In its heyday, absinthe wasn't only enjoyed in France. It's true that the French typically did not light the sugar cube; however, the Czech did. Their technique called for putting one drop of absinthe on the sugar cube, lighting the cube, waiting for it to go out, and then pouring cold water over the cube. The Swiss, on the other hand, used neither sugar nor fire, just cold water.

Lest you think I'm a liquor/liqueur historian, I found the info here. \:\)