Round Robin Recipe
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Now that absinthe is legal again, many an old-school cocktail is being revived, and all the drinks that were substituting other anise-flavored liqueurs such as Pernod can go back to using the real thing. But many people shy away from absinthe due to its strong flavor. This slightly sweet cocktail shows the liquor’s more feminine side, balancing the anise flavor nicely with orange bitters.
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.
When a recipe calls for blood orange bitters, we turn to Stirrings brand; it can be found at specialty liquor stores. If you can’t find it, use regular orange bitters or omit this ingredient.
Simple syrup can be found at most liquor stores, or you can make your own.
This recipe was featured as part of our Absinthe Obsessive story.
- 1 large egg white
- 1 ounce absinthe
- 1 ounce brandy
- 1 teaspoon superfine sugar or Rich Simple Syrup
- Dash blood orange bitters
- Ice
- Combine egg white, absinthe, brandy, sugar or simple syrup, and bitters in a cocktail shaker, then fill the shaker with ice. Shake vigorously until condensation beads up on the outside of the shaker, at least 30 seconds. Strain contents into a wineglass and serve.
For the record, US "absinthe is legal again" in the sense of the name now being allowed on the label. Many people have written about this US law change. Few of them have cited the other products already on the US market and similar to the new absinthes (containing wormwood flavorings but low thujone), or that thujone, the stigmatized herb principle, occurs in much higher concentrations in foods declared totally safe and legal by the FDA, or that in any absinthe, according to data public in your local library for decades, the main toxic ingredient by huge margin is the one familiar in all spirits: alcohol.
With luck, the misleading mystique will finally fade and people will return to using absinthe as they traditionally did, for flavoring cocktails, steaming shellfish, etc.