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There used to be one on the parent site but I think those recipes are gone.

There are some recipes on this thread but here is another thread that discusses making absinthe.
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=25864

Bushman wrote: ↑Mon May 25, 2020 7:33 am There are some recipes on this thread but here is another thread that discusses making absinthe.
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=25864

I’ve seen that it exists, but my viewing limitation of only the past 12 months does’t let me into it. Thanks for the pointer though.

Some classic 19th century recipes here:

https://books.google.com/books?id=li8tA ... #v=onepage

They can all be scaled down to more moderately sized batches.

One small note of caution - the recipe for Absinthe of NImes mentions the root of black alder. This is a mistranslation from the original French and should be elecampane root. That said, of all the absinthes in this book, the Nimes recipe was the one I found most disappointing.

Welp, this is an old thread but I am getting pretty old myself and I wouldn’t mind being revived either, so…

I am at the minute trying my first attempt at absinthe, although I have no tails from a previous batch to use.

I am using a double-dose of botanicals for this run, intending to blend it with neutral afterwards, but I get a good rich tails this way, for next time.

Meanwhile I have a question for more experienced absinthiers: how much can I expect the colouring stage to affect the flavour? I would like to try some different herb combos at that stage, but if they are for colour only then there’s no point.
I assume there is a battle between flavour of the colouring herbs being noticeable vs being muddy, and the colour being clear too.

I will not be using Roman wormwood.

I can confirm that anise is not the only story regarding louche:

I have just done a run that I am calling “Aromat” consisting of all the things I might like to add into an absinthe or gin, but which contains NO anise (nor wormwood or fennel) and it louched immediately despite it being my first ever run (ie, I have not used a previous tails as the water for this one)

BaconWizard wrote: ↑Fri Oct 01, 2021 1:39 pm Meanwhile I have a question for more experienced absinthiers: how much can I expect the colouring stage to affect the flavour?

The point of the finishing step is to add additional flavoring, as well as color, in much the same way as oaking a whiskey adds both flavor and color. I personally feel that Roman wormwood is a key part of that, although I appreciate it can be hard to find. I strongly recommend growing your own if at all possible.

sweeps wrote: ↑Sat Oct 02, 2021 6:32 am
The point of the finishing step is to add additional flavoring, as well as color, in much the same way as oaking a whiskey adds both flavor and color. I personally feel that Roman wormwood is a key part of that, although I appreciate it can be hard to find. I strongly recommend growing your own if at all possible.

Hmm, I’ll have to look into that then. Thanks.

The good news is that if you can find a start for it, it's really easy to grow and one plant can keep you well supplied.

WhiteLightning wrote: ↑Wed Jan 18, 2006 8:41 pm opium? i dont think so. sugar is though. The "fairies" come from the hallucinagen "Thujone" which is found the the Absinthium Artemis plant through the stems, leaves, and flowers.

Thujone: A ketone monoterpene, this compound blocks GABA receptors, which are neurotransmitters, making thujone a neurotoxin, not a hallucinogen

even at toxic levels it does not cause hallucinations, it causes vomiting and convulsions

pope wrote: ↑Mon May 25, 2020 6:47 am There used to be one on the parent site but I think those recipes are gone.

Nope, the Wayback Machine can get you back to the original parent site ...

https://web.archive.org/web/20141005190 ... l/absinthe

Here's a few recipes that were available in 2014:


An article on Absinthe (Scientific American, June 1989, pp112-117) describes a 1855 recipe from Pontarlier, France. Here is a scaled down version you can try:

Macerate 25g wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), 50g anise, and 50g fennel (all finely divided) in 950ml 85%abv in a 2l flask. (Note: no heat was specified for extraction).
Add 450ml distilled water.
Do a pot still distillation, collecting 950ml of distillate.
Separate 400ml of the distillate, add 10g Roman wormwood (Artemisia pontica), 10g hyssop, 5g lemon balm, and macerate at 60C.
Filter and reunite with the remaining 550ml and dilute to 74%abv to produce 1litre of Absinthe.

Note: I think you use crushed aniseed and fennel seed, as it is the seed that has the strongest flavor. You can see that it is the anise flavor that predominates.


... and ...


Absinthe (1653)

20 L wash 14-18%abv
750g Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium)
750g Roman wormwood (Artemisia pontica)
4 tbsp Sage
4 tbsp Mint
4 tbsp Lemon balm
20g Galangal
20g Ginger
20g Sweet Flag (Acorus calamus)
20g Elecampane
50g Liquorice root
150g Raisins
20g Aniseed
20g Fennel seeds
15g Cinnamon
15g Nutmeg
5g Cardamon
5g Cubeb pepper (Piper cubeba)
Macerate chopped ingredients for at least 12 hours and then distill. Add 1 cup of sugar/litre of distillate. Absinthe was originally about 60%abv, while the above 1653 recipe was intended to be a single pot distillation.

Version 2 was much improved!
I did not have any tails to recycle for this run, but I have kept them this time and will include in future runs. So it’s all upwards from here!
But it’s very drinkable even though it’s only 2 weeks old (so perhaps it’s a bit TOO gentle?)

I am very happy, my cheap pot still and I have done ok!

Now it’s repeat with recycled tails and minor adjustments here and there.

What should I do with the herbs left in the still after distillation? Re-use or throw-out?

Just finished my first try at absinthe. I used the 1855 Pontarlier recipe, but scaled down to home use:

5 liters 90% neutral
125 gm wormwood
250 gm anise seed
250 gm fennel seed

I macerated for three days. Due to the height of the element in my boiler and not wanting it to be exposed I proofed down quite a bit. I put the botanicals in stainless dry hop baskets in the boiler. I packed a couple sight glasses with copper mesh as the column and ran fairly slowly. The first 50 ml were tossed to make sure any potential nasty flavors from the beginning of the botanicals were removed, then collected in a gallon jug followed by a couple 1/2 liter jars. At that point the abv dropped and the distillate was cloudy.

All said and done I ended up with just under 4.75 liters @77%. I have never had commercial absinthe so can't compare. I'm out of botanicals so won't be making a green absinthe. It is smooth and like an herbal Ouzo. I wasn't really sure what to expect but I really like it. I don't have any fancy absinthe equipment, just poor it over ice and wait until it louches so I know its proofed down. I don't think it needs any sugar, but I generally don't like sweet cocktails.




:

Phdoc007 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 19, 2022 5:53 am What should I do with the herbs left in the still after distillation? Re-use or throw-out?

Toss them, they are spent. All the oils you want are in your distillate.

desert_distiller wrote: ↑Fri Jun 17, 2022 1:48 am Just finished my first try at absinthe. I used the 1855 Pontarlier recipe, but scaled down to home use:

5 liters 90% neutral
125 gm wormwood
250 gm anise seed
250 gm fennel seed

I macerated for three days. Due to the height of the element in my boiler and not wanting it to be exposed I proofed down quite a bit. I put the botanicals in stainless dry hop baskets in the boiler. I packed a couple sight glasses with copper mesh as the column and ran fairly slowly. The first 50 ml were tossed to make sure any potential nasty flavors from the beginning of the botanicals were removed, then collected in a gallon jug followed by a couple 1/2 liter jars. At that point the abv dropped and the distillate was cloudy.

All said and done I ended up with just under 4.75 liters @77%. I have never had commercial absinthe so can't compare. I'm out of botanicals so won't be making a green absinthe. It is smooth and like an herbal Ouzo. I wasn't really sure what to expect but I really like it. I don't have any fancy absinthe equipment, just poor it over ice and wait until it louches so I know its proofed down. I don't think it needs any sugar, but I generally don't like sweet cocktails
:

You get vote! Sounds so good it makes my mouth water! Congratulations! I’m still working in a decent gin.