Absinthe makes the cocktail stronger

Psst! Absinthe is legal again in the United States.

And I know where you can get it: The Mint in downtown Raleigh.

Absinthe is one of the original ingredients in a Sazerac, the classic New Orleans whiskey cocktail, but it was replaced by Pernod and other anise-flavored liqueurs after U.S. lawmakers banned absinthe about 1912. Lawmakers believed the chemical thujone, found in wormwood, one of the liqueur's main ingredients, caused hallucinations, bizarre behavior and insanity. Those who got the ban lifted last year convinced officials that absinthe doesn't contain enough thujone to be dangerous.

A couple of months ago, I mentioned to Doug Snyder, The Mint's general manager, that I wanted to write a column on the Sazerac, which is on The Mint's cocktail menu. When I told Snyder that I was able to buy an absinthe called Lucid while visiting New Orleans during Mardi Gras, Snyder ordered a case.

As far as I know, consumers like you and me cannot buy a bottle of wormwood-infused absinthe at any Triangle liquor stores. And so, if you want to try absinthe, you will have to either go to The Mint or persuade your favorite bartender to order it or travel to a city where you can buy a bottle -- the closest being Washington, D.C.

On a recent Wednesday night in The Mint's upstairs bar, Snyder made me a Sazerac with real absinthe.

Snyder is nothing if not particular. Beyond the Lucid, he uses Regan's orange bitters, insisting they taste better than the more traditional Peychaud's or Angostura bitters.

First Snyder pours a teaspoon of sugar, three drops of Regan's orange bitters and a squeeze of simple syrup, made with a 2-1 ratio of sugar to water, into a cocktail shaker. He then adds ice and muddles the mixture together.

Then Snyder pours a fourth of an ounce of chilled absinthe into a chilled the martini glass, swirling the liquid to coat the inside of the glass.

Unlike most Sazerac lovers, Snyder doesn't pour out the absinthe. He leaves a puddle of absinthe in the bottom of the glass. He then adds two ounces of rye whiskey to the shaker and again stirs the concoction. He strains the cocktail into the martini glass. Finally, he rubs the skin side of a twist of lemon along the glass' rim. But he urges: Do not place the twist in the cocktail because the lemon oils may overpower the drink.

This Sazerac leaves a warm feeling in your chest, the perfect drink to ward off this cold, damp spring weather.

"This is not a drink for the masses," Snyder warns. "If you don't like rye whisky, you aren't going to like it."

As for the absinthe, I can't report any adverse reactions: The xylophone jazz band performing in The Mint's bar, aka the Steve Hobbs Jazz Trio, may have appeared to be, but was not, an hallucination.