Absinthe: the Green Fairy is not for wimps

I've long had this fascination with absinthe: not the stuff itself, but the lore and tradition of it. Banned in the US in 1915, it is now readily available, minus the psycho-tropic, hallucinogenic element. Some of you may rue that fact. In the shop, we're carrying some pretty nifty absinthe accoutrements (spoons, glassware, sugar), which forced us to do some field research on the brew itself. First of all, Absinthe is available here in Bend – several choices are offered at the liquor store inside Ray's Grocery (and perhaps at others; that's as far as we got). It tastes like the essence of anise, which I'm not a big fan of, but it is interesting, and herby. It is also very, very strong. I thought it was going to be more of an apéritif like pastis or pernod, but non, mon dieu, it is 100 proof alcohol. So if you see little tendrils of smoke coming out of your ears after drinking this, you'll know why.

But, the "ceremony" of pouring the water and absinthe over sugar is still an interesting one... if you happen to like the taste of it. In any case, I like having a couple of those beautiful glasses in our cabinet, along with the little Eiffel spoon. Not sure we'll ever finish that bottle, unless a couple of house guests decide they love it. {Have to say that again, the bottle design and branding, as in my previous post about Domaine Canton, is exquisite.} Pictured are a few of the accessories we have at Pomegranate, and here's a good link to learning more about it:

http://www.absinthebuyersguide.com/