R. Winston Guthrie - A Taste for Absinthe: 65 Recipes for Classic and Contemporary Cocktails

Copyright 2010 by R. Winston Guthrie
Photographs copyright 2010 by Liza Gershman

All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
www.clarksonpotter.com

CLARKSON POTTER is a trademark and POTTER with colophon is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Guthrie, R. Winston.
A taste for absinthe / R. Winston Guthrie, with James F. Thompson, and Liza Gershman.1st ed.
Includes index.
1. Cocktails. 2. Absinthe. I. Thompson, James F. II. Gershman, Liza. III. Title.
TX951.G845 2010
641.874dc22 2009045578

eISBN: 978-0-7704-3431-1

v3.1

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TO MEREDITH, MY WIFE & BEST FRIEND

who keeps me looking up at the stars

I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL THE WONDERFUL & TALENTED PEOPLE WHO CONTRIBUTED TO OR INFLUENCED THIS BOOK:

Absinthe experts and friends John Troia and Peter Schaf (owners of Tempus Fugit Spirits and Vieux Pontarlier Absinthe) were insightful, generous with resources and contacts, and always ready to help. On the forefront of the absinthe renaissance in America, they were also generous with their time and knowledge. Thanks to Jeff Hollinger for broadening the scope of the book. Special thanks to Scott Baird and Tim Stookey. Thanks to all of the other bartenders who made recipes specifically for this project. Thanks to Liza Gershman, who was instrumental in conceptualizing much of the book as she went above and beyond the role of photographer. Thanks to Andrea Somberg, Jim Thompson, Ashley Phillips, Rosy Ngo, Laura Palese, and Amy Sly for their dedication to the project and belief that Absinthe has something to offer everyone in America. Special thanks to the absinthe community and all those in search of the Green Fairy.

Enjoy your journey

From the traditional drip to time-tested classics, enjoy absinthe recipes that have survived the past hundred years or more.

Recipes that blend absinthes unique taste with the influences of lemons, oranges, and other colorful and refreshing fruit combinations.

From Tennessee whiskeys to your grandmothers gin, learn how to mix absinthe with established American sensibilities.

Complement absinthe with a breath of sweetness or a bite of bitter with recipes that mix the Green Fairy with tasty flavors.

Learn how to make the most avant-garde and ingenious absinthe drinks concocted by the worlds most innovative and accomplished absinthe experts.

A bsinthes rise and fall is a colorful story that has been chronicled before, but the romance and mystery of the Green Fairy hasnt been fully captured until now. A Taste for Absinthe explores its history in the Old World and in American cocktails and breaks new ground with dozens of inventive cocktail recipes.

Throughout the nineteenth century, absinthe became the most popular and widely consumed spirit in Europe. Yet by the end of the same century, several countries had banned the drink, labeling it as highly addictive and poisonous. The unfolding story of its rebirth resulting from the easing of official bans around the globe comes alive in sidebars that accompany the recipes. But the real strength of A Taste for Absinthe lies in the collection of amazing recipes elicited from talented bartenders who are part of an emerging group referred to as cocktailian bartenders. Cocktailians are professionals and sometimes gifted amateurs dedicated to exploring the history of cocktail tradition, mastering techniques, and developing product knowledge to an extent heretofore unprecedented in the bartending community.

The authors have provided for the first time in print a collection of modern absinthe recipes with notes from the cocktailian inventors discussing their ingredient choices and their inspiration. The pages of this book provide a unique look into the minds of the most innovative bartenders working today. There are also many fine photographs that show retro ephemerafrom glasses and spoons to fountainsas well as cocktail presentations employed in many cutting-edge bars located across the country.

A Taste for Absinthe is an indispensable handbook to creating world-class cocktails using this once-illicit drink. Cheers to a job well done.

Dale DeGroff, aka King Cocktail,
author of The Craft of the Cocktail and The Essential Cocktail

Ryan Fitzgerald at Baretta makes the

A bsinthe is one of the most mysterious elixirs of modern history. Considering the centuries of negative innuendo and misrepresentation that have plagued absinthe, it is not surprising that the beverage suffers from widespread suspicion and poor public relations. Times, however, are about to changeabsinthe is finally having its day in the American court of public opinion. With the reversal of a century-long ban on absinthe and the recent production of American-made absinthe now on shelves, the Green Fairy no longer needs to rely on her historical ambassadorsVincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Oscar Wilde, and Ernest Hemingway, to name a few.

Tastemakers in some of the countrys hottest culinary epicenters have been beguiled by absinthes sophisticated flavor profile and are incorporating it into cocktails that pay homage to the elixirs rich and storied history while appealing to contemporary palates. From Los Angeles and Napa Valley to Boston and New York, the appeal of absinthe is being rediscovered in bars and restaurants. Perhaps it may be just a matter of time until Americans celebrate absinthe the way the Green Goddess was celebrated in the cafs and bars of Paris, resulting in a Belle poque phenomenon known as lHeure Verte, or the Green Hour, where absinthe enthusiastsmostly artists and intellectualsmet to socialize and discuss matters of the heart, soul, and mind.