Suissesse – Recipe from david Embury’s ‘The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks’

SUISSESSE Straight absinthe with 1 teaspoonful sugar syrup and 1 egg white to each 2 drinks. A few dashes of anisette may be added if desired. Also, some recipes call for 1 part French vermouth to 2 parts absinthe instead of straight absinthe. 

This drink should be shaken long and vigorously with crushed ice. It is usually served in a Delmonico or Sour glass. An interesting variation is to choose hollow-stemmed champagne glasses. Fill the stem with green creme de menthe, drop a maraschino cherry over the hollow stem opening, and then pour in the drink. This, supposedly, is a picker-upper for the cold, grey dawn of the morning after.

One of the first drinks I stumbled across that I liked with absinthe was called the ‘Moroccan’ and is simply a tall Orgeat, Absinthe and iced water in a tall glass with crushed ice, which is delicious, so I can see the appeal of adding it to this drink. This was supposed to be the drink which bred absinthe’s popularity as the legionnaires in Northern Africa discovered this drink while abroad, and bought this absinthe trend back to France with them, and the rest is green tinted history.

The Absinthe Suissesse is a classic New Orleans brunch cocktail, yep, you should have absinthe for brunch for the ultimate hair of the dog.

There are a ton of recipes for this drink online, most of which seem to contain Orgeat, the sweet almond and rose or blossom syrup. As it’s a classic New Orleans drink I thought I’d check Stanley Clisby’s ‘New Orleans Drinks and how to mix-em’ as it’s the ultimate New Orleans guide. His recipe is much more in-line with Embury, it uses vermouth, crème de menthe and a dash of soda water. Having no crème de menthe I tried this without, something I kind of regret as I suspect it works well. As is, it’s a hot spring day and I always associate absinthe with summer so this was perfect, if a little aggressive towards my sobriety. Orgeat does pair beautifully with Absinthe.