its all about absinthe its style, how its served, mezcal,its production, purl, snake wine , etc.

1. ABSINTHE
•Absinthe is historically described as a distilled, highly alcoholic (45–74% ABV )
beverage.
• It is an anise-flavoured spirit derived from botanicals, including the flowers and
leaves of Artemisia absinthium (i.e. "grand wormwood"), together with green anise,
sweet fennel, and other medicinal and culinary herbs.
•Absinthe traditionally has a natural green colour but may also be colourless.
•it is sometimes mistakenly referred to as a liqueur, absinthe is not traditionally
bottled with added sugar, and is therefore classified as a spirit.
• Absinthe is traditionally bottled at a high level of alcohol by volume, but is normally
diluted with water prior to being consumed.
•The chemical compound thujone, although present in the spirit in only trace amounts,
was blamed for its alleged harmful effects. By 1915, absinthe had been banned in the
United States and in much of Europe, including France, the Netherlands, Belgium,
Switzerland and Austria-Hungary.

2. •In 1797, Henry-Louis Pernod, opened the first absinthe distillery,
Dubied Père et Fils, in Couvet.
• In 1805, they built a second distillery in Pontarlier, France, under the
new company name Maison Pernod Fils.
• Pernod Fils remained one of the most popular brands of absinthe up
until the drink was banned in France in 1914.
• In 2000, La Fée Absinthe became the first commercial absinthe
distilled and bottled in France since the 1914 ban.
• Originally produced for export, it is now one of dozens of French
absinthes that are produced and sold within France.

3. PRODUCTION OF ABSINTHE
• Grande wormwood, one of
three main herbs used in
production of absinthe
•Green anise, one of three
main herbs used in
production of absinthe

4. Distilled absinthe
• The distillation of absinthe first yields a colourless distillate that
leaves the alembic at around 72% ABV.
• The distillate may be reduced and bottled clear, to produce a Blanche
or la Bleue absinthe, or it may be coloured to create a verte using
natural or artificial colouring.
• Traditional absinthes obtain their green colour strictly from the
chlorophyll of whole herbs, which is extracted from the plants during
the secondary maceration.
• This step involves steeping plants such as petite wormwood, hyssop,
and melissa (among other herbs) in the distillate.
• Chlorophyll from these herbs is extracted in the process, giving the
drink its famous green colour. This step also provides a herbal
complexity that is typical of high quality absinthe.

5. • The natural colouring process is considered critical for absinthe aging, since the
chlorophyll remains chemically active. The chlorophyll serves a similar role in
absinthe that tannins do in wine or brown liquors.
• After the colouring process, the resulting product is diluted with water to the
desired percentage of alcohol. The flavour of absinthe is said to improve materially
with storage, and many preban distilleries aged their absinthe in settling tanks
before bottling.
• Ingredients: Anise seeds
• Absinthe is traditionally prepared from a distillation of neutral alcohol, various
herbs, spices and water.
• Traditional absinthes were redistilled from a white grape spirit (or eau de vie),
while lesser absinthes were more commonly made from alcohol from grain, beets,
or potatoes.
• The principal botanicals are grande wormwood, green anise, and florence fennel,
which are often called "the holy trinity.“
• Many other herbs may be used as well, such as petite wormwood (Artemisia
pontica or Roman wormwood), hyssop, melissa, star anise, angelica, peppermint,
coriander, and veronica.

6. Bottled strength
• Absinthe was historically bottled at 45-74% percent ABV. Some
modern Franco–Suisse absinthes are bottled at up to 82.3% ABV,
while some modern cold-mixed, bohemian-style absinthes are
bottled at up to 89.9% ABV.
Preparation
• Absinthe spoons are designed to perch a sugar cube atop the glass,
over which ice-cold water is dripped to dilute the absinthe. The lip
near the centre of the handle lets the spoon rest securely on the rim
of the glass.

7. • Traditionally, absinthe is prepared by placing a sugar cube on top of a
specially designed slotted spoon, and placing the spoon on a glass
filled with a measure of absinthe.
• Iced water is poured or dripped over the sugar cube to slowly and
evenly distribute the water into the absinthe.
• The final preparation contains 1 part absinthe and 3-5 parts water. As
water dilutes the spirit, those components with poor water solubility
(mainly those from anise, fennel, and star anise) come out of solution
and cloud the drink. The resulting milky opalescence is called the
louche.
• The release of these dissolved essences coincides with a perfuming of
herbal aromas and flavours that "blossom" or "bloom," and brings
out subtleties that are otherwise muted within the neat spirit. This
reflects what is perhaps the oldest and purest method of preparation,
and is often referred to as the French Method.

8. • The Bohemian Method is a recent invention that involves fire, and was not
performed during absinthe's peak of popularity in the Belle Époque.
• Like the French method, a sugar cube is placed on a slotted spoon over a
glass containing one shot of absinthe. The sugar is pre-soaked in alcohol ,
then set ablaze.
• The flaming sugar cube is then dropped into the glass, thus igniting the
absinthe. Finally, a shot glass of water is added to douse the flames. This
method tends to produce a stronger drink than the French method.
• A variant of the Bohemian Method involves allowing the fire to extinguish
on its own. This variant, sometimes referred to as "Cooking the Absinthe" or
"Flaming Green Fairy," destroys most of the alcohol.
• The origin of this burning ritual may borrow from a coffee and brandy drink
that was served at Café Brûlot, in which a sugar cube soaked in brandy was
set aflame.
• Most experienced absintheurs do not recommend the Bohemian Method
and consider it a modern gimmick, as it can destroy the absinthe flavor and
present a fire hazard due to the unusually high alcohol content present in
absinthe.

9. • In addition to being prepared with sugar and water, absinthe
emerged as a popular cocktail ingredient in both the United Kingdom
and the United States.
• By 1930, dozens of fancy cocktails that called for absinthe had been
published in numerous credible bartender guides.
• One of the most famous of these libations is Ernest Hemingway's
"Death in the Afternoon" cocktail, a tongue-in-cheek concoction
contributed to a 1935 collection of celebrity recipes.
The directions are as follows:
• "Pour one jigger absinthe into a Champagne glass. Add iced
Champagne until it attains the proper opalescent milkiness. Drink
three to five of these slowly.“

10. Styles
• Blanche, or la Bleue: Blanche absinthe (also referred to as la Bleue in
Switzerland) is bottled directly following distillation and reduction,
and is uncoloured (clear). The name la Bleue was originally a term
used for bootleg Swiss absinthe, but has become a popular term for
post-ban-style Swiss absinthe in general.
• Verte ("green" in French) absinthe begins as a blanche. The blanche is
altered by the colouring step, by which a separate mixture of herbs is
steeped into the clear distillate. This confers an intense flavour.
Artificially coloured green absinthes may also claimed to be verte,
though they lack the characteristic herbal flavours.
• Absenta ("absinthe" in Spanish) is sometimes associated with a
regional style that often differed slightly from French cuisine.
Traditional absentas may taste slightly different and often exhibit a
characteristic citrus flavour.

11. • Hausgemacht (German : home-made) refers to clandestine absinthe
(not Swiss La Clandestine brand) that is home-distilled by hobbyists. I
Hausgemacht absinthe is produced in tiny quantities for personal use
and not for the commercial market. Authorities believe that high
taxes on alcohol and the mystique of being underground are likely
reasons for the ban in Swiss.
• Bohemian-style absinth is also referred to as Czech-style absinthe,
anise-free absinthe, or just "absinth" (without the "e"), and is best
described as a wormwood bitters. It is produced mainly in the Czech
Republic,from which it gets its designation as Bohemian or Czech,
although not all absinthes from the Czech Republic are Bohemian-
style. It contains little or none of the anise, fennel, and other herbal
flavours associated with traditional absinthe, and thus bears very
little resemblance to the absinthes made popular in the 19th century.
Typical Bohemian-style absinth has only two similarities with its
authentic, traditional counterpart: it contains wormwood and has a
high alcohol content.

12. Purl
• Purl or wormwood ale is an English drink. It was originally made by
infusing ale with the tops of the wormwood plant, especially the
variety which grows in coastal salt marsh, which is called old woman.
• The drink was commonly drunk in the early hours of the morning at
which time it was popular with labourers.
• The recipe was to mull ale with gin, sugar and spices such as ginger. It
was sold by purl-men from purl-boats on the Thames who were
licensed by the Watermen's Hall.
• Purl-royal was a similar concoction made using wine in place of ale or
beer.

13. Mezcal
• is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from the maguey plant (a form
of agave) native to Mexico.
• There is a saying attributed to Oaxaca regarding the drink: "para todo
mal, mezcal, y para todo bien también" ("for everything bad, mezcal;
for everything good, the same").
• Today, mezcal is still made from the heart of the maguey plant, called
the "piña", much the same way it was 200 years ago, in most places.
• In Mexico, mezcal is generally consumed straight and has a strong
smoky flavor.
• Though mezcal is not as popular as tequila (a mezcal made
specifically from the blue agave in select regions of the country),
Mexico does export the product, mostly to Japan and the United
States, and exports are growing.

14. PRODUCTION OF MEZCAL
• Traditionally, mezcal is handcrafted by small-scale producers.
• A village can contain dozens of production houses, called fábricas or
palenques, each using methods that have been passed down from
generation to generation, some using the same techniques practiced
200 years ago.
• The process begins by harvesting the plants, which can weigh forty
kilograms each, extracting the piña, or heart, by cutting off the plant's
leaves and roots.
• The piñas are then cooked for about three days, often in pit ovens,
which are earthen mounds over pits of hot rocks.
• This underground roasting gives mezcal its intense and distinctive
smoky flavor.
• These piñas are then crushed and mashed (traditionally by a stone
wheel turned by a horse) and then left to ferment in large vats or
barrels with water added.

15. • The mash is allowed to ferment, the resulting liquid collected and
distilled in either clay or copper pots which will further modify the
flavor of the final product. The distilled product is then bottled
unsold.
• Unaged mezcal is referred to as "joven", or young. Some of the
distilled product is left to age in barrels for between one month and
four years, but some can be aged for as long as twelve years.
• Mezcal can reach an alcohol content of 55%.Like tequila, mezcal is
distilled twice.
• The first distillation is known as "punta", and comes out at around 75
degrees (37.5% alcohol by volume). The liquid must then be distilled
a second time to raise the alcohol percentage.
• Mezcal is highly varied, depending on the species of agave or maguey
used, the fruits and herbs added during fermentation and the
distillation process employed, creating sub-types with names such as
de gusano, tobalá, pechuga, blanco, minero, cedrón, de alacran,
creme de café and more.

16. • A special recipe for a specific mezcal type known as pechuga uses
cinnamon, apple, plums, cloves, and other spices that is then distilled
through chicken, duck or turkey breast.
• It is made when the specific fruits used in the recipe are available,
usually during November or December.
• Other variations flavor the mash with cinnamon, pineapple slices, red
bananas and sugar, each imparting a particular character to the
mezcal.
• Most mezcal, however, is left untouched, allowing the flavors of the
agave used to come forward.
• Not all bottles of mezcal contain a "worm" (actually the larva of a
moth, Hypopta agavis that can infest maguey plants), but if added, it
is added during the bottling process.
• There are conflicting stories as to why such would be added. Some
state that it is a marketing ploy.
• Others state that it is there to prove that the mezcal is fit to drink,
and still others state that the larva is there to impart flavor.

17. • There are two types of mezcal, those made of 100% maguey and
those mixed with other ingredients, with at least 80% maguey. Both
types have four categories.
• White mezcal is clear and hardly aged.
• Dorado (golden) is not aged but a coloring agent is added. This is
more often done with a mixed mezcal.
• Reposado or añejado (aged) is placed in wood barrels from two to
nine months. This can be done with 100% agave or mixed mezcals.
• Añejo is aged in barrels for a minimum of twelve months. The best of
this type are generally aged from eighteen months to three years. If
the añejo is of 100% agave, it is usually aged for about four years.

18. Drinking mezcal
• In Mexico, mezcal is generally drunk straight, not mixed in a cocktail.
• Mezcal is generally not mixed with any other liquids, but is often
accompanied with sliced oranges sprinkled with "sal de gusano",
literally worm salt, which is a mixture of ground fried larvae, ground
chili peppers, and salt.

19. Snake wine
• It is an alcoholic baverage produced by infusingwhole snakes in “Rice
Wine” or “Grain Wine”.
• Venomous snakes are not usually preserved for their meat but to
have their essence and snake venom is dissolved in liquor.
• Snake venom is denatured by ethanol. Its protiens are unfolded and
becomes inactive.
• There are two types of snake wines:
• 1) STEEPED: Large venomous snake kept in rice wine and steep for
many months. Usually drunk in small shots or cups.
• 2)MIXED: Body fluids of snakes are mixed in wine and consumed
immediately in the form of shots.
• SNAKE BLOOD WINE: Slicing the snake along the belly and draining
its blood in rice wine and consumed.
• SNAKE BILE WINE: Similar method using the contents of gall-blader.