The North Columbia Schoolhouse presents Poetic Crossings, an evening of ridge poetic tradition in conjunction with the Sierra Poetry Festival, according to a press release.
An ornate vessel fitted with four small spouts dispenses ice-cold water, drop by drop, onto a cube of brown sugar resting on a slotted spoon.
Underneath that spoon, a specially designed glass holds a vibrant green spirit and as water soaks the cube, sweet syrup drips into the liquid creating a delicate milky cloud.
This ritual is called “La Louche” and that spirit is la fée verte, the green fairy, absinthe. Long associated with artists and writers of the Belle Epoque in Paris, now Butch Heilshorn and Patrick Rowan of Talisman Spirits bring their own take on this legendary, much-romanticized spirit to New England.