I am now convinced that the first time I had absinthe, I was lied to.
I HATE HATE HATE the taste of black licorice unlike anything else in this universe, and that is what I learned last night absinthe truly tastes like.
The first time I had it, it was mixed with several other mind-bending boozes, and I was limited to one, so I thought I was going to see Kylie Minogue and die. I don’t remember tasting anything in particular, but it was served in a tall tiki glass for Christ’s sake, so I’m assuming it had some kind of tropical vibe.
Last night, I swore I was given sambuca, and faked a “licorice allergy” to find out more. Good to know my bartender was both super nice and really into mixology, cause she gave me a whole breakdown of the history of the absinthe root. Short of handing out hard copies and firing up a PPT, I was schooled. But, I got another drink out of it. Whatever drink I had* last night was absinthe proper with the whole melted sugar cube action.
So, I implore you, if you have an aversion to black licorice, for the love of the sweet baby Jesus, do not try absinthe. You will want to scrub your tongue with Brillo and gargle with Listerine for 45 minutes. (I’ve done the latter when I was really bored. Don’t try that, either. I couldn’t taste anything for 20 minutes.)
*Took two sips of and screamed, “I’ve been poisioned!”
