Making home-made absinthe

[houndgirl]

Just wondering if any hounds have made their own. I see a number of "do-it-yourself" kits on e-bay and am tempted to try.

[TimeMachine]

JMF is right; you have to have a still if you intend to make it drinkable. We made it once by soaking 151 rum with all the essential herbs and while it was a lovely olive green, it was VILE in taste. That didn't prevent us from trying to drink an oz or two in hopes of seeing the 'green fairy' and I must say that the dizzy/stoned feeling you get was not remotely worth the evil hangover I had the next morning. The worst hangover in my life--not that I've had all that many but I doubt I could top this one if I tried.

Not to be daunted, we did more research and tried again. This time we made a fresh batch using distilled alcohol (very high proof although I can't remember exactly what the % was), soaked with all the herbs, and finally distilled it. This of course creates a clean clear liquor (i.e., the green is removed in the distilling process). The flavor was far more refined than the previous tincture and retained the anise very well; it was really quite tasty and intensely flavored. We soaked a couple of mint tea bags in the liquor to give it back a green tint.

We then ran the original 151-blend through the distiller and it was also tasty and drinkable.

[monkeyrotica]

I did a similar thing by soaking a pound of wormwood I got from a healthfood store in a bottle of Pernod and letting it sit for a couple weeks. Pretty vile, but Pernod is pretty vile to begin with. I don't know how much thujone leached in, but it really wasn't worth drinking. Imagine drinking a glass of bitter licorice. Now imagine drinking it with your head firmly lodged in an elephant's butt.

[sku]

St. George in Alameda, California, the only current domestic maker of Absinthe, uses brandy as a base. I assume you could take some brandy and infuse it with various botanicals such as fennel and anise.

Of course, you want to be very careful with wormwood as it's poison.

[JMF]

Impossible to make absinthe at home unless you have a still. Absinthe can't be done as an infusion or by compounding.

What's with the big deal with absinthe anyway? It's all hype to me... and I will ride the wave and make it if I have to.

[JK Grence the Cosmic Jester]

It's that it's been banned for decades and is now available again. Most Americans won't like it due to the overtones of black licorice provided by the anise that plays a big part in the flavor profile.

[houndgirl]

I guess these kits make something along the lines of an "absinthe-like" liqueur. I enjoy the licorice flavor in Pernod, etc. I'd like to try it, but it's not available in Michigan yet as far as I know. Guess I'll have to take a road trip to Chicago.