Absinthe Frappe

[ThinkingBartender]

I found this excerpt regarding "Absinthe Frappe":

Time Magazine, 3rd September 1934

""Absinthe frappe" is really an absinthe julep. New Orleans masters put half a teaspoonful of sugar in the bottom of a tall glass, fill up with finely shaved ice, let the sugar dissolve, pour in 1-oz. (jigger) of absinthe, stir with a spoon, and finally add one ounce of carbonated water, drop by drop, stirring all the time until the frappe turns cloudy and thick frost forms on the glass. Similar are French absinthe frappes except for the carbonated water."

I can see a simple recipe, like the one above, being adapted to combine other, lesser used, methods of Absinthe consumption. My initial thought being the Tomat (Grenadine Syrup) and the other Absinthe drink made with Orgeat.

Does the Absinthe Frappe have any established variants?

Cheers!

George

[eje]

I've always been a bit hazy on the term "frappe" in cocktail instructions.

I believe I remember Stanley Clisby Arthur being fairly descriptive.

The main difference being that you stir a martini, manhattan, or sazerac with a gentle, circular motion.

To frappe, you stir with a vigorous up and down motion.

Correct?

Certainly, every bartender should have both of these techniques in his <ahem> repertoire.

Other authors I've read suggest a pre-chilled blender is a fine substitute for spoon based frappe action.

[ThinkingBartender]

My understanding is that the term Frappe simply means "served over crushed ice". That, of course, seems a little too simplistic now (damn all this mixological stuff!!!)

In the UK, most bars had a type of barspoon that is rifled along the "stem", and had a flat disc on the non-spoon end; these are great for churning drinks made with crushed ice.

[thirtyoneknots]

My understanding is that the term Frappe simply means "served over crushed ice".

←

This was also my impression

[ThinkingBartender]

"Momisette" is the name of the Absinthe/ Orgeat Cocktail; and seems ripe for Swizzling.

[eje]

My understanding is that the term Frappe simply means "served over crushed ice".

←

This was also my impression

←

I believe there is a difference between a drink which is a frappe and the instruction "frappe cocktail with a spoon".

When I get home tonight, I will look up the relavent sources about Absinthe Frappe technique. I'm pretty sure it was Clisby Arthur in "Famous New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix 'Em".

[ThinkingBartender]

Frappe could just be the French name for "Cobbler" (the drink).

After trying to translate Frappe using online French-English dictionaries, there is also the possibility that Frappe means Punch (though not as in rum Punch).

Edited December 16, 2006 by ThinkingBartender (log)

[ThinkingBartender]

Daniel Rogov - Reflections on Frappes

"The word, after all, originated in France, where the verb "frapper" means to strike, and sixty million French men and women will gladly laugh at all Americans before informing you that the frappe has nothing whatever to do with ice cream. Whether in Paris, Lyon or Orleans, a frappe is a liqueur that has been poured over cracked or shaved ice. To justify their definition, every French barman will explain that the best way to make cracked ice is to hold an ice cube in the hand and to strike it quickly with a small hammer or the blunt side of a knife."

[eje]

So, to quote quote Clisby Arthur about Absinthe Frappe:

Fill a small highball glass with cracked or shaved ice.  Pour in the sugar sirup , the the absinthe substitute, and drip water slowly while frappeing with the spoon.  Continue jiggling the barspoon until the glass becomes well frosted.

re: "jiggling" from the julep recipe:

Jiggling is not "stirring."  Stirring calls for a rotary motion, but "jiggling" is dashing the spoon up and down steadily until the outside of the goblet is frosted.  Place the metal or glass container on a table to do your jiggling -- do not hold the glass for heat of the hand will hinder frost from forming on the outside.