Who here has had absinthe, and why is it a big deal?

[tinfoilinfor2005]

I wanted to try it in Paris but just didn't have a chance, and then at the duty free shop at the airport I considered buying some but then remembered the instructions in my customs pamphlet telling me that I would not be able to bring it in to the country.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. Because if you drink enough of it...

You get snot-slingin, commode-huggin', elbow-scrapin' drunk. Along with spacial distortions and hallucinations from the oil of wormwood. Drink enough and the next day you are the sickest person east of the Mississippi.

[Wapsie B]

5. So you drink this stuff and you get high.

How do the effects of absinthe compare to drugs like mushrooms, peyote or even LSD?

[lateo]

8. Absinthe is nothing like them...

It is a wildly held misconception that you hallucinate when you drink absinthe.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

10. Now THERE is a testimonial!

I guess I can stop regretting not trying it when I was there. I can get into enough trouble with a bottle of cheap wine!

[EstimatedProphet]

24. Nah

You get a buzz in addition to the alcohol that's like an extension of your peripheral vision-I call it seeing in 3 1/2 dimensions (best way to describe it that I can think of)

[enki23]

2. it's fairly nasty tasting

that's really about it. real absinthe has a miniscule amount of wormwood oil (and its toxic constituent, thujone) but the dose of wormwood you get with absinthe is negligible compared to the dose of ethanol you're taking in.

[lateo]

6. Not all of it is nasty tasting...

Stay away from any of the ones of the Czech manufacturers.

If you want to know a little more read here....

http://www.feeverte.net/forum/

[lenidog]

11. The Spanish make the best absinthe at the moment

while the Czech stuff is utter crap

[lateo]

12. I hear that they do...

I haven't had any yet.

[lenidog]

18. I had some in the Czech Republic of all places

tried a shot of some Czech stuff and damn near choked on it. It was that bad. I muttering about how anyone could drink this stuff to excess and the bartender asked me if this suited me better and poured me some Spanish. I took it and loved it. He left me the bottle and me and my friends had a great time needless to say.

[Cannikin]

3. here ya go

Absinthe is a strong herbal liqueur distilled with a great number of flavorful herbs like anise, licorice, hyssop, veronica, fennel, lemon balm, angelica and wormwood (the flavor of anise and/or licorice, at least in contemporary forms of the liquor, tends to predominate). Wormwood, the one that's gained the most notoriety, is Artemisia absinthum, an herb that grows wild in Europe and has been cultivated in the United States as well. Much of the liquor's legendary effect is due to its extremely high alcohol content, ranging from 50% to 75% (usually around 60%), plus the contribution of the various herbs. It has been assumed by many that the so-called "active ingredient" in absinthe is wormwood, although that is apparently not really the case.

It was traditionally served with ice water and a cube of sugar; the sugar cube was placed on a slotted "absinthe spoon", and the water was drizzled over the sugar into the glass of absinthe (typically in a 3:1 or 4:1 ratio). The sugar helped take the bitter edge from the absinthe, and when the water is drizzled into the the liquor it all turns milky greenish-white (the effect is called "louche").

uality absinthe, properly distilled, does have a different effect over and above the results of alcohol, though at up to 70%, the effects of the alcohol alone can be considerable. Absinthe's effects, despite popular conception, are not due to the wormwood (Artemisia Absinthia) alone. Absinthe's constituents consist of a very delicate balance of various herbs, most of which contribute in one way or another to its intoxicating effects. Ted Breaux once explained it that it is a push-me, pull-you effect of the various herbs, as some are of an heightening effect, and others are lowering. The effect on the individual is subjective, and can best be described as a kind of heightened clarity of mind and vision, mildly ponderous and sparkling, and warmed by the effect of the alcohol. This seems to wear off after 20 or 30 minutes, leaving one with an alcohol buzz. 2-3 glasses seems to do the trick. More than that, depending on the proof of the alcohol, will just make you very drunk.

But saying all that, 'secondary effects' seem to be quite subjective. Some have never felt them at all. Some say one brand works for them, others another. Many absintheurs ... have placed absinthe's 'effects' low on their priority list when it comes to judging modern commercial absinthes, preferring to focus on actual herbal constituents, manufacture and historical detail.

[lateo]

4. I have some...

Here is a picture of my latest bottle.



It is a bottle of Nouvelle-Orléans...some of the finest I have ever tasted.

Absinthe has a very different sort of buzz than most alchoholic beverages.

[democracyindanger]

7. It's a different kind of buzz

Beer, whiskey, tequila, wine--different kinds of alcoholic drinks have different kinds of buzzes. It's hard to describe exactly what it's like, but absinthe is as different from those as they are from each other.

[lenidog]

13. The Spanish stuff I had made me feel after a while

and I had a bunch of it like I had taken some pretty powerful codeine for pain.

[Goathead]

9. You gotta be careful with that shit

It is made from wormwood, which is highly toxic and was used as a pesticide back in the day. If the people that made it didn't do it correctly you could go blind. Try laudanum instead if what your after is that old school Victorian era high, it is an opium derivative.

[Redstone]

15. Good advice, goathead

Whatever absinthe out there that isn't fake, is probably poisonous.

Laudanum / any other opium tincture is much more pleasant and less dangerous.

Redstone

[lenidog]

16. In "From Hell" the Jack the Ripper flick with Johhny Depp

he was doing absinthe with a laudanum chaser. Talk about wanting to get seriously blitzed.

[Goathead]

22. "Chasing the dragon" baby!

Great flick.:popcorn:

[lenidog]

26. He caught that dragon

I am sitting think DAMN what a buzz he is going to have. It was a good flick.

[lateo]

25. It has trace amounts of wordwood...

And to say "it is MADE FROM wordwood" would imply that it is mostly wormwood.

It isn't. Wormwood is just one ingredient and there are many others.

[derby378]

14. Paris?

I thought absinthe was still illegal in France. Here in America, it's legal to own and/or drink absinthe, but it's illegal to buy, sell, or import it.

There are legal ways to get around American laws governing the sale of absinthe, though - but I'm probably not the best one to ask about that.

Me, I'm happy with a shot of Tallisker or John Powers once every six months or so. Or a couple of frozen mudslide daiquiris if I'm in Vegas.

[lenidog]

17. Basically there are a couple distillers and a importer who make it

available in the US the distillers are from New Orleans and the importer is from France. Basically they take out the wormwood and one or two other things that the French and US governments find objectionable.

[derby378]

23. Isn't that kinda like near-beer?

I know you can buy Absente and Pernod in American liquor stores, which use a different form of wormwood. But stuff like Ulex and Libertine still can't be sold legally in our stores - hence the alternative channels.

[lenidog]

27. That is an excellent comparison

Another thing you can't buy here is real Ouzo (SP?) because the real stuff is made with opium poppies as an ingredient.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

20. yes, it was legal and sold in Paris

but I told that I could not bring any into the US.

[progressoid]

19. First, you'll date your cousin, then fall in love with a prostitute,

Gaugin will move in with you, you'll have a big fight, and he'll leave. Then you'll cut off your earlobe, eat some paint and shoot yourself.

Drink up.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

21. Cheers!

:)