It’s Time For Some Absinthe

In case you didn’t know, each alcoholic drink has its day of the year. With March 5th as the International Absinthe Day, we wanted to share with our readers a bit of history and our favorite absinthe cocktail recipe.

Madness? This Is Absinthe!

Even though this fairly strong alcoholic beverage originated from late XVIII century Switzerland, people usually associate absinthe with its popularity among writers and painters of the early 1900’s, like Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, and Vincent van Gogh.

The most common misconception about absinthe was that it could cause psychedelic trips or even madness, and that it was the main culprit for van Gogh’s ear-cutting accident.

Thankfully, common sense proved that this belief had nothing to do with the truth, and we’re now able to choose any of over 200 brands of absinthe.

The Griffith Park Swizzle

Aside from the creative minds of the modern era, absinthe is fairly popular among young people who like beach parties and heavy drinking. This is where the Griffith Park Swizzle comes in, as it was created in LA, California, to suit the colorful surroundings and wild nights at the beach.

Here is what you’ll need for this cocktail:

• 1 oz of syrup
• 1 oz of fresh lime juice
• ¼ glass of absinthe
• ½ glass of bourbon
• 1 sugar cube
• Mint leaves
• ¼ glass of bitters

Now follow these steps:

1. Combine the sugar cube, mint leaves, lime juice, syrup, absinthe and bourbon in a small tin.
2. Transfer the mixture into a glass, add crushed ice and bitters and stir the fluid a bit.
3. Top the cocktail with more crushed ice and some mint leaves.

Bottoms up!