Isn absinthe terribly bitter?
No. Good absinthe has a very mild and pleasant bitterness, certainly less than that found in any moderately hopped beer. Wormwood is indeed the second most bitter plant on earth (after rue), but the bitter constituents in wormwood are purposely excluded from the product in properly made absinthe – only the desirable principles of the wormwood plant, notably its intense fragrance, make it into the liquor. The legend that the French sat at café tables by the thousands sugaring their absinthe to kill its nasty bitterness is due entirely to ignorance propounded by people who’ve never tasted absinthe, and assumed it must be bitter because there’s wormwood in it. Nineteenth century drinkers had a far sweeter tooth than we do today, and even then, many drank absinthe without added sugar.
