The market · Liqueurs and bitters · France and the north-west

Absinthe

High-strength spirit distilled with grand wormwood, green anise and fennel, often coloured green with herbs afterwards — anise-forward, herbal and faintly bitter.

anise · fennel · wormwood

Kinds

Verte
Green, coloured with herbs after distillation.
Blanche (la bleue)
Clear, the Swiss style.

Goes with

rye whiskeysugarlondon dry ginsparkling wine

Knowing it

Where to buy
Look for distilled absinthe, not one made by mixing oils into spirit; cheap green bottles are often dyed.
A little history
Banned in much of Europe and the US in the early 1900s over fears of its toxicity that are now largely discounted; legal again in most places by the 2000s.
Worth knowing
Use it as a rinse: a barspoon swirled round a cold glass and tipped out, as in a Sazerac, or a few sprays from an atomiser. Neat, it's diluted with iced water dripped in until it clouds — 3 to 5 parts water to 1.

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