Death in the P.M. Recipe
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The first version of this cocktail is attributed to Ernest Hemingway and is named after his novel Death in the Afternoon. The libation is an odd combination of absinthe and sparkling wine, and we feel that Hemingway’s suggested proportions were a bit too much (roughly 1 part absinthe to 4 parts champagne), so we adjusted them to our liking. And, now that absinthe is legal again, you can try this with the real thing.
What to buy: Lucid is one of the most widely available absinthes. If you can’t find it, substitute another anise-flavored liqueur such as pastis or Pernod.
This recipe was featured in both our Valentine’s Day story and our Absinthe Obsessive.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 part absinthe or other anise-flavored liqueur
- 10 parts chilled brut sparkling wine
INSTRUCTIONS
Pour absinthe into a chilled champagne glass. Top with sparkling wine and serve.
Stavin is right on, but Absinthe was also legal in France and the Chech Republic. Its better today than it ever was, this cocktail lives up to its name. I suggest no more than 2 with a hit off the 2-banger, will set you right for hours
There are a few great absinthe cocktails floating around Portland, Or these days as well as locally produced absinthe.
Obsello is another available absinthe, that is a better choice than Lucid. The lower alcohol content makes for better flavor.
StavinChain is absolutely right, and if you do the research you will find that today's absinthe is nearly identical in content to the artisan absinthes. Anyone expecting to hallucinate is under a very wrong impression. It is now known that any detrimental psychoactive effects were due to the extraordinarily high alcohol content.
Even with modern-day ones, you have to be careful when drinking, some are upwards of 110 proof!
YUM. The Red Room in Santa Cruz has a version of this... I do love a literary cocktail. :)
10:1 seems a little light on the absinthe, seeing how 3:1 or 4:1 with ice water is traditionally recommended for absinthe. I am not sure if a DITA can be properly mixed with a blanche, but I think Kübler is a better choice than Lucid.
Read my review of Kübler here: http://www.liquor-pig.blogspot.com/
So many people have been saying that today's legal absinthe is not the same as what was made before the 1912 prohibition. This is simply poppycock. If you would like to know the facts about absinthe, you might want to take a look at http://www.feeverte.net/faq-absinthe.... where you'll find, among other things, that pre-ban absinthe bottles continue to pop up in cellars, that absinthe was never banned in Spain, and that today's absinthe (thanks to the retropioneering work of T. A. Breaux and others) is amazingly similar (one might say "identical"), from herbal blend to thujone content, and from flavor to proof, to that which was produced in Hemingway's time. You can also read about the reasons for the ban, which had less to do with its true psychoactive dangers than with a couple of folks named Magnan and Lanfray.
That is probably best.
The absinthe that is "legal" now is not the absinthe Hemingway once enjoyed, so to call it the "real thing" is a little misleading.