Name: Absinthe Drip Cocktail (French method)
Total time: 4 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 45 ml Absinthe; 60 ml Chilled water; 1 cube Sugar cube (white)

Absinthe Drip Cocktail (French method)
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Absinthe Drip Cocktail (French method) image

Serve in an Absinthe glass or old-fashioned glass

Ingredients:
1 ¹⁄₂ oz	La Fée Parisienne absinthe
2 oz	Chilled water
1 cube	Sugar cube (white)

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill an Absinthe glass or old-fashioned glass.
POUR absinthe into glass.
PLACE cube of sugar on a slotted absinthe spoon resting across the top of the glass.
Using an absinthe fountain (or a bottle of chilled mineral water with a small hole in the cap), DRIP iced water over the sugar so it dissolves and drips into the glass.
Traditionally the same amount of water is added as absinthe, but full-strength absinthe requires more dilution - Keep dripping until absinthe louches (turns milky white).
Add ice, stir and serve.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Absinthe Drip Cocktail (French method) lifestyle thumbnail

Cocktail of the day:

5th March 2025 is Absinthe Day

Review:

Patience is a virtue. Slow dripping of the water is essential to dissolve the entire sugar cube and give the drink enough sweetness to balance the absinthe.

View readers' comments

Variant:

Absinthe Dripped - the easy way to make an Absinthe Drip.

History:

This is the traditional method of serving absinthe. It was common until shortly before the First World War, when the drink was banned in most countries.

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Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Steven Jepson

8th January at 16:51

I use a Balancier (or as I call it a Tick Tock), filled with small ice cubes, and therefore use two small sugar cubes. For simplicity 2 shots Absinthe and three shots water (poured and serve with a large ice cube.
Perfect Louche and just the right level for me as I like it more absinthe forward.

Avery Garnett

21st February 2024 at 10:28

All of Hall of Fame 1/291. Yup, this tastes like a glass of diluted absinthe. Better than I was expecting as a not-anise-fan but...yeah, it's just absinthe.

Hunter Newsome

6th March 2023 at 06:51

1.5oz absinthe, 0.25oz rich simple syrup, 3oz chilled water, top with ice and briefly stir. Or drop the ice and add an extra 1.5oz chilled water. That's the way I do it, it's more convenient and consistent than dissolving a sugar cube, but lacks the traditional ritualistic aesthetic.

Simon Difford

21st March 2023 at 16:44

Many thanks, Hunter. I've termed your recipe "Absinthe Dripped" and added a link to page with recipe above.

Myxo Gastrid

16th December 2022 at 01:13

I prefer this to the absinthe cocktail simply because I prefer the stronger absinthe-water ratio, and because I enjoy the process.

Ant Hern

10th October 2021 at 08:31

Less than a fiver extra for all this, vs. the price of the bottle! My order is now in :)

Nathalie O'Flynn

21st December 2020 at 22:28

Having one of these right now possibly the second one since buying a Fee Parisienne bottle. I normally only use it for cocktails like Corpse Reviver family. I couldn’t remember how much water so started to do a google search and found like a couple of relevant topics like « how to drink Absinth and not die » next one « prepare Absinth in 15 steps » so headed over here and it was just right and to be honest the sugar cube dissolve very quickly. I added 2 içe cubes per drink and stirred.