We all know New York City has a million things to offer, but would you think to have yourself an absinthe crawl in New York City? 

What is absinthe? I’m glad you asked. 

Fucking magic. 

But seriously, absinthe is an electric green, anise-flavored spirit. Basically, it tastes like licorice and is rumored to bring drinkers into a new dimension. You may have heard this mentioned in the movie slash best Broadway play ever, Moulin Rouge. 

Now that I have your attention, come with the Tawk of New Yawk team to Café de L’Enfer in the East Village/Alphabet City!

Café de L’Enfer is an absinthe bar with its design being inspired by Cabaret de L’Enfer in Montmartre, Paris which was popular during the Belle Epoque era. Cabaret de L’Enfer was your, “trip to hell.” Meaning, it was a hell-themed bar. The Café de L’Enfer of our own city having modeled itself on that used an aesthetic comprised of darkened wood and muted boudoir colors. It was awesome. 

The staff at Café de L’Enfer was nice enough to open their doors an entire hour early for our team. Only problem of course, was that we’re completely dysfunctional and couldn’t find the door. In our defense, it’s pretty hidden. 

Even though we were about 40 minutes late, they greeted us with open arms and were ready to show us all things Absinthe. We were introduced to AJ, who couldn’t have been more perfect for the job. AJ is not only knowledgeable about absinthe but he is also extremely passionate about it.

He set up two drips, which were filled with ice and cold water. When using a drip, the water must be cold and the drip must be set just right. It runs over a sugar cube set atop a slotted spoon and this gives the glasses of absinthe below the drip a mildly sweet taste which arguable makes it more palatable. 

After babying us with a sugar drip during the first tasting, AJ walked us through a tasting of approximately five different brands of absinthe none of which were made with a sugar drip. I think it was five, things got fuzzy after the first few. It was surprising that absinthe doesn’t have a singular taste, you know, like carrots…or vanilla ice cream. Ones that were made in the US tended to have an oak taste and be more biting, French ones were more smooth.

If you’re curious and want to try some for yourself, some of the brands we tried were: Absente, St. George, Violet Crown Spirits, and Jade. My personal favorite was Absente, which is a French brand. It was smooth and tasted delicious with and without the sugar being added, so you know it’s a goodie!

If drinking absinthe straight isn’t your thing, that’s A-OK. Café de L’Enfer offers a handful of absinthe based cocktails. I had a taste of one called “Screaming Infidelities” and I was very impressed. I could have drank it all day, it was hard to even tell there was alcohol in it, which can prove to be quite dangerous. Probably doesn’t help that I enjoy the absinthe flavor so it doesn’t stand out too much.

Thank you to Café de L’Enfer and thank you to AJ for giving our team the best night with The Green Fairy. We CANNOT WAIT to come back!! 

If you are still unsure about making a trip to have some absinthe at Café de L’Enfer, maybe a few snippets from our team’s experience will help sway you! 

A review from Lydia “Dia’ Griffiths: 

The first thing I noticed was that the door was unmarked. This place was too urbane to have a marked entry. Either you know, or you don’t. We were led up the small staircase into a second-floor room. Do you know that giddy and aroused feeling when someone grasps the whole of you—and understands your very soul? That feeling overwhelmed me as I crossed the threshold into Café de L’Enfer. 

The dark crimson Victorian-Esque wallpaper, leather and velvet wing-backed chairs, and rows of skulls along the wall greeted me. It was like walking into the lavish quarters of a devilishly handsome,

morally questionable rouge. The first thing I did was sit on the largest throne and strike my best Pirate Queen pose. The bar along the back window was compelling. Its glistening bottles served as a backdrop that drew the eye to the ornate absinthe water drips on the bar. 

Up until this day, I’ve never had absinthe. I’d read enough to know about the morbid and wild history. With wormwood as a bedmate, it is the drink of artists and fools. I was both. Tonight, I was drinking with Hades, and I, his queen. 

 Our ferryman and guide for the evening, AJ, ushered us into each brand’s nuanced and delicate flavors and notes. I’m not a lover of licorice, but I may have willingly joined the dark side. It was beautiful. The ice-cold water dripped into the absinthe, each drop igniting an alchemical transformation. The crystal-clear green potion metamorphosed into a hazy opaque elixir of delight. It transfixed my senses. Café de L’Enfer is the bar I never knew I needed, but I’m pleased it is now part of my life.

A review from Joe Thirstino:

The general perception of absinthe is that it’s this semi-hallucinogen, from some plant or tree, that invented modern French art and is banned in the U.S. maybe. At Cafe de L’enfer – a decadent, upstairs absinthe bar accented with lush Targaryen red just south of Tompkins Square Park – I received a tremendous history lesson on the fabled elixir. 

Along with the happy crew of crazies I was with, we were given a comprehensive, informative sensory tour through the history of absinthe – courtesy of A.J., our friendly barkeep/ anecdotist/debunker of myth. The wealth of knowledge accumulated as we sipped (see: slurpled) one type of absinthe after the other was substantial and eye-opening. 

It would be all the more memorable if I remembered any of it. Unfortunately, A.J.’s thoughtful lesson is like eighteenth on the list of things I recall from that night, well behind the sloppy wisecracks, a weird looming guy at another bar we were at, and Steph using the novel phrase, “dickin’ me.” That’s the thing with absinthe I guess: insight is fleeting, but shit show moments are cemented.

A review from Stephanie:

What I learned about absinthe is that it doesn’t actually make you hallucinate — which, you know, is disappointing. Back in the day, people mostly drank wine which has a relatively low ABV percentage. When absinthe hit the market, which naturally has a VERY high ABV percentage, people starting acting all kinds of wild when they drank it. Some even committed MURDER which gave absinthe the reputation of being a dangerous elixir that made people do crazy things. Some of it is made with wormwood, but you’d need to drink a multitude of bottles to even feel a twinge of a hallucination.

Absinthe DOES however make you feel like a Belle Epoque era showgirl goddess whore. Mostly because it gets you buzzed very quickly.

So, there’s that.

I was most surprised by how palatable absinthe was, specifically the French version and especially with the sugar drip. The drip made it sweet, but not even close to overbearingly so — and the texture was nearly like velvet. But like, not in a way that makes you feel like your licking an 80’s Jazzercise leotard. You know, just smooth, creamy even.

I’m going to stop before I use more awkward adjectives.

Thanks AJ and the gang for an exceptional night for our Bohemian crew of writers!

What I learned about absinthe is that it doesn't actually make you hallucinate -- which, you know, is disappointing. Back in the day, people mostly drank wine which has a relatively low ABV percentage. When absinthe hit the market, which naturally has a VERY high ABV percentage, people starting acting all kinds of wild when they drank it. Some even committed MURDER which gave absinthe the reputation of being a dangerous elixir that made people do crazy things. Some of it is made with wormwood, but you'd need to drink a multitude of bottles to even feel a twinge of a hallucination.Absinthe DOES however make you feel like a Belle Epoque era showgirl goddess whore. Mostly because it gets you buzzed very quickly.So, there's that.I was most surprised by how palatable absinthe was, specifically the French version and especially with the sugar drip. The drip made it sweet, but not even close to overbearingly so -- and the texture was nearly like velvet. But like, not in a way that makes you feel like your licking an 80's Jazzercise leotard. You know, just smooth, creamy even.I'm going to stop before I use more awkward adjectives.Thanks AJ and the gang for an exceptional night for our Bohemian crew of writers!