What is the Recommended Amount of Absinthe?

There is much renewed interest in Absinthe, which is also known as the Greeny Fairy or La Fee Verte. People want to know what is the recommended amount of Absinthe to use when preparing a drink, how to buy it, what type to by and how to prepare it.

First you will need to buy quality Absinthe which is rich in essential oils and that contains wormwood. Fake Absinthe substitues on sale which contain southernwoord or roman wormwood instead of the common wormwood. Make sure you buy a real Absinthe. If you live where a good quality Absinthe is hard to find, then you can make your own using essences from AbsintheKit.com.

When you have your Absinthe, you will need to learn The Ritual or La Louche. This is the traditional Swiss or French way of preparing Absinthe and uses one shot of Absinthe. Here are the instructions:-

To perform the Ritual, you will need a slotted Absinthe spoon, a lump of sugar, an Absinthe glass, and iced water.

- Pour 25-50ml of Absinthe into the glass.
- Rest the special Absinthe spoon on the rim of the glass and then place a cube of sugar in it.
- Drip iced water slowly over the sugar either by using a steady hand to pour from a carafe or by dripping from the tap of the fountain. Dripping it slowly will give the sugar chance to dissolve and drip through the slots of the spoon. You should see a "louche" effet as the water mixes into the alcohol. The Absinthe louches because the oils of the herbs are soluble in alcohol but not water and make the mixture cloudy or milky when water is added.
- Sit down, relax and enjoy your Absinthe.

The Bohemian or Czech Method is very similar to the Ritual but is a modern way of preparing cheap Czech Absinthes. Absinthe followers rather scorn the Bohemian method.

Instructions and tips for using the Bohemian method:-

- Pour 25 to 50 ml of Absinthe into the glass and dip the sugar cube into it to soak the sugar.
- Place the Absinthe spoon on the rim of the glass and place the cube of sugar on the spoon.
- To allow the sugar to melt and carmelize, set the sugar cube on fire for one minute. The sugar will drip through the slots of the Absinthe spoon and into the Absinthe.
- Put the spoon into the Absinthe, pour the iced water into the Absinthe to put out any flames and to cause the Absinthe to louche.
- Enjoy the Absinthe drink.

To properly enjoy your Absinthe then you will want some Absinthiana - Absinthe glasses, spoons and even an Absinthe fountain to control the flow of the water. Replicas of antique spoons can be purchased from AbsintheKit.com.

When preparing Absinthe drink, what is the recommended amount of Absinthe to use? About 45 ml or a shot glass full in the US. Obviously, Absinthe can be used in cocktails - search for recipes online.