Absinthe glass. Eric Litton / wikimedia / 2006 / CC BY-SA 2.5
The 5th of March is Absinthe Day.
If you’ve never sample the green elixir called absinthe before, today could be a good day to finally try it.
The day is perfectly timed for March, the green month, with everyone starting to gear up for St Patrick’s Day just a short ways away.
Absinthe is not a liqueur, but rather an unsweetened, licorice-flavored green spirit.
It is often served sweetened, though, by drizzling water in it over a cube of sugar.
In fact, the whole ritual of preparing a glass of absinthe is part of the mystique.
Absinthe was very popular at the turn of the 1900s in the beau monde crowd of artists and writers. It went through a period of being banned because it was blamed for driving people to hallucinations and loose morals, but now, it is back.
Bars may offer specials on it today. Restaurants may offer cocktails, or dishes or desserts drawing on absinthe as an ingredient for its distinctive taste.
#AbsintheDay #NationalAbsintheDay
History
The first instance of an Absinthe Day on the 5th of March that CooksInfo has found in searches of newspaper archives dates from 2010 in Tennessee:
“Absinthe is made the traditional way at tayst. Friday, March 5 is Absinthe Day, which tayst will celebrate”. (Hendrickson, Lucas. Great Green Ferries. Nashville, Tennessee: The Tennessean. Thursday, 4 March 2010. Page R7.)
Hendrickson, Lucas. Great Green Ferries. Nashville, Tennessee: The Tennessean. Thursday, 4 March 2010. Page R7
Sources
This week in Houston food events. Houston, Texas. Houston Press. Monday, 5th March 2018. Accessed February 2021 at https://www.houstonpress.com/restaurants/this-week-in-houston-food-events-think-absinthe-10254961
Willet, Andrew. The Return of Pernod Fils. Blog entry. 16 October 2013. Accessed February 2021 at https://elementalmixology.blog/2013/10/16/the-return-of-pernod-fils/