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Late in the 1700s there was massive turmoil in France. Revolution brought about by dissatisfaction not only with the crown but with the entire social structure. The peasant class rose up in a way that had never been seen before. They killed not just the aristocracy by land owners, civic officials, lawyers (who can blame them?), teachers, doctors, and anyone else viewed as being upper class. People fled in droves. One Doctor named Pierre Ordinaire fled across the border into Couvet Switzerland. It wasn't far, just ten miles over the border from France. He set up a small medical practice there.
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The Storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789 marked the height of the French Revolution. |
I'm very excited to announce the release of our first absinthe recipe book. 
The Little Green Book of Absinthe is a compendium of contemporary recipes, history, and stories all focusing on the green fairy.
You can find some of the recipes right here and even some videos, but who wants to drink while they surf the web when they can drink while perusing a good book?
Here's all the info:
The Little Green Book of Absinthe
Published by Peregrine Press
Written by Paul Owens and our own Paul Nathan with recipes by Dave Herlong
Louche is not a common word in America. My British friends often tell me I live in a louche neighborhood; meaning a neighborhood that is disreputable. Red-light districts are louche neighborhoods. Louche neighborhoods have shady characters lounging against the walls selling goods and services of an illicit nature. So I guess I do live in a louche neighborhood; even if most of the louche comes from me.
For an absinthe drinker Louche is the opaque quality that the drink takes on after water is added. Louche also means the process of changing from clear to opaque as the water is added.
When it comes to drinking absinthe the louche is a magical thing. It is a physical manifestation of the magic of absinthe. An experienced absinthe drinker can spot a brand from across the room just by looking at the louche. For instance I can tell you easily whether someone is drinking a French, Swiss or Czech absinthe just by looking at the louche. After reading this and seeing the videos here you will be able to as well.
Lets start with the basics. You probably already know that the louche is created when oils come out of suspension as water is added to absinthe. This forms tiny bubbles that diffuse light and give the drink the opaque quality. Different plant oils emulsify in different levels of alcohol. It is the oils from the anise plant that cause the louche. Anise oil emulsifies in about 50% to 55% alcohol - Once the alcohol content drops below 55% the oils start to separate out that is one reason why absinthe is always so high in alcohol and one reason why absinthe made with higher alcohol content tends to have more flavor. More alcohol means more oils from the plants, higher percentage of oil means more aroma and more flavor.
We are very excited to welcome Rebecca Dietz to the team here at Absintheology. She brings a unique combination of skills to our site which make her the ideal person to taste and explain the various flavors of absinthe and the flavors that go into each absinthe.
Rebecca began making wormwood infusions over 20 years ago. She has taken herbology courses and has worked as a wine buyer. Later she created her own consulting firm to help restaurants pair wine lists with their food. She gave all of that up to pursue a career as an artist. Rebecca currently teaches photography at a small college.
