Known for its green color, black licorice taste and supposed hallucinogenic properties, absinthe goes by many clashing names. Is it the green fairy, or the green fiend? The green muse, or the green menace? The sacred herb, or the devilโs drink?
Science and clear-headed historical investigation tell us the technical answers are neither, neither and neither, respectively, but that hasnโt stopped absintheโs dueling legends from swirling. The one sideโgiven a boost by the long string of artistic and cultural giants whoโve sworn by it, like Baudelaire, Manet, Degas, Wilde, Picasso and Hemingwayโis that itโs high inspiration in a glass. The other sideโpropagated by countless warning voices since the liquorโs popularization in mid-1800s Franceโis that itโs a bewitching siren, beckoning the impetuous to their doom.
You can see how both treatments could end up making it all the more alluring. So could the special way it was prepared. The classic method splashes absinthe into a glass, then places a flat slotted spoon across the rim with a sugar cube on top. Water is then carefully poured over the sugar, slowly melting it into the pool below, the liquorโs bright, transparent green morphing into a pale, opaque green-yellow.
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By 1880, the application of mass production techniques had helped absintheโuntil then largely a European devotionโmake its mark in America, and in New Haven. Under the heading โThe Dangers of Absinthe,โ the December 21 New Haven Evening Register sounded a false but no doubt effective alarm:
The habitual drinker becomes at first dull, languid; is soon completely brutalized, and then goes raving mad. โฆ The drinker is in most cases in seeming good health, having no thought of his peril, until the hour when illness has declared itself. He is apt, indeed, to believe that he is remarkably well, and to consider all the stories about absinthe mere bugaboos. The earliest symptoms of ailment lead to an examination, and to the knowledge that his entire system is deranged, usually beyond restoration. His first illness is apt to become his last, and death is a welcome relief.
Yet absinthe continued to be a favored drink for the rogue and the vogue, as subsequent Register editions indicate. In March 1882, a gossip column about famed actress Sarah Bernhardtโs son, Maurice, described him as a graceful athlete who could fence with the best, but also as a pleasure-seeking playboy, an incorrigible spendthrift and a heavy drinker of absinthe. A June 1885 dispatch characterized New York Cityโs โbest-knownโฆ dudeโโat that time meaning โdandyโโas โaddicted to the single glass, evening dress, absinthe, late suppers and ladiesโ ballet.โ An October 1885 dispatch says, โAt the Pequot House New London, where most of the foreign diplomats were this summer, the favorite drinks were absinthe and French liqueurs.โ A June 1890 edition told of a rascal who, on his way to โcall on some ladies,โ would ask bartenders to put a few drops of absinthe on his fingers. He would then run the stuff through his mustache, thus hiding the less desirable scent of the whiskey heโd actually been drinking.
Absinthe was a drink for the fashionable, the cosmopolitan, the rakish, the bohemianโand anybody who aspired to the same. You could say something similar today, on the other side of 125 yearsโ95 of which saw absinthe banned in the U.S.โand you wouldnโt be wrong.
But on the other hand, itโs always in style to just drink what you like, and absinthe isnโt merely aspirational. Even without those fabled hallucinations, the liquorโs buzz is noticeably different from most othersโ. It develops more smoothly and roundly, like one big arc instead of a series of escalating pulses. It gives you timely notice of whatโs happening, so you can enjoy it more, and reflect on it.
That was the general feeling yesterday evening at The 9th Note jazz club, 56 Orange Street, where โAbsinthe Wednesdayโ saved drinkers $2 a pop. The owner, Christian OโDowd, and the core of regulars whoโd convened at the bar, seemed buoyant, as if riding a wave theyโd had time to reflect upon.
You wouldnโt think it would feel like such a positive moment. Following months of uncertainty catalyzed by a set of mysterious, anonymous noise complaints, the clubโs officially been evicted from its Ninth Square home. This Saturday marks the last night of service.
But it seems as if thereโs some relief in this new certainty, and an optimistic sense that the eviction is only a temporary setback. OโDowd says heโs working on securing a โbigger, betterโ location downtown.
For the next three days, at least, you can still find the green fairy at 56 Orange. Having given absinthe a place of honor befitting its hereditary coolnessโoff-menuโthere are still plenty of signs that itโs available, like the absinthe-soaked gummy bears the bartender will offer you if youโre looking a little peckish. Thereโs the traditional serving accoutrementโornate glass, slotted spoon, sugar cubesโkept on the back bar, not to forget the bottle of green stuff labeled โGrande Absente.โ If youโre really eagle-eyed, you might even spot the โno absintheโ list posted behind the bar, a facetious do-not-serve list thatโs more like an honor roll. OโDowd says he uses it to rib the various characters who come into the bar, including his most diehard regulars.
If you order a classic absinthe from bartender Jesse Burke, heโll follow the steps detailed earlier, using a small silvery kettle with curved spout to do the water-pouring, and he can tell you plenty about the history if you ask. The glass I had was balanced: each taste brought a blast of sweet licorice, not bitter, with a fresh, herbaceous undertone. Despite the absinthe being 138-proof, it hardly burned at all on the way down, leaving just a slight singe in the throatโa memory of something that came before, to be renewed with the next sip.
The 9th Note
For three more days: 56 Orange St, New Haven (map)
Today 4pm-1am, Fri-Sat 4pm-2am
(203) 691-9918
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Written and photographed by Dan Mims.