Absinthe is loaded with misinformation. So let’s get a few things straight: Absinthe in America is as “real” as the absinthe in Europe. Since before Prohibition, we had mistakenly attributed mind-altering properties to a compound called thujone that’s found in wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), the main flavoring agent of absinthe. Thujone is not hallucinogenic and, despite … [ Read more]
Craft Cocktail: Lychee Keen at Hai Hai
March 22, 2018 by
Outside of Hai Hai in Northeast Minneapolis, the snow banks are growing and the wind is howling. Inside, there’s sugar cane being pressed, limes being juiced, and a thicket of green herbs covering the bar. As long as I don’t leave this bar seat, it’s no longer winter as far as I’m concerned. Let’s keep … [ Read more]
Craft Cocktail: Jackalope at The Velveteen
October 31, 2017 by
On a quiet side street in downtown Stillwater, leaves skitter across the pavement through the orange glow of the few street lamps shining onto the sidewalk. Around the corner, in the lobby of an event center, a Rorschachian pair of rabbits etched on the floor lead through a nondescript door and downstairs to The Velveteen’s … [ Read more]
Absinthe: The Drink of Aesthetes
August 21, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Absinthe—the naturally green liquor derived from wormwood and herbs like anise or fennel— was the drink of choice for such artists as Vincent Van Gogh and Oscar Wilde. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Pablo Picasso filled the glasses of cafe patrons with absinthe in their paintings. Absinthe, it seems, was a drink of aesthetes. Yet for … [ Read more]
