Monday, February 22, 2010

MxMo XLVI - All About Absinthe

The posts have started rolling in for this month's Mixology Monday. In what might be my earliest post ever (usually I'm posting around 11 pm or so on the Monday), here's my contribution to this month's online cocktail party.

Adoring Absinthe
I love the stuff. It always amazes me to see how different one brand is from another - the first sip might be very similar, but after that they are totally different. Usually I just add some water, and maybe some sugar (depends on the brand). If I want a frappe, some crushed ice too. From time to time, I'll go for a classic cocktail - there are some great ones out there.

One of my favorites recently is the Dixie Cocktail. I probably found it here originally, and some friends have mentioned it before. It's an herbaceous, delicious drink if you like absinthe. My version includes the orange juice & grenadine from the Cocktail DB version, with slightly different proportions. It's also nice without them, mind you, but this is my favorite of the variations.

Dixie Cocktail
(my version)
¾ oz Gin (Distiller's Gin No. 6)
½ oz Absinthe (Sirène Absinthe Verte)
½ oz Dry Vermouth (Vya)
2 dashes real Grenadine
1 oz fresh Orange Juice
Shake all ingredients well with ice, strain into a small cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.


And a New One Too

And for fun, and to get me out of my rut, I came up with a new drink. I am really happy with how this came out, after working on it for several days. It's definitely an absinthe lovers drink (no mistaking it), but with an interesting blend of fruit, spice and deeper flavor tones.

Of course, I used our absinthe for this one too - I know, it's shocking.

Passion Fairy
2 oz Absinthe (used Sirène Absinthe Verte)
2 oz Passion Fruit Puree (Funkin)
1 oz Brandy (Paul Masson Grande Amber)
3/4 oz Triple Sec (Cointreau)
Two dashes Orange Bitters (Regan's)

Shake ingredients with ice. Strain into chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a long orange twist.

Cheers and happy MxMo! Stay tuned for the recap, hopefully here sometime tomorrow.

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