Spirits

Absinthe

Absinthe is a high-strength spirit whose flavour comes from fennel, green anise and grand wormwood, bottled anywhere from 45 to 74% ABV; our recipes assume 68%. GB law gives it no definition of its own, so it goes on sale as a spirit drink, and a drink made with wormwood may hold no more than 35mg of thujone a kilogram. Cocktails take it by the rinse, the dash or the half teaspoon, and only occasionally by the measure.

Quick Facts

ABV68% ABVBottlings run about 45 to 74%.

Legal categorySpirit drinkAbsinthe has no legal definition, so it is sold as a spirit drink

OriginFrance / Switzerland

Flavour Strengthvery bold

SeasonYear-round

Our keeping timeIndefinitely unopened. Once opened, years if kept sealed and upright out of the light, though the aroma fades slowly.

Storage

Store upright in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight. Reseal tightly after use to prevent evaporation of volatile aromatics.

Allergens

None of the 14 listed allergens.

The ingredient

About Absinthe

Flavour Profile

Primary Flavours

AniseWormwoodHerbalBitterFennel

Tasting Notes

Powerful anise aroma with intense herbal bitterness, fennel sweetness, and a long, dry, lingering finish. Dominant even in trace amounts.

Wormwood, anise and fennel, at high strength

Makers steep fennel, green anise and grand wormwood in neutral spirit and distil it again. Bottled clear, it is a blanche; steeped with more herbs after distillation, it turns green and becomes a verte. It is not traditionally sweetened, and with no definition in GB spirit drink law it is sold under the general heading of spirit drink, usually at 45 to 74% ABV.

It was banned for madness it did not cause

Between 1906 and 1915 Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, America and France banned absinthe, blaming wormwood's thujone for madness and crime. Britain never did. An analysis of 13 pre-ban bottles published in 2008 found thujone levels too low to cause those effects and nothing besides alcohol to explain them. Thujone is still limited: GB food law allows 35mg a kilogram in drinks made from wormwood.

In our recipes it arrives by the rinse and the dash

How absinthe goes into a drink matters more than which bottle you buy. The table shows the four methods our recipes use.

How absinthe goes into our recipes

Rinse

Amount: About 5 to 10ml, turned and tipped out
What stays in the drink: A film of aroma
Our recipes: Sazerac, Chrysanthemum, Corpse Reviver No. 2

Dash or half teaspoon

Amount: 2 dashes to 2.5ml
What stays in the drink: All of it, as a seasoning
Our recipes: Tuxedo, Turf Club, La Louisiane

Small measure

Amount: 7.5 to 15ml
What stays in the drink: All of it, as a lead note
Our recipes: Doctor Funk, Monkey Gland

Full measure

Amount: 30ml
What stays in the drink: The main spirit
Our recipes: Absinthe Drip, Death in the Afternoon

Method	Amount	What stays in the drink	Our recipes
Rinse	About 5 to 10ml, turned and tipped out	A film of aroma	Sazerac, Chrysanthemum, Corpse Reviver No. 2
Dash or half teaspoon	2 dashes to 2.5ml	All of it, as a seasoning	Tuxedo, Turf Club, La Louisiane
Small measure	7.5 to 15ml	All of it, as a lead note	Doctor Funk, Monkey Gland
Full measure	30ml	The main spirit	Absinthe Drip, Death in the Afternoon

Water turns it cloudy, and that is the point

The Absinthe Drip lengthens 30ml with three to five times its volume of iced water, added drop by drop, often over sugar held in a slotted spoon. The herbs' oils stay dissolved only while the alcohol is strong; as the water lands they separate into a fine haze and the drink turns opalescent, the louche. An absinthe fountain drips the water for you. In the Death in the Afternoon Champagne plays the water's part.

Using it

Using Absinthe

Usage

15 of our recipes use it. Most take a rinse, a couple of dashes or 1.25 to 2.5ml stirred in, as in the Sazerac, the Tuxedo and the Turf Club. The Doctor Funk takes 7.5ml and the Monkey Gland 15ml, and the Absinthe Drip and Death in the Afternoon lead with 30ml.

Pro Tip

If you only keep one anise bottle, make it absinthe and use it sparingly. It covers the rinses and dashes in our recipes, and where a recipe gives drops of Pernod, the same drops of absinthe do the job with a drier, more herbal edge.

Top Tips

Measure it with a barspoon or a jigger, never a free pour. At 68%, a few millilitres too many and anise takes over the drink.
For a rinse, pour about 5ml into the chilled glass, turn it to coat the inside, then tip out the excess. The aroma stays; the alcohol mostly goes.
Read the label for strength. Bottles range from 45 to 74%, and both the anise and the units in a recipe follow it.
Add water slowly when drinking it long. Dripped iced water clouds it gradually and opens the aroma; a fast pour flattens it.

Possible Substitutions

Pernod: Less bitter, more anise

Production Method

Neutral spirit macerated with fennel, green anise and grand wormwood and redistilled to give a clear blanche; a verte then steeps further herbs in it for colour and flavour.

History & Context

Absinthe was banned in Belgium in 1906, the Netherlands in 1909, Switzerland in 1910, America in 1912 and France in 1915, but never in the United Kingdom. Belgium and Switzerland lifted their bans in 2005, the United States in 2007 and France formally in 2011. Analysis of pre-ban bottles has since found too little thujone to explain the effects once blamed on it.

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

Is absinthe hallucinogenic?

No. The idea rests on thujone, a compound in wormwood, but analysis of 13 bottles from before the bans found levels far too low to cause hallucinations; the researchers found nothing besides alcohol to explain the illness blamed on absinthe. Its real risk is its strength, often 68% or more.

Why was absinthe banned?

In the early twentieth century it was blamed for madness and crime, and Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United States and France banned it between 1906 and 1915. The case against it confused the effects of heavy drinking at high strength with those of wormwood. The bans were lifted from 2005 onwards.

Was absinthe ever banned in the UK?

No. Britain never banned it. That let a British importer bring in a Czech absinthe in the 1990s and help start its revival. Today it is sold in Great Britain as a spirit drink, with a thujone limit of 35mg a kilogram for drinks made from wormwood.

How do you use an absinthe fountain?

Pour a 30ml measure of absinthe. For a sweetened drink, set a slotted spoon on top of the glass and put a sugar cube in the spoon. Open the fountain's tap just enough for a slow drip, and close it when the water is three to five times the absinthe and the drink is cloudy right through.

What is an absinthe rinse?

A way to add the aroma without the volume. Pour a few millilitres into a chilled glass, turn it so the absinthe coats the inside, and tip out what is left before building the drink. Our Sazerac, Chrysanthemum and Corpse Reviver No. 2 all start this way.

How strong is absinthe?

Usually 45 to 74% ABV; our recipes assume 68%. A 30ml measure at 68% contains roughly two UK units, the same as 50ml of a 40% spirit. Most recipes use it by the dash or the rinse, where the amount that reaches the glass is tiny.

What is the difference between absinthe and Pernod?

Wormwood, sugar and strength. Absinthe carries grand wormwood, is usually 45 to 74%, and is not traditionally sweetened. Pernod is a 40% anise spirit drink made mainly from star anise and fennel, with a little sugar. In drops either works; at a measure they make different drinks.

What is the difference between blanche and verte absinthe?

A blanche goes into the bottle clear after distillation and tastes cleaner. A verte starts as a blanche and steeps more herbs before bottling, which gives it a green colour and a deeper herbal flavour. Our Doctor Funk line notes the difference: the verte adds depth, the blanche keeps it cleaner.

Make something

Made with Absinthe

Featured In These Cocktails

Doctor Funk Death in the Afternoon Absinthe Drip Sazerac Corpse Reviver No. 2 Monkey Gland

Show all 15 cocktails

21st Century Chrysanthemum Improved Whiskey Cocktail La Louisiane Morning Glory Fizz Rattlesnake Remember the Maine Turf Club Tuxedo

Often Used With

Updated 10 October 2026

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