Absinthe Afternoon

[akumushi]

Originally Posted by Caymus

I picked up a preference for the Sazerac cocktail on several visits to New Orleans. I'm looking for a less expensive brand of Absinthe that I would use only for making a Sazerac. I didn't want to spend $50 on a bottle that I only use a splash of and in only one particular drink. I tried using an inexpensive Italian anise liqueur but it wasn't a good substitute. Anyone have any suggestions ?

Absinthe is simply an expensive thing to make, as it blended from the distilates of 6 or more different herbs and put through a pretty elaborate process, usually in a traditional, copper alembic still, so $50 is about as cheap as palatable absinthe gets (under that and you'd be wasting your money on swill). At just under $50 and for your purposes, a bottle of Kubler would do nicely. Keep in mind you'll only have to pay that price once, then you'll have enough absinthe for a year's worth of Sazeracs (and you might even begin to enjoy an occasional glass on its own.)