Absinthe minded in Beijing
Ever been seduced by the green fairy? Coaxed out from within her glass castle behind the bar, she'll expect no less than 45 to 180 yuan ($7.21 to $28.86) for her service in Beijing. Yet, bathed properly in ice cold water and infused with a cube of white sugar, she'll have your senses altered in an instant.
Green fairy is her nickname, handed down through literature since the age of the Romantics, who quickly fell for her charm. Her real name is absinthe, a green-colored spirit made from a unique herbal concoction of wormwood and anise.
Absinthe isn't an order made on the fly in bars. Once outlawed as a beverage that was said to induce madness, absinthe is still considered an extreme choice for its potency. A standard bottle of absinthe is typically between 45 to 75 percent alcohol. Compare that to vodka at 40 percent or baijiu, which tops out at 60 percent. It is also expensive and only served in small measures.
Many bars in Beijing regularly serve absinthe using traditional pouring methods. Others blend absinthe creatively with other beverages to produce cocktails. Some however fuel the green fairy's reputation as a temptress who leaves her victims out of pocket and out of their senses. Ask an overenthusiastic experimenter if they believe in fairies, and you'll likely glimpse her stirring behind their eyes.
Badr Benjelloun, 33, owner of Cuju bar on Xiguan Hutong, Dongcheng district, says he enjoys drinking as well as serving absinthe. He recounts drinking homemade absinthe from a friend's backyard distillery which he describes as "like baijiu, only times 10."
Not one to try to fix what ain't broke to begin with, Benjelloun says he likes to keep the preparation of absinthe simple and true to tradition.
"We use reservoir glasses and sieve spoons to correctly prepare absinthe. Of course, some people, particularly the young macho kind, like to drink absinthe straight," he says.
Benjelloun says that absinthe is best served diluted.
"It can be a bit of a statement to drink absinthe straight," he says. "Really though, it ought to be drunk with cold water, right after burning a lump of sugar on the absinthe spoon."
Benjelloun says his customers are not so much discouraged by the price of an ordinary glass of absinthe as by the stigma attached to it.
"Absinthe companies have not educated their customers about how harmless the drink is since this was proven in Czech in 2006. It used to be said that the green fairy would make you go mad. People still have an inhibition towards absinthe, but this is not based on anything," he says.
Owner of Mai Bar on Beiluoguxiang in Gulou, Dongcheng district, Jeff Ji, 27, says he loves mixing absinthe to create unique blends of the beverage. To make absinthe more palatable, some of his cocktails serve it with mild additives such as cucumber. He calls one cocktail Breathless in Beijing, though more as a reference to Beijing's weather than the drink itself.
Like many first-time drinkers of absinthe, Ji says the green fairy had a powerful effect on him.
"I felt tears instantly come to my eyes," he says. "It felt good though afterwards. Absinthe is always the first choice for someone looking for a strong fix."
Jeff describes absinthe as "a ceremonial drink, like when a customer has a birthday party happening."
Ji says he is aware that customers can be suspicious about the effects of absinthe. However, he says his Chinese customers are, by contrast, keen to experiment with the drink.
"Because Chinese customers know absinthe was once outlawed, they want to try it all the more to discover just what the fuss was about," he says.
Ramiro Lavin, 38, is the owner of Café de la Poste on Beixinqiao, Dongcheng district. Despite its Franco-centric look, the restaurant and bar is not especially used to serving absinthe.
"Most of my customers don't drink absinthe. We don't really ever make it the authentic way," says Lavin.
He says he doesn't use water to dilute absinthe. Instead he simply pours the absinthe in a glass and uses an absinthe spoon to burn a lump of sugar to sweeten the absinthe before serving. One straight glass of absinthe at Café de la Poste does not come cheap, however, at 90 yuan.
Lavin says it's his Chinese customers that are the most frequent imbibers of absinthe.
"I warn them every time that it's a very strong drink, but they never listen," he says. "They order a round of straight absinthes, clink glasses and shout 'Gambei!' Then, boom! Another round. I tell them it's better to savor the taste. Again, they don't listen. Boom! And again, and so on. It's hilarious to watch."
Lavin says Chinese customers are more curious than foreigners about absinthe, though they tend to underestimate its effect. By the third clink, he says, Chinese patrons are too far gone to know where they are.
Modernista on Baochao Hutong in Gulou keeps perhaps Beijing's most varied selection of absinthes, with over 20 kinds behind its bar. Aida Junusova, 30, bar owner and PR manager, says Modernista takes itself seriously as an ambassador of the green fairy in Beijing.
The bar uses a special tap from Europe to pour absinthe, which Junusova says is "the only way to pour the perfect green fairy."
Most patrons of Modernista, she says, know absinthe quite well, particularly French customers. Chinese customers usually are less familiar.
"Chinese people often need absinthe explained to them before they try it," she says. "We have to tell them it's not like baijiu. You have to sip it a little at a time to enjoy the color, the texture and the taste."
Contrary to its reputation, Junusova says the only danger with absinthe is for it to be drunk too quickly without water to enrich the quality and quantity. A fan of absinthe herself, Junusova says she often uses it at more extravagant parties.
"[Absinthe] is unlike any other spirit," she says. "It makes you both relaxed and energized. The effects are rarely negative, and you never get hangover the next day."