The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

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I was so thrilled by this afternoon's sunshine and 30-degree weather, I took a stroll through Loring Park. It was mostly deserted. But as I rounded the northwest edge, I could have sworn I saw one of the members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers smoking a cigarette outside Nick and Eddie. So I walked over to investigate.

Turns out it was only Chris, a slender, black-clad, bandanna-wearing bartender so brilliantly hipster you'd think he alit here out of a time machine from Los Angeles, circa 1994. He was nice enough to let me in, even though the place was closed, when I asked after JP Samuelson. I was a fan of N & E from the moment it opened, but having JP - who shuttered his terrific Lyndale Avenue bistro last fall - only adds to the appeal. When owner Doug Anderson showed up a few moments later I told him this and he agreed, then insisted I have a drink.

Ordinarily, I wouldn't dream of this at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. But it's been a strange, jubilant week in the midst of a bleak season. So I thought, "Why not?"

Well, here's why. When Anderson ordered for me - and for me alone, because he's been sober for four years - he told Chris to pour me a shot of St. George. This is the fancy $11-a-serving absinthe that Nick and Eddie stocks because it guarantees a Hemingway-worthy level of wormwood. Chris drizzled half an inch into a glass, stuck an ice cube in, and Anderson put in a splash of water, telling me to mix the drink and wait for it to cool.

Lucid, the ubiquitous neon green "yuppie absinthe," is vile, Anderson said. (For the record, I agree.) His philosophy is that if you're going to drink this, you should do it right. St. George Absinthe Verte is a soft amber color, made of brandy mixed with herbs, including star anise, mint, wormwood, lemon balm, hyssop, meadowsweet, basil, fennel, tarragon, and stinging nettles. It has a sharp black licorice flavor with a hint of grassy forest, fir trees, and citrus. It has a bite, but not so much of one as it should.

At 60 percent alcohol - 120 proof - this is not a drink for the weak-willed (or the driver). But it goes down as smoothly as a single-malt scotch.

On Chris's advice, I took it easy, finishing only about half of what was in my glass. And by four o'clock, I was back out in the park, walking under the last strains of dazzling, unexpected sunlight and feeling optimistic. Was it the wormwood or the day? It's impossible to tell.

Nick and Eddie, 1612 Harmon Place, Minneapolis, 612-486-5800.