Unusual Uses for Absinthe

The Sea Fizz is a frothy cocktail calling for Pernod Absinthe.

Absinthe and egg whites surprisingly go hand-in-hand and the two recipes I’ve found to share today certainly support this claim. As you see, today is National Absinthe Day, so it’s important that we put those bottles on our back bars to use.

Anise-flavored spirits have had a lukewarm reception here in the US; we just can’t seem to fully embrace that flavoring of licorice in spirits such as absinthe and, another example, ouzo (if you haven’t yet already seen it “Boozehound” author and WaPo columnist Jason Wilson wrote a great piece just this week on ouzo’s acceptance in the US).

My hope is that the two recipes below provide enough other flavor and texture elements to help mitigate that strong anise presence in the absinthe cocktail. And, as always, please share with me your thoughts on these recipes and how, perhaps,  you have found other success incorporating absinthe into cocktails.

Cheers!
Sj

Absinthe Flip
• ½ part Pernod Absinthe
• ½ part Hiram Walker Orange Liqueur
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp sugar
• grated nutmeg

Shake ingredients well with ice. Strain into a prechilled Delmonico glass.
Sprinkle nutmeg on top.

Sea Fizz (pictured above)
• 1 part Pernod Absinthe
• ½ part simple syrup
• ½ part lemon juice
• egg white

Add all ingredients to shaker except for egg white. Shake.
Include egg white and shake again. Serve in a rocks glass.

Tokyo Rose

This one popped up in my email the other day and sounded delicious— couldn’t help but share. It’s one of those beautiful, froth-topped cocktails with an egg white in it.

Recipes calling for egg whites (from the Absinthe Suissessessessess to the Ramos Fizz) are everywhere these days, no doubt a result of the classic cocktail renaissance led by America’s best mixologists. But until I tried one for myself at Tales of the Cocktail (The Fraser River Sour) I have to admit I didn’t get it. I hate eggs. Why would I want them in my drink? And if I get in trouble for eating raw cookie dough (I do it anyway!) how is this ok?

            I’m here to tell you it’s ok to drink that frothy wonderfulness—and not just because I’ve been eating raw cookie dough for twenty years and haven’t died yet. No, I’ve done a little online research and found that although the FDA does not recommend it, you’re four times more likely to die choking on bar nuts (according to Jason Wilson of the Washington Post) than to die of salmonella contracted from drinking cocktails containing raw egg whites. The chances of getting salmonella are slim and slimmer still when you factor in the addition of alcohol. So drink up, friends—this egg’s on me!

 

The Tokyo Rose by Terence Miller

 

 3 muddled strawberries

1 oz. Hiram Walker Crème de Cacao (Dark)

1 oz. Vodka

½ oz. Absinthe

1 small egg white

 

Muddle strawberries in a cocktail shaker. Combine remaining ingredients and shake thoroughly. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with skewered strawberry slices.