Spirits

Absinthe

Absinthe is a high-strength spirit whose flavour comes from fennel, green anise and grand wormwood, bottled strong; our recipes assume 68% ABV. Regulation (EC) 110/2008 gives it no definition of its own, so it goes on sale as a spirit drink, and Regulation (EC) 1334/2008 limits drinks made from wormwood to 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% ABVThe Oxford Companion gives typical bottling strengths of 55 to 72% ABV; our recipes count absinthe at 68%.

Legal categorySpirit drinkRegulation (EC) 110/2008 has no absinthe category, 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, typically at 55 to 72% 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

The Oxford Companion dates the bans to Belgium in 1906, the Netherlands in 1909, Switzerland in 1910, the United States in 1912 and France in 1915; Difford’s Guide puts Belgium in 1905, the Netherlands in 1910 and France’s emergency ban on 16 August 1914. Difford’s says absinthe was never banned in the United Kingdom, where supplies dried up when the French ban came in. In 1998 George Rowley’s Green Bohemia signed for the first legal shipment of Czech absinth, and La Fée, launched in 2000, was the first traditional absinthe produced in France since the ban. A 2008 analysis of pre-ban bottles by Lachenmeier and colleagues in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found nothing besides alcohol to explain the effects once blamed on thujone.

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

Is absinthe hallucinogenic?

No. The idea rests on thujone, a compound in wormwood, but a 2008 analysis of 13 pre-ban bottles by Lachenmeier and colleagues, in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, found thujone generally overestimated, and nothing besides alcohol to explain the illness blamed on absinthe. Its real risk is its strength.

Why was absinthe banned?

In the early twentieth century it was blamed for madness and crime. The Oxford Companion lists bans from Belgium in 1906 to France in 1915; Difford’s Guide dates Belgium’s to 1905 and France’s emergency ban to 16 August 1914. The case against it confused the effects of heavy drinking at high strength with those of wormwood.

Was absinthe ever banned in the UK?

No. Difford’s Guide says Britain never banned it: supplies dried up when France did, and the First World War followed. In 1998 George Rowley’s Green Bohemia signed for the first legal shipment of Czech absinth. Today it is sold in Great Britain as a spirit drink, with a 35mg a kilogram thujone limit under Regulation (EC) 1334/2008.

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?

The Oxford Companion says absinthe is typically bottled at 55 to 72% 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 and, the Oxford Companion says, contains no added sugar. Pernod Ricard’s own site lists Pernod at 40%, made from star anise, fennel and other plants, 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.

Sources.

Checked between 16 October and 20 October 2026.

legislation.gov.uk, “Regulation (EC) No 110/2008, Annex II (as retained in UK law)”.
legislation.gov.uk, “Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008, Annex III (as retained in UK law)”.
PubMed, “Chemical composition of vintage preban absinthe (Lachenmeier and others, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2008)” (abstract of the peer-reviewed study).
The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails (Gwydion Stone), “absinthe” (secondary source: typically bottled at 55 to 72% ABV; no added sugar; bans in Belgium 1906, the Netherlands 1909, Switzerland 1910, the United States 1912, France 1915).
Pernod Ricard, “Pernod”.
Difford’s Guide, “Absinthe renaissance” (secondary source: Britain had never banned absinthe, supplies dried up after the French ban; the first legal shipment of Czech absinth, 9 November 1998).
Difford’s Guide, “Why absinthe was banned” (secondary source: bans in Belgium 1905, Switzerland 1910, the Netherlands 1910, the USA 1912, France 16 August 1914; La Fée, 2000).

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 20 October 2026

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