Absinthe-Minded Esther, The Perfect Purim Cocktail

The apricot is one of the iconic symbols of Purim. You’ll often find it as a filling for hamantaschen, the holiday’s triangular cookies. And its inclusion is particularly apropos considering the holiday’s Persian roots: Apricots have a lengthy history in the region, being one of the earliest cultivated crops across Central Asia. Today, they’re the national fruit of Armenia, and a massive agricultural export from Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Iran, and though you’ll sometimes see them commercially available when fresh, their most common form, from antiquity to now, is dried. They are also infinitely more delicious and, as it turns out, nutritious when preserved. The added shelf stability of sun-dried delicacies is perhaps one of many reasons the apricot was a key product along Persian trade routes.