If you make something similar to Absinthe, please let us know.
If you make REAL absinthe, go away.
If you make REAL absinthe, go away.
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SF Bay Area
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Re: DIY
Tue, May 22, 2007 - 5:46 AMOk yes I make Absinthe which other don't want me calling Absinthe but there you are. Anyone else? I would love to refine my technique and recipe if anyone has any advice. -
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Re: DIY
Tue, May 22, 2007 - 9:48 AMHello
My last batch was made with Clear Spring 190 proof and I forgot to add the mint.
Raw, but potent.
I'll dig up the recipe and post it..
What's the last one you've done? -
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Re: DIY
Tue, May 22, 2007 - 10:12 AMWell I use cheap vodka and some Chianti to soak the herbs then I use a very simple distiling method to collect most of the alcohol back out of the mix and green it with more herbs. I am, in my mind, making absinthe. I am up to batch 7 since I started back in January I think. Now I am looking to move past the basic recipe and push it futher. Once I have perfected my recipe for Absinthe I wll post it here. -
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Re: DIY
Tue, May 22, 2007 - 12:11 PM
I heard that a Polish rectified spirit, it has name but I forgot, can be used to just steep the herbs, is that right? It's a big thing apparently in Poland.
I am interested to see Kurt and Jimmy's recipes. Any louche, Kurt? I understand this is the difficult bit. -
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Re: DIY
Tue, May 22, 2007 - 11:01 PMYes, the soak I ran has a very good emerald green color and an strong louche as well.
Got a minor crisis here - broke my glasses - more tomorrow, once I can see well again. -
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Re: DIY
Wed, May 23, 2007 - 6:02 AMOk Kurt share the louche man. I get fairly good color and a great taste but little louche. I have almost decided to not worry about color or louche and just serve it clear with one ice cube. But I began this quest to prove to certain AN's (absinthe nazis) that it can be done at home despite their best efforts to stop it. If you guys are with me I say we create a fullproof comprehensive recipe and distribute it far and wide. -
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Re: DIY
Wed, May 23, 2007 - 7:55 AM
When you say louche, Kurt, do you mean that you could see white streaks developing and then a milky white? What was causing that? anise? what are the constituents for this soak? this is an interesting point.
I would enjoy reading the recipes. One other point: I find that some absinthe that doesn't louche to chilled water will to an ice cube, and then as the glass warms up in the sun, it changes back. I actually quite like watching it. You guys are the technical experts so I'll pipe down. -
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Re: DIY
Wed, May 23, 2007 - 8:48 AMwell Doc since Ouzo will also louche with cold water I am guessing it's the Anise. I tried switching from anise seed to ground anise in hopes of extracting the needed oils but have had very limited sucess.
On the other hand I think to myself who cares. Does louche improve flavor? It's a drink and I want to taste it not look at it. I little paper umbrella may make my drink look better but does it make it taste better? Am I trying to hard to live up the AN standard of Absinthe?
I am waiting for Kurt to get back to us....... -
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Re: DIY
Wed, May 23, 2007 - 9:04 AM>I think to myself who cares
Good point! Yes, it is part of the AN creed, isn't it! I am not one for standing round a fountain in awe either.
It would be a nice add on for you though, if Kurt has cracked it.
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Re: DIY
Thu, May 24, 2007 - 5:00 PMHi, Dr. Sam:
It might be the anise, but I don't think that's it.
I will have some additional evidence to support or disprove my hypothesis in a few days.
Stay tuned! -
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Re: DIY
Thu, May 24, 2007 - 5:53 PMMore alcohol could make sense since anethole is acohol solvent and will perciptate in water. I am soaking some star anise in vodka right now to see if it will louche on it's own. I have done several small scale expriments I will post later and we can discuss each aspect of Absinthe making. I will be very interested to see what info you get for us Kurt. -
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Re: DIY
Thu, May 24, 2007 - 10:14 PMExcellent, that is the perfect complement to the test I'm trying.
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Re: DIY
Tue, May 29, 2007 - 12:55 PMI have filtered the batch I was soaking, and the first test showed a strong louche.
I have it on video, but am having difficulty sending that video to my webspace.
The solution contained no wormwood, no anise, no hyssop, no fennel and no calamus root. It did have some mint in it, and one other (not-to-be-named) substance.
Upon closer observation, I have noticed that the louche passes with time. It also appears to accumulate on the surface. My guess is that I am seeing some kind of outgassing effect, and that the cloudiness is caused by microbubbles which are released as the water and liquor combine. I do not know if temperature is a factor (ice water vs. room temp water, for example - I used ice water). The outgassing (if that's what it is) appears to emit a substantial amount of fragrance.
I still think that it has to do with how strong the alcohol is for your initial soak. -
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Re: DIY
Wed, May 30, 2007 - 8:46 AMWell I did my soak and then collected the escence. I mixed it with the greening herbs and 2 pods of star anise. I did not get what I would call a good louche from this. I will keep trying but I will have wait til the fall I have other projects to work on. -
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Re: DIY
Wed, May 30, 2007 - 2:06 PM>I have other projects to work on.
mead? I am reading up on that :-) -
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Re: DIY
Wed, May 30, 2007 - 3:11 PMI have to bottle mead, make gruit beer and work on several things for Pennsic. I will post some of my mini experiments when I get time. Maybe someone else can continue where I left off.
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Re: DIY
Thu, May 24, 2007 - 4:58 PM"Share the Louche" - sounds like the name of a Tribe I'd like to join :D
My guess (and it is only a guess, although I may have some practical evidence to back this up in another week or so) is that you need to use a stronger acohol as your solvent. Start your soak with 80 proof or stronger (151 or 190 proof Pure Grain Alcohol if you can get it). If you want to add the wine flavors in, add them later.
I've got a small batch of something that isn't even close to absinthe (except maybe the color), and I'm curious to know if it will have a louche like Absinthe does. It's soaking in 190 proof, so after I filter it out, I will try a test. In fact, I think I will video my test to have a record I can share with you. -
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Re: DIY
Fri, May 25, 2007 - 3:01 AMSpirytus Rektyfikowany is what they use in Poland where they they create a drink named wormwood (i.e absinthe in the French) This is made using the soak only. SR is difficult to get as it is not allowed to export it from Poland I understand.
I know that there is a old book from 1820s which recommends rectified spirit in conjunction with herbs when "distillation is troublesome" or something like that anyway.
Looking forward to the video! -
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Re: DIY
Fri, May 25, 2007 - 5:45 AMSee this is the kind of conversation I was looking for. Not oh you are doing and experiment well it will fail and if it suceeds its not absinthe anyway.....Screw the AN's. We ARE going to crack the code and then publish it on every tribe we can.
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