Absinthe’s renaissance is quickly growing into a culinary movement. The “Green Fairy” is now showing up on cocktail menus at chic restaurants around the country. A Taste for Absinthe celebrates this storied and complex liquor by bringing you 65 cocktail recipes from America’s hottest mixologists to enjoy as you discover the spirit that has fascinated artists, musicians, and writers for centuries. Absinthe expert R. Winston Guthrie shares the intriguing history of this famous beverage and a wide range of absinthe cocktails crafted by celebrated bartenders such as Jim Meehan of New York’s PDT, Erik Adkins of San Francisco’s Slanted Door, and Eric Alperin of The Varnish in Los Angeles. In addition to the recipes—such as the Salute to Sazerac (with rye whiskey, Angostura bitters, and lemon peel) and the Green Goddess (fresh basil leaves, cucumber vodka, simple syrup, line juice, and fresh thyme)—you will find: - a primer on the accoutrements (spoons, glasses, fountains) for serving absinthe - a how-to on executing your own absinthe drip - a guide to buying the best-quality absinthe (whether imported or domestic) - a lesson on how to discern between real absinthe and fake - sidebars on absinthe’s rich history Whether you want to learn everything you need to know to host “L’Heure Verte” (the Green Hour) and impress your friends with your beautiful accoutrements and practiced pouring technique, or just make a really delicious drink, A Taste for Absinthe will bring you up to speed on the most talked about liquor in history.

Absinthe Cocktails is devoted entirely to cocktails made with barely-legal absinthe. Since this spirit was legalized in the U.S. in 2007, the absinthe category has exploded with 34 new brands introduced in 2008 and consumers willing to pay $50 for a bottle. This book has something to suit everyone's taste—traditionalists will learn how to properly mix absinthe like an old pro with 30 recipes for classic cocktails, while modern absinthe lovers can experiment with 20 contemporary drink formulas from trendsetting bars such as Los Angeles's Varnish and the Lonsdale in London. Absinthe Cocktails gives going green an entirely new meaning!

Read Paul Owens and Paul Nathan's posts on the Penguin Blog A celebration of "the green goddess"-this is the first book to share absinthe recipes since it was recently legalized in the U.S. This enticing little volume presents a collection of more than 100 absinthe cocktail recipes that draw upon the classic roots of the drink as well as its new iterations. Readers will be entertained with nuggets of absinthe history and trivia, including the tradition of the green fairy, famous devotees of the drink, and the myths (or facts) of its hallucinatory properties. Readers will learn that: •America's most famous early cocktail, the sazerac, was a New Orleans creation that called for a dash of absinthe •When the absinthe backlash started in the 1890s, Edgar Degas' masterpiece L'Absinthe was booed off the auction block at Christie's in London •An experienced absintheur can identify a brand from across the room just by watching how it louches-the way the herbs' oils cloud the drink as the bartender adds water

Take an intimate look into the contemporary world of absinthe. International in scope, Absinthe: The Exquisite Elixir is a visually rich journey into an alluring subculture. Filled with color reproductions of classic and current lithographs, posters, cartoons, as well as photos of antiques, glassware, and other tools of the absinthe drinker, this new and comprehensive guide explains and illustrates the history, culture, and mystique of the drink known as the Green Fairy. The authors provide insights into the controversy and effects of the Green Fairy through the stories of famous connoisseurs, including Vincent van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, Ernest Hemingway, and Pablo Picasso. In addition to a rich history, this detailed new guide includes recipes, reviews of existing Absinthe brands, and absinthe's contemporary culture and ritual. Confirmed absinthe drinkers, neophytes, the curious, and collectors will all find this book equally intriguing and seductive.

The name on the screen was "Absinthe." But I knew her as the sultry voice blowing up my phone for late night chats about Proust and Hemingway interspersed between the filthiest little ... conversations. We'd never met. Until the day she walked into my office, her cherry lips wrapped around a candy apple sucker and an all too familiar voice that said, "You wanted to see me, Principal Hawthorne?"

From the James Beard award--winning author of Sauces-a new classic on French cuisine for today's cook His award-winning books have won the praise of The New York Times and Gourmet magazine as well as such culinary luminaries as chefs Daniel Boulud, Jeremiah Tower, and Alice Waters. Now James Peterson brings his tremendous stores of culinary knowledge, energy, and imagination to this fresh and inspiring look at the classic dishes of French cuisine. With a refreshing, broadminded approach that embraces different French cooking styles-from fine dining to bistro-style cooking, from hearty regional fare to nouvelle cuisine-Peterson uses fifty "foundation" French dishes as the springboard to preparing a variety of related dishes. In his inventive hands, the classic Moules à la marinière inspires the delightful Miniature Servings of Mussels with Sea Urchin Sauce and Mussel Soup with Garlic Puree and Saffron, while the timeless Duck à l'orange gives rise to the subtle Salad of Sautéed or Grilled Duck Breasts and Sautéed Duck Breasts with Classic Orange Sauce. Through these recipes, Peterson reveals the underlying principles and connections in French cooking that liberate readers to devise and prepare new dishes on their own. With hundreds recipes and dazzling color photography throughout, Glorious French Food gives everyone who enjoys cooking access to essential French cooking traditions and techniques and helps them give free reign to the intuition and spontaneity that lie in the heart-and stomach-of every good cook. It will take its place on the shelf right next to Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Poems, lyrics and short stories from the author of QUIET PASSIONS.

Mysterious, sophisticated, alluring and almost Satanic, absinthe was the drink of choice of Baudelaire, Verlaine and Wilde. It inspired Degas, Manet and Picasso and was thought to have led to the demise of many of Paris' fin-de-siecle inhabitants. Jad Adams recounts the drink's history.

The newly updated edition of David Wondrich’s definitive guide to classic American cocktails. Cocktail writer and historian David Wondrich presents the colorful, little-known history of classic American drinks--and the ultimate mixologist's guide--in this engaging homage to Jerry Thomas, father of the American bar. Wondrich reveals never-before-published details and stories about this larger-than-life nineteenth-century figure, along with definitive recipes for more than 100 punches, cocktails, sours, fizzes, toddies, slings, and other essential drinks, along with detailed historical and mixological notes. The first edition, published in 2007, won a James Beard Award. Now updated with newly discovered recipes and historical information, this new edition includes the origins of the first American drink, the Mint Julep (which Wondrich places before the American Revolution), and those of the Cocktail itself. It also provides more detail about 19th century spirits, many new and colorful anecdotes and details about Thomas's life, and a number of particularly notable, delicious, and influential cocktails not covered in the original edition, rounding out the picture of pre-Prohibition tippling. This colorful and good-humored volume is a must-read for anyone who appreciates the timeless appeal of a well-made drink-and the uniquely American history behind it. From the Hardcover edition.

A man develops a passion for the manufacture of absinthe because of the emotions it inspires. One day the government bans the liquor for fear it will inspire a revolution. An allegory by a French writer, author of Annam.