Is absinthe the next "it" drink on the alcoholic spirits scene?
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The Canberra Distillery hopes so, with the small batch distillery set to launch its own version of the bright green spirit at the end of the month.
But step one in getting Australians on board with absinthe is correcting a few misunderstandings about the spirit.
Firstly, despite its reputation, it's not a hallucinogen so don't expect to see Kyle Minogue dressed as The Green Fairy, any time soon (like in Baz Luhermann's Moulin Rouge).
You're also not at risk of wormwood poisoning, as first thought, and the ban on absinthe in Australia was lifted in 2021.
"There's a big misconception about absinthe being illegal in so many different countries because of the wormwood," distiller Leo Salancon said.
"If you have too much wormwood you can create a poison. But actually, you will get poisoned from the alcohol long before you get poisoned from the wormwood. But for a long time, people were blaming the wormwood.
"Actually the same poison that's in wormwood [thujone] is actually in sage and there's a higher concentration of it in sage."
The other misunderstanding comes with the flavour. While most people expect the drink to taste like liquorice - as one of the botanicals used is aniseed - but it's not like drinking a liquid black jelly bean. The aniseed flavour isn't that overpowering.
"Other people base their idea of absinthe off The Green Fairy," Ms Salancon said.
"And it's terrible. Green Fairy is a mouthwash. It's not real absinthe and more minty than it is aniseed.
"So when we set out to create our absinthe, we actually wanted to create a more traditional method. And I'm looking at the French recipes because that's my background."
Their first stop was a recipe from the 1700s which used a fermentation method. However, on a large scale, this centuries-old recipe wouldn't produce enough alcohol to warrant the time it took to create.
Instead, they decided to work with a neutral spirit that they could then work with their chosen botanicals - including aniseed, wormwood, fennel seed and lemon balm - while still controlling the alcohol level.
Ms Salancon said it was a balance to ensure it wasn't too alcoholic that people didn't want to drink it, but not too diluted that you lost the flavours of the botanicals. The final product has a 55 per cent alcohol by volume (ABV), with traditional absinthe sitting around 65 per cent.
"We wanted to create a product that didn't just have one flavour, but was layered," Ms Salancon said.
"And by still having a high alcohol level, you don't lose too much of the flavour."
The final thing The Canberra Distillery wants Canberrans to learn is how to enjoy absinthe - and that's with a mix of sugar and water.
Traditionally this is done with an absinthe fountain and a special slotted spoon, which sees ice water dripped over a cube of sugar and into the glass of absinthe. The sugar is dissolved into the spirit and helps lift the flavour of the botanicals.
For people at home - who don't happen to have this special equipment in their cupboard - the team at The Canberra Distillery have determined the correct ratio of sugar syrup to create the same effect.
"Our perfect ratio is 6.5 grams of sugar with 50ml of iced water," Ms Salancon said.
"It's then a shot of absinthe with a shot of that syrup - so that's how you drink it at home.
"So yes, you can have the fancy aspect of it with the fountain, but we wanted to make it easy for people at home."
The Canberra Distillery's absinthe will be available from June 21 from their cellar door in Mitchell.