#6: Absconded French Girlfriend

1 oz Absinthe
1 oz Black Raspberry Liquer
Pour ingredients into a tall glass with ice, then fill with sparkling water.

Absinthe is something I have been wanting to try for quite some time. Not as long as it has been illegal in the US, but since it became legal again. Absinthe is not a liquer, since it is not bottled with added sugar, so it is technically a spirit. It is derived from herbs, the most famous being Artemisia absinthium, or wormwood. Usually it is a natural green color, and is usually bottled at a very high proof and diluted with water when made in a drink.

Absinthe was popular in early 20th century France, mainly among Parisian artists. Partly because of this association, prohibitionists opposed its use, claiming that it was a dangerously addictive psychoactive drug due to the small quantities of the chemical thujone. By 1915 it was banned in the US and most of Europe. Sadly, there has been no evidence that it is any more dangerous than any other distilled spirit.

By the 1990s, many European countries began to allow its manufacture and sale, and by 2007 it was allowed to be both imported to and distilled in the US.

So, with all this history in mind, I made this simple drink. I had luckily been able to find a tiny 100 mL bottle of Absinthe at BevMo for $10.99.  Otherwise I was looking at ponying up over $35 for a bottle that I would probably only have a sip or two from. They keep both the big and little bottles locked up.

As soon as I opened the little bottle, the almost overwhelming smell of licorice and anise wafted out. A tiny bit ran down the side of the bottle after I had poured into the jigger, so I swiped it with my finger and tasted it. That drop was probably 10 cents worth! The strong licorice flavor bit into my tongue, and then spread out nicely. Not bad, but not what I was expecting. I'm not sure I knew what I was expecting, honestly.

The drink retained most of that strong licorice flavor. Not a black licorice, just licorice. I could not taste the equal amount of Black Raspberry Liquer at all. I also couldn't taste much of anything except sparkling licorice-flavored water. Huh. Licorice is not my favorite thing in the world, but if it was, I could see liking this drink. It could be quite refreshing on a humid evening in New Orleans, or you could save the money and have a lemonade instead.

It comes across assort of pretentious. Now the name of the drink makes sense. Don't only pretentious bohemia have French girlfriends, or least use the word absconded? I'm not a French Bohemian, but after a few of these I might talk like one.

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#4: Abbey Road Coffee

1 oz Amaretto
1 oz Black Raspberry Liquer
1 oz Coffee Liquer
Fill glass with hot black coffee, top with whipped cream, and drizzle with chocolate syrup.

This is a twist on the drink from yesterday, the Abbey Road. Same alcohol ingredients, but adding the rest makes it totally different.

I had leftover coffee this morning due to some unforeseen circumstances. The power went out overnight, and still was not on when we got up. In desperate need of our morning coffee, my wife sent me off to the nearest mini-mart, since we could not run the coffee maker without power. Of course, just as I got back with 2 tall black coffees, the power had come back on and she had started the coffee. Our Cuisinart machine has a metal carafe that keeps the coffee warm for hours. Once it is brewed, the machine shuts off and does not actively keep the carafe warmed. One morning I made coffee but never drank it, and the next morning when I emptied it out, the coffee was still hot. Not warm, but hot. So, I had plenty of hot black coffee for this test. Dionysus must be favoring me.

The Amaretto and Coffee Liquer flavors from the regular Abbey Road were masked by the black coffee, which made the Black Rasperry flavor stronger. I thought that this would be an even sweeter drink, what with the whipped cream and the chocolate syrup added, but the black coffee dilutes all of that.

A nice warm drink on a cold rainy day. Or a good holiday party drink. You may need to stir the whipped cream a bit to break it down, or it will end up on your nose, and the photo of you from the holiday party looking like an albino Rudolph will end up on Facebook.

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#3: Abbey Road

1 oz Amaretto
1 oz Black Raspberry Liquer
1 oz Coffee Liquer
Stir in a short glass filled with ice.

Amaretto is an Italian sweet almond-flavored liqueur, made from a base of apricot or almond pits, sometimes both. Not bitter though, even though that is the root word in Italian, as they sweeten it substantially in the distilling process.

While I was mixing this drink, the pourer I put on the Amaretto bottle kept popping off, almost like there was too much pressure in the bottle. Weird, since there is no pressure in the bottle. The only explanation I can think of is that the Amaretto greases the interior of the neck of the bottle, and the tight rubber of the pourer just slid on out in the only direction it had. Up.

This is a very sweet, cold drink, with a strong coffee flavor complimented by the Black Raspberry. Great for sipping, and the coffee flavor seems to stick to the roof of your mouth after each sip.

With this much liquer in it, basically 3 oz of flavored brandy, it could creep up on you. And I guess that's what a lot of drinks with liquers really do. Taste so good that you want more of the candy.

Why is it called an "Abbey Road"? Urbandictionary.com claims that abbey road is "a somewhat obscure way of describing a group of people crossing a street, often in connection with intoxicated homeless or ethnic minorities." The example they give: "It took me forever to drive down main street because it was bar close and a group of drunks were pulling an abbey road."

So, does this drink cause people to line up as they cross the street? Remove their shoes as they do so? Drink so much they lose their homes? We may never know, unless we have a few of these one evening.

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