I adore absinthe and until recently, the only way that I got to feed my passion for it was when anyone would travel to France and smuggle some back! For the uninitiated, Absinthe is a wonderfully anise flavored liquor and it is indeed a liquor , not a liqueur as it has no added sugar. It is very strong and although extremely pleasant has a tendency to sneak up you quickly, hence earning it's nickname "The Green Fairy!"
I had been reading with great anticipation about the arrival in the US of a true Absinthe Superiore' named very appropriately ,"Lucid". Lucid is one of two true Absinthes now available in the United States, the definition of "true absinthe" being the inclusion of Grand Wormwood, a beautifully earthy flavored and somewhat hallucinagenically suspect herb due to the presence of the chemical Thujone, which is somewhat psychoactive. The distribution was very limited and it was only about two months ago on a trip to Baltimore that I was able to find a bottle in a wonderful little state store in Georgetown.

I carried it home and waited for the appropriate occasion to open it, as it seemed way too special for an everyday treat. The opportunity presented itself on a beautiful June night, when the stars aligned in just the right way and my nephew , son and my "second son" were in town at the same time. Alex (my son) would be leaving the next day to go on a month long adventure by train across the United States,Zach "my second son" would be leaving shortly for a pilgrimage to Vietnam and nephew Michael would be going home to Portland not knowing when he would again return. We decided that the opportunity for a barbecue was at hand and we grilled beautiful steaks rubbed with fresh herbs, corn on the cob and had lovely Caprese salad made by my nephews girlfriend Molly who after spending several summers in Italy is practically a native!

Needless to say, the evening was perfect and after we were satiated and watching the fireflies dance around we decided that we would open the treasured bottle of Lucid. We did so with great flourish following grand tradition by pouring some of the Lucid into a snifter , placing a sugar cube in the slotted absinthe spoon and positioning the spoon on top of the glass. Then we slowly dripped ice spring water through the slotted spoon, creating what is known in the Absinthe world as the "Louche" , a gorgeous opalescence that is the result of the non water soluble essential oils being released from the Absinthe.

As we sat on the patio that lovely spring eve, we were in the company of some of the greatest creative minds ..... Vincent Van Gogh, Baudelaire, Oscar Wilde and the fabulous Ernest Hemingway were all devotee's of the lovely "Green Fairy". We spent a delightful evening speaking of dreams and lifetime desires and while I can say that my experience was not of an out of body sort, I will tell you that Lucid does not in any way dissapoint. It is clean tasting , delicious and would be wonderful in any of the traditional cocktails that call for a touch of Absinthe such a the Sazerac or Ernest Hemingways favorite "Death in the Afternoon', a fairly potent combination of Champagne and Absinthe.

As I have now found Lucid to be available in Ohio (One of the most conservative of the 50 states!) I would imagine that you will be able to find it easily anywhere. I have attached the link for Lucid as well as a link to a fabulous article by Eric Asimov. I hope that you will try this delicious bit of history and create your own wonderful memories!