Enjoying Wines

Archive for May, 2009

If you are a beginner, a new Absinthe drinker, you will want to know “how do you serve Absinthe?”. Usually direct consumption of absinthe is not possible so it is diluted with iced water.

Absinthe is banned in many countries for being pshycoactive like cannabis. Most countries has legally approved it.

Traditional method Ritual or La Louche method modern method Bohemian method or Czech method for preparation of Absinthe. special preparation is required for Absinthe. Methods for preparing Absinthe two different ways

The Ritual

Before the ban the method used in the cultural history of Absinthe in France and Switzerland.

Requirement of equipment for this method are
– Absinthe
Use of an Absinthe glass
A slotted spoon An Absinthe spoon is use with Absinthe.
Take a cube of sugar
Take Absinthe fountain of iced water.

Use of the ritual recipe:-
Amount of Absinthe is 25-50ml in Absinthe glass.
On top of the glass rest your Absinthe spoon and place the sugar cube on it.
Set the tap on the fountain to a slow drip over the sugar cube. The sugar cube and water mix into the Absinthe.
The mixture of water with Absinthe makes it louche. The louche effect is caused by Absinthe as it contains essential oils like wormwood which are soluble in alcohol but not in water.
Absinthe is enjoyable when stirred.

(The ratio of water to Absinthe should be between 3:1 and 5:1)

An adaption of the Ritual method is the “Glass in a Glass”. In this method place a small glass containing the Absinthe into a larger glass and drip water into the small glass which then overflows into the larger glass. The small glass is removed when water and all of the Absinthe is in the larger glass.

Method of Bohemian

This method needs:-
– Absinthe
– An Absinthe glass
Take an Absinthe Spoon
Use of sugar cube
– A lighter or match
Take iced water

Pour 25-50ml of Absinthe into the glass.
Allow Absinthe to soak with sugar cube and then rest on the spoon.
Set light, caramelize sugar cube , melt and drip into Absinthe.
To louche Absinthe iced water is added to it.

This method has become very popular in Absinthe bars in the Czech Republic. Many Absinthe drinkers scorn this method as it is not traditional.

Alcohol should be carefully set

A quality Absinthe which contains real essential oils is needed for the Absinthe to louche. If you cannot buy quality bottled Absinthe you can buy essences from Absinthe Kit.com Top-quality, classic wormwood Absinthe is made by mixing the distilled herb essence with vodka or Ever clear.

Once you have your quality Absinthe you can enjoy learning how do you serve Absinthe.

If the Absinthe revival has made a curiosity in you to try Absinthe, then you will be searching “from what site can you purchase Absinthe?”. Well, bottled Absinthe can be quite costly, over $100 sometimes, and it may not be delivered to your country. It is hard to find real wormwood Absinthes because some countries legislation prohibits wormwood as it contains thujone. without wormwood Absinthe is nothing.
So, what is the answer?

AbsintheKit.com is a great site with an online store and shopping cart. AbsintheKit.com sell Absinthe essences, containing real common wormwood (Artemisia Absinthium), both to the Absinthe industry and to general customers. You can have a 20ml bottle of essence for between $3.95 and $4.95 to produce one bottle of Absinthe or you can purchase a kit that makes 14 bottles for between $29 and $39 – an amazing price!

Absinthe Essence Kits

The Absinthe kit from AbsintheKit.com include everything you need to make real Absinthe:-

A 280ml bottle of Absinthe essence is required to make 14 bottles of Absinthe.
– A measure made up of high grade plastic to measure out the essence.
– Artistic labels to decorate and label your finished bottle of Absinthe.

If you want to make your very own bottle of the Green Fairy, mix 20ml of essence with 730ml of neutral alcohol such as vodka or Everclear and add some sugar (about 75g) if you want a smoother Absinthe. Shake the bottle until the sugar has dissolved and there you have it, your very own Absinthe.

Essences in stock

AbsintheKit.com sell 4 different Absinthe essences which all contain real wormwood and the other traditional Absinthe herbs such as aniseed and fennel. To give you a top quality essence, these essences are manufactured by using a high carbon dioxide distillation process.

The Four essences are:-

– Absinthe Classics Essence – For green Absinthe with a thujone content of 35mg.

– Absinthe White Essence – People who like the clear Blanche or La Bleue style Absinthes. It always louches beautifully. Each bottle of Absinthe contains 35mg per bottle of Absinthe.

Extra ingredients of orange oil is added in Absinthe Orange Essence which gives a lovely orange flavor and a yellow-orange colored Absinthe. The Absinthe will louche more easily because it has an extra essential oil in it. With 35mg of thujone, Absinthe can be made.

– Absinthe 55 Strong – This essence makes a darker green Absinthe with a stronger wormwood flavor. Suitable for those who prefer that exciting wormwood bitter taste. A bottle of Absinthe made with this essence will contain 55mg of thujone.

AbsintheKit.com ship products world wide, as long as you are over 18, and have customer support that provides answers to any questions regarding your order or about using the essences. You can further find information with respect to their products and instructions on the website itself. AbsintheKit.com also sell the most beautiful replica Absinthe glasses and spoons such as a Pontarlier style glass and Eiffel Tower spoon – which is great to use with your homemade Absinthe.

The ritual observed

After you have produced your Absinthe you will be required to know how to prepare an Absinthe to drink. Generally Absinthe is consumed after diluting it with water. This is how you can prepare the perfect Absinthe

– Fill 25-50ml of Absinthe into your Absinthe glass.
– Rest your slotted spoon or cuillere over the glass and place a sugar cube onto it.
-Slowly pour or drip iced water over the sugar to prepare an Absinthe with a ratio of 3:1 to 5:1 water to Absinthe.
– Watching the Absinthe louche as the water mixes in to the Absinthe is real pleasure. there are some essential oils in the beverage which are not soluble in water is the main cause of louching. They cause the Absinthe liquor to go milky or cloudy – a beautiful thing to watch.
– Enjoy now the real wormwood Absinthe drink.

So, from what site can you purchase Absinthe? You have to decide whether you want to buy a $100 bottle from a liquor site or make 14 bottles from $29!

When it comes to German white wines, many people’s knowledge begins and ends with Riesling. Some may have a bottle or two of Gew?rztraminer in their wine cooler. But there are actually 17 varieties of white wine grape grown in Germany. Some of these are French varieties such as Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Others are unique to Germany. This article will look at some of the lesser known varieties of German white wine grape.

German White Wines from the Silvaner Grape

Silvaner is notorious as the grape that formed the basis of Liebfraumilch, the cheap and nasty white wine that was unaccountably popular in the 1970s. But in the Franconia region of Germany, it is also used to produce some high quality wines. Franconian Silvaner wines are very acidic, which is why Liebfraumilch gained the unflattering nickname of “paint stripper”, but in the right hands, the Silvaner grape can be used to make a refreshing dry white wine. And because of the grape’s poor reputation, you may be able to find good wines made from it at far lower prices than you would expect for a wine of that quality.

German White Wines from the Kerner Grape

Kerner is a grape variety first bred in 1929 and named in honor of the German poet Justinus Kerner, who often wrote about wine. It is a cross between a Riesling and the red Trollinger grape. Surprisingly, crossing a red and a white grape did not produce a ros? variety, Kerner wines tend to be straw colored. The wine writer Jancis Robinson has described Kerner wines as being “commendably close to Riesling in flavor except with their own leafy aroma and very slightly coarser texture.”

Many of the best known Kerner wines are Italian, rather than German, but it originated in the Palatinate region of Germany, where it is one of the dominant grape varieties, along with Muller-Thurgau, Morio Muscat and, increasingly, the ubiquitous Riesling.

German White Wines from the Bacchus Grape

The Bacchus is another hybrid variety of grape, this time created by crossing a Riesling with a Silvaner. It is named after the Roman god of wine and unrelated to the Bacchus Black, a red variety of grape grown in the Alps. Wines made from the Bacchus grape tend to be similar to a Sauvignon Blanc, and are good with vegetarian or fish dishes. Bacchus wines are very dry and their low sugar content makes some of them suitable for diabetics.