Balancier (See-Saw) - Single Server

A must-have for any Absintheur, this Balancier is another way of adding water and sugar to a traditional absinthe. Balanciers were made famous by Cusenier, one of the most well-known absinthe distillers, before the French absinthe ban of 1915.

The balanciers were originally referred to as an Auto Verseur or "see-saw" due to the lever motion. When added inside the cone, water would stream through a small hole at its bottom and onto the center of a lever below. The lever created a see-saw motion from this stream, dispersing the water into the absinthe.

These pieces were considered very modern at the time. Before their invention, almost all absinthes were made by slowly pouring water from a carafe onto a piece of sugar, held by a spoon, lying across the rim of a glass with absinthe. With the invention of various brouilleurs, like the balancier, the preparer no longer had to hold the ice-water-filled carafe and slowly pour the water onto the sugar. Instead, water was poured into the cone, and the Balancier did the work. Hence the name, Auto-Verseur.

* Glass, spoon, and sugar are sold separately.