiques from time to time! Besides absinthe's fascinating history, these are simply some of the most attractive and functional antiques you could find...

I'm waiting to hear back on the 5-dose topette, but I saw the posts late and fear the worst...

Update: The topette is mine! I've read that topettes were used at cafés to let absinthe drinkers enjoy as much or as little as they felt like drinking, paying when they left based on how much absinthe remained in the topette. I should refer to this as a "5 doses topette," for authenticity...

Glasses Everywhere...

Poking around the Clement St. Goodwill for gadgets (Popeil, anyone?), I scored a mint condition Moulinex 445 "Mouli-Julienne"-- I expected junk dreamed of sweet scores like that-- but was shocked to find a brand new San Miguel cordon absinthe glass, different from the San Miguel glasses at Liqueurs de France.

After cleaning it, I watered up the fountain and set a drip going over a sugar cube, taking shots as it louched, shown here with a clear swirly drip on the right, a clear top layer still holding on the left... delicious...

Santé!

Update: Need to check with those-in-the-know about this glass-- curious if it was made for absinthe.

Ikea absinthe glasses?

"Pokal" wine glasses caught my eye the other day and I grabbed a box-- good shape and size (7oz) for absinthe, right diameter for a spoon. Cheaper to buy these than to rent glasses for the party...

Getting Your Louche On

With so many people trying out absinthe for the first time, accessories for the ritual are in high demand. Even Hammacher Schlemmer is offering a nice kit, though you could assemble it for less from the specialty vendors.

The key, really, is having a comfortable setup so you can add as much or as little cold water and sugar as you would like-- folks aren't missing anything if all they have is a small glass and a little ice water. But paraphernalia and rituals are fun...

Absinthe glasses:

• Simon Pearce glasses and carafes at Liqueurs de France from ~$70 (that's my double bubble in the photo above...:),
• Cristalerias San Miguel, reproduction, and Jade promotional glasses and brouilleurs at Liqueurs de France from ~$10,
• An interesting assortment of glasses at Absinthe Suisse from ~$9,
• Glasses, drippers, and saucers at AbsintheSpoon.com from ~$14,
• Great deals on six reservoir or torsade glasses from Absinthe.de for only ~$38,

Absinthe spoons and substitutes (only if you're adding sugar):

• Maison d'Absinthe in New Orleans has an assortment of spoons starting at $9,
• Reproduction spoons at AbsintheSpoon.com starting at ~$9,
• Fine silver spoons, drippers, and tongs by Kirk Burkett at AbsintheSpoon.com starting at ~$130,
• The Tempus Fugit spoons and dripper at Liqueurs de France from ~$25, the spoon also available at Absinthe.de,
• Reproduction spoons and bruoilleurs at Liqueurs de France starting at only ~$5, most available (along with others) at Absinthe.de starting at ~$8, and at Absinthe Suisse too,
• The Lucid store has cheap pressed spoons for 6/$36 (not a great deal)...
• Anyway, a tea strainer like this will balance on a glass's edge and hold a sugar cube nicely-- probably $3 at your grocery store.

Absinthe fountains:

• The Lucid store has the best prices I've ever seen for 2- and 4-spigot Frenchman fountains-- $135 and $185
  Update 3/28/08: Heard on a forum that the fountains are out of stock, but they expect a shipment soon of non-Frenchman reproduction fountans,
• La Maison d'Absinthe has six fountains starting at $185,
  Update 3/25/08: They now stock a 2-spigot fountain for only $48-- might have to get one of those... though Spoon got one and says it's a little chintzy,
• Frenchman fountains are also available from AbsintheSpoon.com,
• Absinthe Suisse has a few glass fountains from ~$65, one also available from Absinthe.de for a bit more.

Makeshift absinthe fountains and supplies:

• (But... do you really need a fountain?! A carafe works great and is as "authentic" as using a fountain...:)
• Vodka infuser jars with spigots go for ~$50 or so and work great if your glasses are short enough or if you put it on a taller pedestal, plus you can have a glass shop drill holes for more spigots,
• Spigots from aftosa from ~$7.50,
• Spigots from InfusedVodka.com from $7,
• The infamous Lowe's Mouthwash Dispenser on a little pedestal-- $25,
• Make your own dripper with whatever's on hand-- I made a little MacGyver dripper ("green beret" survival skill...:) for kicks once with two yogurt cups and a length of wire,
• And if you're really desperate and want to drip, you can always use a sink, but you'll need some ice in the glass to keep it cool.

Now go drink up!

Update: I'll keep this post around and add to it when I find more vendors and prices change. PLEASE leave a comment if you hear of any new products or vendors!

Absinthe Antiquities

mthuilli has offered up a few antique hand-blown glasses and other paraphernalia at the Wormwood Society forums, though I was too late and someone else scored this incredible (perfect?!) example. The cordon glass may still be available.

MacGyver's Homemade Dripper?

Ever find yourself with the good stuff but no appropriate watering rig? I got dripping in a few minutes using this setup...

Here it is set up and dripping. The drip is hidden in the inverted, chopped cup with the yellow stripe.

The key is the intersecting conical sections-- the yogurt containers act as dripping reservoir (purple stripe), a stand (yellow stripe), and a spoon for the sugar (lid). Most glass-top drippers do not have a place for the sugar.

Parts in top-to-bottom order-- reservoir/dripper, stand, sugar, lid, wire, glass.

Yes, this is "ghetto."

a fountain...

...can be a slippery slope on a sunny afternoon with not much to do... a lovely, inviting, soft green slope...