If you are a beginner, a new Absinthe drinker, you will want to know “how do you serve Absinthe?”. Absinthe is one of the strongest liquor which cannot be consumed without using iced water.

Absinthe is banned in many countries for being pshycoactive like cannabis. Now many country use it.

The two main methods for preparing Absinthe are the Ritual, or La Louche,which is the traditional French way of serving absinthe,and the modern Bohemian method or the Czech Method. Absinthe requires special preparation as it is a specialty drink. Preparing Absinthe by two different methods:-

Way of The Ritual

Method used in France and Switzerland before the ban in the early 1900s.

This method needs following equipment
– Absinthe
– An Absinthe glass
A slotted spoon specially designed for use with Absinthe.
A cube of sugar needed
Use iced water.

The ritual recipe in use:-
Fill Absinthe glass with 25-50ml of Absinthe.
On top of the glass rest your Absinthe spoon and place the sugar cube on it.
To a slow drip set the tap on the fountain over the sugar cube. The sugar cube will slowly dissolve with water and mix into the Absinthe.
Water makes the drink louche (go cloudy or milky). Absinthe causes louche effect as it contains essential oils such as wormwood which are soluble in alcohol but not in water.
Make your Absinthe enjoyable.

Take water and Absinthe in the ratio between 3:1 and 5:1

An adaption of the Ritual method is the “Glass in a Glass”. In this method place a small glass containing the Absinthe into a larger glass and drip water into the small glass which then overflows into the larger glass. Remove the small glass as water and all of the Absinthe is in the larger glass.

The method used by Bohemian

This method needs:-
– Absinthe
– An Absinthe glass
Take an Absinthe Spoon
Use of sugar cube
A lighter or match
Iced water needed

The glass should be filled with 25-50ml of Absinthe.
Add sugar cube to soak in Absinthe and rest on the spoon.
Absinthe is mixed with sugar cube.
To louche Absinthe iced water is added to it.

This is the popular method in recent times especially in Absinthe bars in the Czech Republic. Absinthe drinkers scorn this is non traditional method.

Care needed when setting alcohol alight *

Real essential oil is needed for Absinthe to louche. If you cannot buy quality bottled Absinthe you can buy essences from Absinthe Kit.com How to make your own top-quality, classic wormwood Absinthe by mixing the distilled herb essence with vodka or Ever clear.

Once you have your quality Absinthe you can enjoy learning how do you serve Absinthe and even use it in cocktails.