Spirits
Absinthe
Neuchâtel, Switzerland
A high-strength spirit distilled with wormwood, green anise and fennel, served diluted with iced water dripped slowly over a sugar cube until it clouds.
Original eatfuls sticker artwork
What it is
A closer look at Absinthe.
A high-strength spirit distilled with wormwood, green anise and fennel, served diluted with iced water dripped slowly over a sugar cube until it clouds.
What to look for
Know it when you find it.
The louche — the clouding as water goes in — is the essential oils dropping out of solution, and a spirit that stays clear was coloured rather than distilled. Banned across Europe for most of the 20th century and legal again since the 2000s.
Where it belongs
Origins and
traditions.
Food rarely respects a border. These are the places the dataset connects most strongly to Absinthe.
Names around the table
One food, more than one name.
Keep exploring
If this caught your eye…
Valais, Switzerland
Abricotine
A clear eau-de-vie distilled from Luizet apricots grown on the terraces of the Rhône valley, drunk cold after a meal.
Netherlands
Dutch Advocaat
Advocaat
Creamy Dutch liqueur made from egg yolks, sugar, brandy, vanilla, and cream, smooth custard-like consistency with 14-20% alcohol.
Romania
Bilberry Liqueur
Afinată
Wild bilberries picked in the mountains and steeped in spirit with sugar into a dark purple liqueur.
Antigua and Barbuda
Cavalier Rum
The lighter, everyday rum from Antigua Distillery; one of the two signature rums of Antigua, alongside the aged English Harbour; a versatile mixing rum; used in rum punch and cocktails; the everyday rum of the island; the Cavalier rum of Antigua; a staple of every rum shop.
Antigua and Barbuda
English Harbour Rum
Smooth, aged rum from Antigua Distillery; one of the two signature rums of Antigua, alongside the lighter Cavalier; a premium sipping rum; served neat or in a rum punch; the rum of the island; the English Harbour rum of Antigua; an aged rum.
Madeira, Portugal
Aguardente de cana
Madeiran sugarcane spirit; base for poncha.
Argentina
Aguardiente
An Argentine spirit distilled from sugarcane or grapes, drunk neat or in cocktails in the northwest. A strong, clear liquor, often homemade in the Andean provinces.
Colombia
Aguardiente Colombiano
Aguardiente
Anise-flavoured sugarcane spirit around 29% ABV, distilled in the Andean region and drunk ice-cold in shot glasses passed round the table. Colombia's default celebration bottle, toasted with "¡salud!" until the freezer stock runs dry.