flipAbsinthe with Water, Called "the Green Hour"
Absinthe with Water, Called "the Green Hour"
Why this dish? Musset was a notorious absinthe drinker; it is said that at the Comédie-Française, where he was an administrator, a colleague remarked that he was "absenting himself a little too much" instead of "absent." The "Green Fairy" was his muse and his poison, inseparable from his legend.
An aperitif beverage: on a glass of absinthe, place a slotted spoon and a sugar cube, then drip ice-cold water over the sugar. The liquid clouds into a milky green; the bitterness of wormwood and anise softens.
Do not judge me too quickly, you who read me. At five o'clock, when the day fades on the boulevard, I sit down and summon my fairy. Place the spoon, the sugar on top, and make the cold water weep drop by drop — patience! — until the liqueur veils like a stormy sky. It is bitter, yes, like certain loves; but sweeten, dilute, and bitterness becomes reverie. Alas, I have drunk too much of it — drink less than I did.
- •Absinthe (distillate of wormwood, anise, fennel) — one dose (base)
- •Very cold water — three to five doses (dilution)
- •Sugar cube — one (sweetens bitterness)
Absinthe with Water, Called "the Green Hour"
An aperitif beverage: on a glass of absinthe, place a slotted spoon and a sugar cube, then drip ice-cold water over the sugar. The liquid clouds into a milky green; the bitterness of wormwood and anise softens.
Why this dish? Musset was a notorious absinthe drinker; it is said that at the Comédie-Française, where he was an administrator, a colleague remarked that he was "absenting himself a little too much" instead of "absent." The "Green Fairy" was his muse and his poison, inseparable from his legend.
Do not judge me too quickly, you who read me. At five o'clock, when the day fades on the boulevard, I sit down and summon my fairy. Place the spoon, the sugar on top, and make the cold water weep drop by drop — patience! — until the liqueur veils like a stormy sky. It is bitter, yes, like certain loves; but sweeten, dilute, and bitterness becomes reverie. Alas, I have drunk too much of it — drink less than I did.
Ingredients (period version)
- Absinthe (distillate of wormwood, anise, fennel) — one dose (base)
- Very cold water — three to five doses (dilution)
- Sugar cube — one (sweetens bitterness)
Ingredients
- Absinthe (or, for minors and abstainers, anise/pastis syrup non-alcoholic, very diluted) — 3 cl (aromatic base)
- Ice-cold water — 12 to 15 cl (dilution)
- Sugar cube — 1 (sweetness)
Method
- Pour the absinthe into a stemmed glass.
- Place a slotted absinthe spoon across the glass and set the sugar cube on it.
- Very slowly drip ice-cold water drop by drop over the sugar until it dissolves.
- Continue until a milky green cloudiness (the "louche") appears, adjusting water to taste.
- Stir once and serve cool, without ice.
How it was made : Absinthe, popularized after the Algerian campaigns, became the ritual of "the green hour" in Parisian cafés of the 1840s-1850s. The "louche" (milky cloudiness) comes from anise essential oils that are insoluble in water.
The contemporary twist : Non-alcoholic version for the whole family: a dash of anise and mint syrup very diluted in ice-cold sparkling water, poured over a sugar cube — the ritual without the intoxication.
Sources : Histoire de l'absinthe dans les cafés parisiens du XIXe siècle · Anecdote attribuée à la Comédie-Française sur Musset
Alfred de Musset · Charactorium
