March 5th is World Absinthe Day

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Absinthe is an anise-flavoured spirit derived from several plants, including the flowers and leaves of Artemisia absinthium (“grand wormwood”), together with green anise, sweet fennel, and other medicinal and culinary herbs. Historically described as a highly alcoholic spirit, it is 45–74% ABV or 90–148 proof US. Absinthe traditionally has a natural green colour but may also be colourless. It is commonly referred to in historical literature as la fée verte (“the green fairy”). It is sometimes mistakenly referred to as a liqueur, but is not traditionally bottled with added sugar, so is classified as a spirit. Absinthe is traditionally bottled at a high level of alcohol by volume, but it is normally diluted with water before being consumed.

World Absinthe day was started to celebrate the renaissance of this spirit which has been returning to popularity over the last few years.

Later today, we will share the traditional French “Absinthe Ritual”, sometimes called the “Absinthe Drip Cocktail” as well as two other cocktails with a large absinthe content. Join us for these cocktails from 1900.

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Bahama Mama

2nd #cocktail of #FridayNightCocktails on 3rd March: Bahama Mama

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Our second cocktail is the Bahama Mama, a tropical and fruity cocktail ideal for days at the beach (although not a UK beach in early-March). This is quite a fruity cocktail which I’d drink again, if I hadn’t already had the far superior Rum Runner; why not try them both and let me know which you prefer in the comments below?

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Fabiola

3rd #cocktail of #FridayNightCocktails on 24th February: Fabiola

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Our third and final cocktail is the Fabiola. This is a Metropolitan variant which replaces the sweet vermouth with a white vermouth and adds the orange and brandy liqueur Grand Marnier, which elevates this cocktail to a different level.

I’ve seen a few recipes online talking about the vermouth in the Fabiola and listing sweet vermouth as an ingredient and in the detail saying to use a “more delicate sweet vermouth like Cinzano Bianco”, but Cinzano Bianco is a white vermouth, not a sweet one. It’s easy to tell a sweet vermouth from a white, as the sweet is dark red in colour whereas the white is clear (and looks just like a dry vermouth).

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1st #cocktail of #FridayNightCocktails on 24th February: Brandy Cocktail

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Our first cocktail is the Brandy Cocktail. There are many cocktails called simply a Brandy Cocktail which are vintage recipes of unknown origins; we’ve opted for one which is perhaps slightly different to many of those recipes in that it uses both Angostrua and Peychaud’s bitters.

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Old Pal

3rd #cocktail of #FridayNightCocktails on 17th February: Old Pal

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Our third and final cocktail is the Old Pal. A 1920s variant of the Boulevardier from Harry McElhone which uses rye whiskey; we’ve also previously posted a variant the a href=’https://thecocktailsmustflow.co.uk/cocktails/irish-boulevardier/’>Irish Boulevardier which uses Irish whiskey.

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