Absinthe Old Fashioned Recipe
Absinthe given the Old Fashioned treatment: sweetened, bittered and stirred over ice, with elderflower liqueur taking the edge off the anise.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Old fashioned glass
- ABV: 20%
- Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
- Absinthe45 ml (1.5 oz)
- Elderflower liqueur15 ml (0.5 oz)
- Peychaud's bitters4 dash
- Simple syrup30 ml (1 oz)
How to Make It
- Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice.
- Stir a little longer than usual; absinthe this strong needs the dilution.
- Strain into an old fashioned glass over one large ice cube.
- Serve without a garnish.
Garnish
None
What it tastes like
The sweetness is pronounced, it has a green, botanical backdrop and it carries a floral top note.
The technique
Stirring. All-spirit drinks are stirred — shaking whips air into them and ruins both the clarity and the texture. Thirty to forty seconds in a mixing glass, the spoon tracing the wall. You are after the same ~20% dilution, just slower and under control.
Glass and ice
A heavy-bottomed, wide old fashioned glass. Wide enough for one large cube, which is the point: a big cube has less surface area, so the drink gets cold without getting watery.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Absinthe
- The anise spirit, 55-70% alcohol. In cocktails it is used as a rinse rather than a measure: most recipes have you coat the glass and pour the rest away, leaving only the aroma.
- Elderflower liqueur
- Elderflower liqueur, such as St-Germain. Floral and sweet; too much of it reads as perfume, which is why recipes rarely go past 15-20 ml.
- Peychaud's bitters
- The New Orleans bitters — anise and rose, and red in colour. It is what a Sazerac tastes of, and swapping in Angostura makes it a different drink entirely.
- Simple syrup
- One part sugar to one part water, stirred until it dissolves — no need to boil it. Keeps a month in the fridge. No syrup? Use the same amount of honey, loosened with a little water.
The Story
A modern variation on the oldest cocktail template — spirit, sugar, bitters — with its New Orleans cousin, the Sazerac, clearly in mind.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Absinthe Old Fashioned mixed?
- It is stirred and served in an old fashioned glass.
- How strong is a Absinthe Old Fashioned?
- Roughly 20% ABV as served — in fortified-wine territory — plan it as a single drink.
- Can a Absinthe Old Fashioned be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Absinthe Old Fashioned hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.