There are different drinking rituals for absinthe. We present the three most common ones in this article.
1. Czech (Bohemian) ritual
The most famous absinthe ritual is the Czech way of drinking, in which 1-2 pieces of sugar are poured with absinthe and lit This fiery variant has no historical origin. We recommend sugar cubes and an absinthe spoon for this preparation. The spoon is placed across the glass and the sugar is positioned on the spoon. Then 2-4cl absinthe are poured over the sugar. The sugar cubes are then lit and caramelized.
It is important to ensure that the absinthe does not ignite in the lower part of the glass, as in exceptional cases the glass can break. If the absinthe burns, blowing out the fire is not recommended. It is better to remove the oxygen from the fire with an attachment on the glass (e.g. beer mat). After the fire has gone out, the remains on the spoon are mixed with the absinthe and poured with ice water at a ratio of 1: 3 to 1: 5.
The classic and traditional way of drinking comes from France, where you sat in a small group around an absinthe fountain or took a brouille to help. Similar to the Czech ritual, 1-2 pieces of sugar are placed on a spoon, but ice-cold water is drizzled over them very slowly. This is achieved by using an absinthe fountain. The fine jet of water dissolves the sugar and creates a perfect louche effect.
2. French ritual
In addition to the absinthe fountain, Brouille sets were also used in which the use of an absinthe spoon was not necessary. Brouille is a special glass attachment with a thin hole through which the ice water comes out.
3. The Swiss ritual
The Swiss way of drinking is the most unpopular variant. Here, 2-4cl absinthe are mixed with cold water without the use of sugar. Since absinthes from Switzerland were sweeter than French ones, these absinthes did not have to be sweetened.
