How To Make Your Own Absinthe In 7 Easy Steps

Your knowledge of this infamous spirit may be limited to what you’ve seen in EuroTrip, but the green fairy is so much more than just hooking up with your sister. And it’s surprisingly easy to brew at home. We’re talking "bottle of Everclear, some herbs, and 26 hours" easy.

Go ahead, get your green on.

To start, you’ll need to gather the basics. You can get the ingredients in-store or online, but since they’re a little obscure, we used this kit from Bootleg Botanicals. It’s not cheating, it’s enterprising.

Grab yourself a base spirit like Everclear. Any grain alcohol will work, just make sure it’s 150 proof or more. The list of signature spices are as follows: Anise Star Pod, Anise seed, Fennel, Licorice root, Roman wormwood, Lemon peel, Hyssop, Angelica root, Coriander, Melissa & Grand Wormwood.

Got all that? Good, moving on.

Put two cups of the base spirit in an airtight container. If you have a 190 proof base spirit like Everclear, add two ounces of water to slightly dilute. Use a funnel, or risk soaking yourself in ethanol.

Now you’re ready to add the first set of botanicals, which’ll be a mixture of Anise Star Pod, Anise seed, Fennel, Licorice root, Lemon peel, Angelica root, and Coriander. If you don't have the kit, make sure to use a mortar and pestle to crush them them into small pieces.

Funnel that good stuff in.

Shake it like a polaroid picture. Then hurry up and wait, giving it about 8-10 hours to marinate. Might we suggest a long nap?

Add the wormwood. Historically this is the ingredient that causes incest-inducing hallucinations, but there’s still a lot of debate about the psychedelic potency of wormwood. Either way, you’ll want to add about two teaspoons of Grand wormwood into your mixture. It can have a very bitter taste, so Bootleg suggests steeping it in a tea bag for no more than three hours. Give it another shake for good measure.

Wait some more? Sure, why not. By this point, your absinthe will look a little more like dirty creek water than a booze-soaked night out, but be patient. 

In another 10-12 hours you’ll add the rest of your herbs (Hyssop and Melissa & Roman Wormwood), which are responsible for the green color. Guess what you do next? Correct, sir, wait another 5 hours.

Filter the fairy. You can either use a coffee filter...

Or a strainer. But either way, you'll need to cleanse your liquor of the pond scum look to reveal a green hued beauty. It won't be neon Gatorade green, more like an earthy dark moss.

When you're done, store your absinthe in a dark bottle to prevent light from spoiling it.

The taste was singe-your-throat strong, and vaguely like licorice. I didn't hate it, and I definitely didn't...wait...is that? There's someone on the wing. THERE'S SOMEONE ON THE WING.

Brb.

Ali Drucker is a staff writer for Supercompressor. Thanks, Cole. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.