Absinthe is usually served with a slow drip of iced water. Shaken into a sour with fresh lemon and a little sugar, its wormwood and anise turn crisp and surprisingly refreshing, and an egg white gives the drink a pale green, velvety head.
1¼ oz
absinthe a verte of around 60 to 68% ABVe.g. Pernod · La Clandestine · Kübler · St. George · Lucid
¾ oz
lemon juice
½ oz
simple syrup adjust from 10 to 20 ml to taste
1
egg white for a silky foam (optional)
Garnish: Lemon twist · Ice: Served up, no ice
Absinthe Sour
Cool anise and wormwood up front, then bright lemon acidity and a gentle sweetness. Strong, but the citrus and foam make it feel lighter than it is.
The sour is one of the oldest drink families in the bartender's book: spirit, citrus and sugar, shaken with ice. Jerry Thomas already listed several sours in his 1862 guide, and bartenders have run almost every spirit through the formula since.
Absinthe itself is a high-proof anise spirit flavoured with grand wormwood, first distilled commercially in the Val-de-Travers region of Switzerland and made famous in France in the 19th century. After it was banned in Switzerland, France and several other countries in the early 20th century, it largely disappeared from bars. Since its return to legal shelves around the turn of the millennium, bartenders have used it far more freely, and the Absinthe Sour is one of the simplest ways to taste it in a mixed drink. No single creator is known; it is best seen as a natural member of the sour family.
Because absinthe is often bottled at 60% ABV or more, the finished drink lands at roughly 18 to 20% ABV, noticeably stronger than a Whiskey Sour.
Yes. The drink will be sharper and thinner, but just as balanced; many bartenders serve it on the rocks in that case.
A classic green (verte) or clear (blanche) absinthe with real wormwood character. Avoid artificially coloured, very sweet products.
The perfect sound
A mysterious green hour in a candlelit Paris bar.
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