Absinthe!
As promised, specifically for seacucumber but also for anyone else who happens to have any wormwood in their cupboard...
Here are some recipes for "absinthe" which were originally posted to rec.food.drink. Absinthe is placed in quotes since only the last recipe here will produce something resembling the traditional drink. I have not personally tried these recipes and do not claim that they are safe or even tasty.
** Absinthe #1 **
* 1 pint vodka
* 2 tsp crumbled wormwood (dried)
* 2tsp anise seed
* 1/2 tsp fennel seed
* 4 cardomom pods
* 1 tsp majoram
* 1/2 tsp ground coriander
* 2 tsp chopped angelica root
* 1 2/3 cups sugar syrup
Place vodka in large jar with tight fitting lid. Add wormwood and shake well; steep 48 hrs and strain out. Crush seeds and pods in mortar. Add them and all remaining spices to vodka and steep in a warm place 1 week. Filter and sweeten. (The sugar syrup mentioned above is your standard simple syrup.)
** Absinthe #2 **
* 1 tsp crumbled wormwood
* 1 cup vodka
* 2 Tbsp chopped peppermint leaves
* 1 piece of lemon peel, 3/4"x2"
* 1/3-1/2 cup sugar syrup
Steep wormwood in vodka for 48 hours. Strain out and add peppermint leaves and lemon peel. Steep for 8 days, strain and sweeten. Smells good but is more bitter than #1.
** Absinthe Wine **
All herbs are dried.
* 2 tsp peppermint
* 2tsp dried wormwood
* 2 tsp thyme
* 2 tsp lavender
* 2 tsp hyssop
* 2 tsp majoram
* 2 tsp sage
* 2 pints port
Steep herbs one week, filter and bottle. My notes describe this as "bitter, aromatic and potent".
** Absinthe #3 **
From Arnold's article in Scientific American: An 1855 recipe from Pontarlier, France, gives the following instructions for making absinthe: Macerate 2.5 kilograms of dried wormwood, 5 kilograms of anise and 5 kilograms of fennel in 95 liters of 85 percent ethanol by volume. Let the mixture steep for at least 12 hours in the pot of a double boiler. Add 45 liters of water and apply heat; collect 95 liters of distillate. To 40 liters of the distillate, add 1 kilogram of Roman wormwood, 1 kilogram of hyssop and 500 grams of lemon balm, all of which have been dried and finely divided. Extract at a moderate temperature, then siphon off the liquor, filter, and reunite it with the remaining 55 liters of distillate. Dilute with water to produce approximately 100 liters of absinthe with a final alcohol concentration of 74 percent by volume.
So there you have it.
Personally since I think absinthe tastes skanky, I shall be making some with vanilla vodka, honey and a load of vanilla pods in the hope of getting something immensely alcoholic that tastes more like icecream =P
Here are some recipes for "absinthe" which were originally posted to rec.food.drink. Absinthe is placed in quotes since only the last recipe here will produce something resembling the traditional drink. I have not personally tried these recipes and do not claim that they are safe or even tasty.
** Absinthe #1 **
* 1 pint vodka
* 2 tsp crumbled wormwood (dried)
* 2tsp anise seed
* 1/2 tsp fennel seed
* 4 cardomom pods
* 1 tsp majoram
* 1/2 tsp ground coriander
* 2 tsp chopped angelica root
* 1 2/3 cups sugar syrup
Place vodka in large jar with tight fitting lid. Add wormwood and shake well; steep 48 hrs and strain out. Crush seeds and pods in mortar. Add them and all remaining spices to vodka and steep in a warm place 1 week. Filter and sweeten. (The sugar syrup mentioned above is your standard simple syrup.)
** Absinthe #2 **
* 1 tsp crumbled wormwood
* 1 cup vodka
* 2 Tbsp chopped peppermint leaves
* 1 piece of lemon peel, 3/4"x2"
* 1/3-1/2 cup sugar syrup
Steep wormwood in vodka for 48 hours. Strain out and add peppermint leaves and lemon peel. Steep for 8 days, strain and sweeten. Smells good but is more bitter than #1.
** Absinthe Wine **
All herbs are dried.
* 2 tsp peppermint
* 2tsp dried wormwood
* 2 tsp thyme
* 2 tsp lavender
* 2 tsp hyssop
* 2 tsp majoram
* 2 tsp sage
* 2 pints port
Steep herbs one week, filter and bottle. My notes describe this as "bitter, aromatic and potent".
** Absinthe #3 **
From Arnold's article in Scientific American: An 1855 recipe from Pontarlier, France, gives the following instructions for making absinthe: Macerate 2.5 kilograms of dried wormwood, 5 kilograms of anise and 5 kilograms of fennel in 95 liters of 85 percent ethanol by volume. Let the mixture steep for at least 12 hours in the pot of a double boiler. Add 45 liters of water and apply heat; collect 95 liters of distillate. To 40 liters of the distillate, add 1 kilogram of Roman wormwood, 1 kilogram of hyssop and 500 grams of lemon balm, all of which have been dried and finely divided. Extract at a moderate temperature, then siphon off the liquor, filter, and reunite it with the remaining 55 liters of distillate. Dilute with water to produce approximately 100 liters of absinthe with a final alcohol concentration of 74 percent by volume.
So there you have it.
Personally since I think absinthe tastes skanky, I shall be making some with vanilla vodka, honey and a load of vanilla pods in the hope of getting something immensely alcoholic that tastes more like icecream =P