How To Serve Absinthe The Right Way 

And here it is TOTAL WRONG WAY TO SERVE ABSINTHE

Yes, the bartender in New Orleans that did the Bohemian method on my drink doused the sugar with water. The biggest WTF moment in this video was dumping the water in so quickly that there was no louche (clouding) at all. Nothing! The louche is what releases the botanicals from the alcohol suspension, which is where the most flavors come from. He had twice as much absinthe as water! You don't get flavor from that, you get watered-down green turpentine.

Is he preparing Absinthe or Kool-Aid?

The entire concept of setting "absinthe" on fire came from the Czech republic. They weren't making absinthe like the Swiss, they were dying vodka green and lighting it on fire to sell to tourists after they were newly freed from the disbanded USSR. Real absinthe originated in Switzerland and France where the herbs used to make it originally thrived.

Firstly: never use any flame or fire with absinthe but let the sugar melt by dropping pure spring water on it. Secondly: don't make any instruction videos on how to make different drinks as you seem to know nothing about the subject.

If my bartender made a drink for me with such lack of care I would demand a refund. Look at how the guy sturs the drink, its like watching a 5 year old drink chocolate milk.

Don't do that!!! You are ruining it!

I love absinthe, i'm from Slovakia and i'm studying in Bohemia (Czech Republic) and this video shows ... how not to prepare absinthe ... you fail but thanks for trying

This comment thread has made me smile thank you all

With all respect, you never want to light the sugar. It looks cool for the "I want to be a Bohemian free spirit too" college-aged numb skulls trying to impress their equally ignorant friends at the local over priced, hip to be seen at water hole, but personally if I have a fine quality Absinthe, so delicate w/it's gossamer green shades & packed with delicate botanicals and ethereal levels of flavor, the last thing I want to do is blow all this refinement away with the taste of burnt sugar

oh no no no no no my friend, what are you doing here? who taught you this???

: So what did you do during covid? : I watched sugar slowly dripping...

Arse. You do not light absinthe. Wtf.

Everything about this is INCORRECT! From the type of glass to the use of fire.

I just hope no one actually tries this

This is not absinthe,.this is not the proper way to serve it.. You confuse people with the false culture of absinthe

Youd think you should stir it without it splashing everywhere. I cringed.

No, no, no....you pour the absinthe into the glass. Then you use the spoon and sugar. Pour ice cold water over it until the glass is mostly full. Then stir the last bits of sugar with the spoon. Then drink. The lighter is for the cigarette after. P.s. if your lips and tongue aren't numb after one, it's not real absinthe.

For all purists, here the three known rituals: Czech Ritual (from the 1990s): 1. Pour absinthe over one or two sugar cubes 2. light them 3. pour ICECOLD water (3:1) over the cubes BEFORE the sugar drips into the absinthe 4. swirls & enjoy French ritual (1800s): Simply pour or better drip icecold water very slowly over the sugar cubes. Don't light them. Swiss ritual (also 1800s): Just mix the absinthe with icecold water. No sugar, no fire. (Sweet absinthe recommended)

For people who enjoy alcohol, the best method is to take the absinthe, and dump on the floor

What is this BLASPHEMY! I'll throw it in your face if you serve me that

That's not how you do absinthe. That's not a bohemian absinthe (bohemian absinthe = crappy third world made and without half the ingredients) and fire should never touch it. You ONLY use the bohemian method on it if it is a bohemian absinthe and doesn't have the anise (licorice flavor) and fennel because it doesn't louche correctly without it and the caramelized sugar fakes it. Otherwise you absolutely ruin the absinthe this way.

Never set it on fire, unless you wish to absolutely ruin the Absinthe.

There are two kinds of people in this world, people that should be kept alive, and people who set fire to their alcohol.

U have absolutely no ideas of what you're doing bro

Finished watching your video and thought I'd give this a go. Poured my measure of absinthe, placed the sugar cube on the spoon, poured a measure on the cube and lit it. So far so good. Then the sugar cube stopped burning ! So I poured some more absinthe on it and relit it. Unbeknown to me the liqueur in the glass was now on fire! The sugar sizzled and burnt a crusty mess on the spoon. Holy crap ! Picked up the glass and burned my hand, dropping the glass and smashing it on the floor. Bugger it. Just going to drink it straight now.

The cold water drip dilution method is the only proper preparation unless you want to get hammered instantly. My goodness!😣

@Favre1013 You pour absinthe into a parfait or wine glass, put on the spoon with the sugar as shown on the vid, then slowly dilute to 11-15% ABV with ice-cold water (usually 3-5 parts depending on brand's strength), melting the sugar into the glass. Sugar may be omitted, and water may be room temperature, but most drinkers prefer a cold absinthe. The reason behind dilution is that absinthe cannot be bottled at its intended drinking strength due to the precipitation of essential oils.

Hands down, the worst demo of how to prepare absinthe EVER.

Hey, I have a question. When I talked to the liquor store owner, he said that properly prepared absinthe looks slightly milky, and that look is how to tell it is prepared correctly. Something about the wormwood makes it do this, AND that modern absinthe does im fact have some of the wormwood extract in it just not the level it previously did when distilled the origional way. I didnt see that milky quality in the one you prepared. Was this guy full of crap or no?

Did ANYONE watching this ever trip off this shit?

Jesus Christ, no - literally nothing in this video is right.

Wtf where is the fountain and the rught steps !!!!

Stop! Stop! He's already dead!

I'd just drink from the bottle easy lol

Looks like someone watched the "From Hell" absinthe scene one too many times and mistook it for actual history.

The traditional way to drink absinthe is by placing a slotted spoon with a sugar cube on top of a glass of absinthe, then slowly dripping ice cold water from an absinthe fountain, which slowly dissolves the sugar into the glass.

WRONG WRONG WRONG

"HOW TO SERVE ABSINTHE THE RIGHT WAY" *10 seconds in* "I don't have the proper tools...BUT"

Wrong Prepare , look at Color at the End!

get drip . . than it be real good . good video .

Here's a fun cocktail with La Fee Parisian, the one you used in the video. You pour 2 measures of absinthe over a pile of ice (about 6 cubes) then add some water, to about an inch from the top of an absinthe glass. Now add a shot of Bols Blue Curacao, which sinks to the bottom, so blue fades up into green. I call it "The Addams Family Absinthe". It tastes like the green or pink bead-coated jelly sweets in Licourice Allsorts.

Umm...it didn't even louch. I will be staying away from THAT brand and method for that matter.

I used to do this to impress my friends and it most definitely does do that. They loved it! I had real absinthe glasses, the real spoon, everything was top notch. However, setting fire to absinthe it's not the proper way to serve it. It's a fad started in the 90's. I understand that it's a very good way to excite customers in bars, and more than one movie has shown Hollywood stars performing this historically inaccurate ritual - Johnny Depp in From Hell and Ewan McGregor in Moulin Rouge to name just two. However, setting fire to absinthe is wrong for a lot of reasons. 1. It has no historical accuracy. They never did this in the bohemian circles of 19th century Paris. 2. It removes absinthe flavour and replaces it with a very dominant taste of caramelised sugar. 3. Absinthe is supposed to be mixed with water, not be downed like any other cheap, vulgar shot. Order something with Bols in it if you just want to down shots. 4. It burns away alcohol, which - let's be honest - is part of the absinthe experience. 5. Cleaning hardened caramelised sugar off the beautiful spoon without covering it in scratches is a nightmare! 6. It's a MAJOR fire hazard, and I wish I was joking when I say this, but I've seen it with my own eyes several times. I have had to put out a whole little pool of flaming absinthe more than once, because a friend grabbed the glass, which was scorching hot after the sugar ritual (because more often that not it ignites the absinthe in the glass as well), and then they had to drop the glass because it was burning their fingers. Whoom! Suddenly you have a whole little lake of flaming absinthe on your table or (worse) your floor or (even worse) your carpet! Yes, I know: one should make sure that the fire is out before one grabs the glass, but the flames are actually very difficult to see, since alcohol fires are almost invisible, especially if you are not in a dim room. You saw the same thing happen in Indycar when they used methanol fuel: pit refueling accident fires were invisible and it spurred some nightmare scenarios where pit crew members were flailing around on fire and the people with fire extinguishers didn't even realise what was happening. Anyway, the point is simple: it's simply very dangerous to light alcohol on fire, especially if people are already drunk. The sugar cube is to be dissolved slowly by pouring cold water over it. The very best way is if you have a real water fountain with a tap that you can open partially to ensure a constant and slow water stream. That's the traditional and proper way to drink absinthe. 💚🧚🏻‍♂

Its not wrong but it is a bad way to drink it. A REALLY bad way to drink it. Especially if its real absinthe.

Dude, you just ruined your absinth right there! Pour the absinth into your glass, place the spoon and the suger on top of the glass, and SLOWLY dropp water on the sugar cube. The sugar will melt and give the absinth a "milky" color. Burning the sugar just gives the drink a burned taste, and with good luck set the whole glass on fire..!

elimde yarı şişe yüzde 69 alkollüsü var. fiyat 500. istanbulda elden teslim ederim.

WTF You do not light it period!

I’d prefer my drink not taste like burnt lighter fluid

That is NOT the right way to serve absinthe. I don't have an absinthe fountain to drip ice cold water either, but I have a refrigerator, and a few water bottles half full in the freezer. I pour water in a bottle of ice and slowly pour the cold water on the sugar cube until it;s dissolved and the glass is full. I give it a little stir, kick back and start sipping, like I am now. I was just checking to see what mix of absinthe and water you recommended. Most people say 3:1 - 5:1. Mine is on the strong side of those.

LOL!!!! half of that sugar melted into that spoon and he couldnt even remove it xD see him throw spoon away. What a loser

I know. but I just wanted to clarify that this is an official method but you are supposed to pour water over the sugar to set out the fire as to not burn off the alcohol. It is up to personal preference on which one you like. I prefer the original way.

Now I know why VanGogh cut off his ear.

Yeah well all the snobs say don’t set absinthe cubes on fire but I have most definitely drank twice or more top shelf quality absinthes like Jades, gron opals and many more yet I say if you want to set your absinthe on fire or use sipping pipes go right ahead and use along side fountains and spoons to impress your guests.

This video is all wrong. It's like watching me in 2009 on a school trip to Prague (where I thought the absynthe was born because I watched Eurotrip few months before...) and thinking "wow, this is so cool!". First, you wasted that precious liquor, spilling and mixing it with absence of care. Second, the fucking absynthe didn't become white at all, just stayed the same color. Third, did you really lit the sugar on fire? Forth, just watch any youtube video about preparing absynth the right way and you'll be doing it right.

Yo, yo yo my guy You don't just BURN stuff your trying to enjoy, especially sugar. Burnt sugar? That don't caramelize it, that's just burning. How the hell did you get hired? Or was your trainer just trash

The Bohemian method which, as far as I’m aware, came about in the 1990s. It taints the flavour of the drink and, in the burning, wastes alcohol. It also results in a far smaller release of the botanicals, depriving the drinker of the full absinthe flavour experience. I can see no benefit it this method, other than the mildly exciting visual spectacle - no doubt intended to make the person serving at the bar appear clever and interesting. I don’t like this method and many consider it to be sacrilege. The Parisian method, which is the more traditional method, involves the slow drip of ice-cold water through a sugar cube until the cube dissolves. This allows the botanicals to release their flavour more fully and produces a successful louche. It tastes better and wastes less alcohol. I wouldn’t drink absinthe served by this guy if you paid me.

The fuck. First around 30ml Absinthe in a proper Absinthe glas, then Absinthe spoon over it, 1 to 2 cubes of sugar, cold spring water slowly over the cube to melt the sugar down. No fire, no absinthe over the cube and what the fuck is that glass. Horrible.

a most tragic way to kill la fée verte

Where is the finely crushed ice? repulsive. if my bartender presented that to me, I'd walk out and find another pub. This method is disgusting, the end product should appear as a milky green, all you did was burn a sugar cube and dumped it into a glass. You should re-title this video, "How to ruin a great drink"

mas que una critica, lo que voy a decir es una opinion meramente personal: la manera como preparo la absenta fue no convencional, apudara, y poco seguidora de la manera tradicional. el preparo la absenta al estilo "BOHEMIO", el cual se invento por europa del este en algun bar para dar a conocer o como quien dice relanzar la absenta. segun una investigacion que realize, la manera como la tomaba van gogh, degas, dali, picaso, y muchas personalidades del arte de esa epoca era asi..

I love how everyone is bitching about him burning it. It could be worse, he could be burning a real absinthe. If you’re drinking La Fee and calling it absinthe, you probably drink Boone’s Farm and call that wine.

I would like to know which bar does he tend at. *SO THAT I NEVER EVER GO THERE*

This is the Bohemian method guys, do not panic ! ;)

Geez you went through a lot. Just pour cold water over the sugar slowly. Don't light it. As the sugar drips into the absinthe it slowly turns pearlised or opalescent. Much cooler trick and faster when time is $ behind the bar.

Do not serve any absinthe this way, even the bad east European stuff that is just flavoured vodka. Doing it like this perpetuates a bad practice and might encourage people to ruin good absinthe. If you don’t have the patience to prepare it the traditional way then just add 3-4 parts ice cold water to one part absinthe in a tall glass. It’s a compromise but a million times better than ruining the spirit by adding burnt sugar.

This is absolutely the wrong way to serve absence. You do not light the sugar cube on fire. That is just to show off. Its 1 ounce of absinthe and 2 ounces of cold water. The water is supposed to trickle into the glass.

Agreed! Amateur. The water drip is essential. The flame is a waste of time.

This is crapsinthe, no one in the absinthe community would touch this. Furthermore the lighting of this fake absinthe was only created in the 1990’s to promote this rubbish and sell it to people who do not know better

NOTE:IF YOU LACK AN ABSINTHE FOUNTAIN PLACE THE SUGAR CUBE ON THE SPOON GET A PITCHER OF WATER AND GENTLY POUR OVER SUGAR CUBE UNTIL DISSOLVED

Thats not how you prepare absinthe lmao

Hello bro . Ist is nice what you do with absinthe but it is a very bad way how you prepare absinthe. To much amateur. I’m sorry…

Wow. I am so late to the game here...but NO. This is definitively NOT the way to do it

man you messed up the whole drink. you missed the whole point. its not a mixed drink its an experience. drip water thru sugar cube to change it to a pool ball white. there is a beauty you completely destroyed.

Fail 😂

To each his own. This is NOT the traditional method of serving Absinthe.

Absinthe doesn't look like that when you prepare it...

Yikes.

I wouldn't care what you do to your drinks and sure it looks cool but if there's a singular "right way" to drink absinthe, this is not it.

This may be how you serve Absinthe in New York City, but it's NOT how you serve it in Paris or Prague or in MY house! Lighting the sugar is a modern method designed for the "showy" demands of hipster drinkers, but it's NOT the "right way".

This is the Czech or Bohemian method, not the traditional French method.

"come servire l'Assenzio nel modo giusto".. lo serve in modo sbagliato 😂😂😂 Dovevi intitolarlo "come rovinare un bicchiere di Assenzio"

Buddy, listen better to the video before giving advice 00:24 He says it's BEST to use an absinthe drip but he doesn't have one and it's slightly impractical in a busy bar as a drip takes longer than lighting it, if you're swamped with customers you don't often have the time you need to do it properly and the younger generation prefer the flashier methods with fire anyway. He knows the facts, you just don't listen or apply common sense.

Why do makes flame and time waste, just pour some sugar syrup to that drink 🍷😅

Is this the right way? I dont know how to make this drink

GTFO the minute I saw the lighter I wanted to scream. This is wrong on every level

This is hard to watch. This guy knows nothing about absinthe. That louche was horrible.

That was shitty! The water should be iced and DRIPPED slowly over an unlit cube. The slow drip releases the chemical makeup of the Absinthe and turns it a milky fluid white. Another method is to light the cube until it melts through the Absinthe spoon, blown out, then dripped with ice water. The fire is no use but for server effect. It actually destroys the proper taste. Having had many shots in New Orleans (just last weekend, for 1) and a trip to Europe... this is the sorriest prep ever seen

Don't be a purist. As long as something exists there will be variations of it. Firstly, no it doesn't soil the taste; it just makes the drink stronger since less water is being used. This is not cooking the absinthe. He doused the flames almost immediately. I doubt you even know, chemically, what's happening when the drink turns cloudy and why some people don't like it. Did you just Wikipedia absinthe 5 minutes ago? Just because you CAN comment doesn't mean you need spew out nonsense.

I like how they try to catch ppl with that eye as if this thing will make you trip lol better off wit shrooms/lucy/Dimitri

25 ml's of water because that's "how you like it". Sir, i feel inclined to ask of you, have you ever had absinthe before? I highly doubt you have a single clue of what you're doing here. It seems to be some sort of botched bohemian method.

It may change the taste but quite frankly looking down on people who prepare things differently is ridiculous. Instead of looking well educated and refined you sound like an arrogant snob. And where did he say this is the traditional way to do it? He didn't.

Whats with all of the wannabe bartenders who know nothing. Ruined a perfect drink

I clicked on this video to see the Like/Dislike ratio. Looks pretty close to how I imagined it.

Seriously. EVERYTHING in this prep is wrong. Firstly, NO FIRE. Ever. It ruins the taste and is basically only for show so the bartender can hope for a big tip. Secondly, water should be at least 3:1 and ice cold, dripped very slowly. You didn't even get a louche in that glass! Terrible. At least you didn't ruin a premium brand.

oh dear, guys this is NOT the traditional way so drink absinth. Absinth ist best to be prepared with a good part of icy cold water you let drip into the absinth until the colour is pale. In fact, people who actually KNOW what they're doing, would NEVER lit absinth on fire. It soils the taste of an excellent absinth.

Do you burn barrel proof whisky, too? Why not? Because the Czech didn't tell you to do so? No other reason to ignite the sugar but obeying 15-year old advertisements of fake Czech "absinth". Also, get a water of wine glass because old fashioned is not for absinthe. Also don't waste money on overmarketed low-end-high-price products like La Fée.

You don't light the sugar Mr. Americanman.

its not so much pale is it is cloudy, its called the louche. you louche your absinthe, by using the spoon with sugar cube, and dropping cold water over the cube into the absinthe at a ratioe of one part absinthe and 3-5 parts water. but your right, no fire is involved in absinthe drinking

Nooo, fire is NOT traditional. Traditional is a simple slow drip of ice water, optionally over a cube of sugar, until the absinthe has louched. Not that people can't do the fire thing, it just makes me cry a little on the inside seeing such a sad waste of good absinthe.