Absinthe
- Thread starter greyfox
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I saw a section once in Maxim that explained the different kinds. It is supposed to be a opium laced liquor that tastes horrible (you must diluted burnt sugar cubes in it before consuming). The worse it tastes the better it works. A favorite to artists and intellects it was banned from production from a long time but now have been redistributed in Eastern European countries in the past few years. Ordering is a hit or miss so beware that you might never see your money again but worth the risk to hit the jackpot. Try the Maxim archives for the article, it was very informative. It had pictures and taste tests. You have me curious again so I will also do some research. I will let you know the results.
My understanding has been that modern absinthe is a much tamer version of the stuff they used to call absinthe. However, the wikipedia article on it says "At the height of this popularity, absinthe was portrayed as a dangerously addictive, psychoactive drug; the chemical thujone was blamed for most of its deleterious effects. By 1915 it was banned in a number of European countries and the United States. Even though it was vilified, there is no evidence showing it to be any more dangerous than ordinary alcohol although few modern medical studies have been conducted to test this. A modern absinthe revival began in the 1990s, as countries in the European Union began to reauthorize its manufacture and sale."
For more than you probably want to know: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absinthe
For more than you probably want to know: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absinthe
i tried some from japan about 20 years ago. knew a stewardess who brought it in. tasted gross, was the best high of my life. my friend who was a heroin addict at the time said it was the same feeling as bangin dope. all i had were two small shots, and even back then i was a big fat guy. we all sat there fucked up the whole night. that's why i never did it again. didn't want to get hooked on that shit.
1. Yes.
2. Yes (although not from the U.S. -- I buy it from (I think) France. Or maybe England. Although the absinthe I drink is made in France).
3. I experience the buzz as being different, but I have a feeling that's psychosomatic. I experience the buzz as being more of an unpleasant dulling effect, with a wicked hangover. But (a) as I said, I'm not sure those are real as opposed to imagined effects and (b) I think in part it may be attributable to the fact that when I started with absinthe, I didn't really realize how strong it is, and how much you're supposed to dilute it, so I was simply drinking too much of it at a time.
2. Yes (although not from the U.S. -- I buy it from (I think) France. Or maybe England. Although the absinthe I drink is made in France).
3. I experience the buzz as being different, but I have a feeling that's psychosomatic. I experience the buzz as being more of an unpleasant dulling effect, with a wicked hangover. But (a) as I said, I'm not sure those are real as opposed to imagined effects and (b) I think in part it may be attributable to the fact that when I started with absinthe, I didn't really realize how strong it is, and how much you're supposed to dilute it, so I was simply drinking too much of it at a time.
If Maxim said all that, it's very sad.
Absinthe is NOT opium laced. Absinthe is NOT supposed to taste terrible.
If it's any good, you DON'T have to dilute it with sugar.
Absinthe is a high-quality liquer that's just like any other high-quality liqueur. The mystique surrounding is just that: a mystique. Sure, there's a lot cheap shit (mostly made in Czechoslovakia) that tastes terrible, but there's a lot of cheap, terrible-tasting shit in any liquor category.
Just forget all the bullshit, and drink it like you'd drink anything else. You may not like it (a lot of people don't like the licoricey flavor of anisse-based drinks). But that's just cuz it is what it is.
Absinthe is NOT opium laced. Absinthe is NOT supposed to taste terrible.
If it's any good, you DON'T have to dilute it with sugar.
Absinthe is a high-quality liquer that's just like any other high-quality liqueur. The mystique surrounding is just that: a mystique. Sure, there's a lot cheap shit (mostly made in Czechoslovakia) that tastes terrible, but there's a lot of cheap, terrible-tasting shit in any liquor category.
Just forget all the bullshit, and drink it like you'd drink anything else. You may not like it (a lot of people don't like the licoricey flavor of anisse-based drinks). But that's just cuz it is what it is.
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The last line is absolutely right.
But the Brazilian shit sucks like the Czech shit. Judging absinthe by that stuff is like judging all beer by some pisswater swill from some tertiary market.
Ozzy won't want to hear this, but the best absinthe now is made in France. (But by an American: does that make it better?)
But the Brazilian shit sucks like the Czech shit. Judging absinthe by that stuff is like judging all beer by some pisswater swill from some tertiary market.
Ozzy won't want to hear this, but the best absinthe now is made in France. (But by an American: does that make it better?)
Here's a link that I don't fully endorse -- these people obviously have an axe to grind -- but at least it avoids a lot of the bullshit that has attached itself, like barnacles, to this liqueur:
http://wormwoodsociety.org/
http://wormwoodsociety.org/
Ah, that explains it, then. I'm hardly a connousieur of the stuff, but I had it in Brazil and in the Czech Republic. Both times filtered through the sugar.
Neither one did much for me.
I don't know if it's the good stuff, but I know an outer-borough beer garden where they sneak it in. Put the hints in this post together and you'll figure it out.
Neither one did much for me.
I don't know if it's the good stuff, but I know an outer-borough beer garden where they sneak it in. Put the hints in this post together and you'll figure it out.
RE the sugar: it isn't so much that filtering it through sugar is necessarily bad. It's just that, with good absinthe, you well may feel like it isn't adding anything (although you also may feel that it is). In other words, with good absinthe, it's simply a matter of preference. But not necessity. (Just like some people like sugar in coffee or tea, and others don't.)
As for the flaming sugar ritual, as far as I can tell, that's a recent invention by goth retards, and adds nothing but idiocy.
As for the flaming sugar ritual, as far as I can tell, that's a recent invention by goth retards, and adds nothing but idiocy.
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I do recall the Cuban stuff being much much better than the Brazilian. Better tasting, smoother and prob a little more punch... but again... I was like 16 or 17 and 140 lbs with much less drinking experience back then.
If anyone is interested... the Brazilian Absinthe is sold at a liquor store on 7th ave almost directly across the street from the original Jekyll and Hyde (4th street?) in the west village. West side of 7th ave in the middle of the block. They carry a lot of hard to find imported spirits.... like at least a half dozen brands of Cachaca if anyone is looking for that.
If anyone is interested... the Brazilian Absinthe is sold at a liquor store on 7th ave almost directly across the street from the original Jekyll and Hyde (4th street?) in the west village. West side of 7th ave in the middle of the block. They carry a lot of hard to find imported spirits.... like at least a half dozen brands of Cachaca if anyone is looking for that.
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I have a friend who makes his own "home brew." I asked him what his recipe consisted of. Here goes:
Anise, fennel, wormwood, corriander, star anise, mint, angelica root, lemon balm, hyssop, clove.
(A friend of his harvests the wormwood in his garden.) I tried his abisinthe once -- however, I have a real distaste for anise/liquorish, so I'm really the wrong person to critique something like this.
He swears by this guy named Ted Breaux from New Orleans who sells his brew under the brand name "Jade Liquors". Breaux manufactures it in New Zealand, as it's illegal to make it here in the U.S.. The New Yorker published an article about Breaux not that long ago.
My friend sent me this url for Jade Liquors http://www.bestabsinthe.com/
And this one for an article dispelling the myths of absinthe http://www.absintheonline.com/acatalog/about.html
Anise, fennel, wormwood, corriander, star anise, mint, angelica root, lemon balm, hyssop, clove.
(A friend of his harvests the wormwood in his garden.) I tried his abisinthe once -- however, I have a real distaste for anise/liquorish, so I'm really the wrong person to critique something like this.
He swears by this guy named Ted Breaux from New Orleans who sells his brew under the brand name "Jade Liquors". Breaux manufactures it in New Zealand, as it's illegal to make it here in the U.S.. The New Yorker published an article about Breaux not that long ago.
My friend sent me this url for Jade Liquors http://www.bestabsinthe.com/
And this one for an article dispelling the myths of absinthe http://www.absintheonline.com/acatalog/about.html
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I buy from Jade all the time, tried them all, like Edouard best. I believe that the distilliary is located in France, but everytime I order, it ships from England and it is usually clamed as 'books' or 'documents.'
Whatever it is, the deal seems to be that it is not the consumption or possession, but the sale, of absinthe that is illegal in the US; so even if you go overseas and buy some, customs won't arrest you or anything like that.
Whatever it is, the deal seems to be that it is not the consumption or possession, but the sale, of absinthe that is illegal in the US; so even if you go overseas and buy some, customs won't arrest you or anything like that.