I've seen this. My boss was talking about it quite a bit, and we looked up some information. I think it's kind of odd the way there are ritualistic ways of preparing and drinking it. Too much work for me. Give me a tab, screw cap or *gasp* even a pop cap.

Absinthe was drink by Picasso, Dali and many other famous artists as well as others. But its not made the same as it was in their time.

Over the years its been propigated after 1 bad[ergote] batch went into distribution. Since then its gotten labeled poison, and various other things.

History channel ftw, it is said to have hallucenogenic properties -- IF MADE RIGHT. If someone tells you no, there is no hallucenogens in it, then they are right - these days but if it was made properly then it should.

:O OF COURSE I WANNA DRINK IT.

'Cause I'm so gothic I sh*t bats!

Not as good as good whiskey, IMHO.

I believe that Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder...


Having now done a few absinthe adventures, if you can hit the balance between alcohol and all the other things going on, it will be an experience very different from merely drinking. Unfortunately, not hallucinogenic. Given that the alcohol content of proper absinthe is approaching 85% (not proof, per cent!), this is not an easy thing to do.

Cheers.

I have always wanted to try it. Now knowing that it has a
licorice-ey flair to it, I probably will not be partaking any time soon.

Bummer

That so much misinformation still circulates with regards to absinthe is thanks, in no small part, to the efforts of unscrupulous vendors to boost sales. At no point -- not now, not ever -- has absinthe had hallucinogenic properties. By 1910, absinthe was the national drink of France, with the French consuming over 36 million liters per year. Common sense tells us that France's 33,330 bars were not packed to capacity every evening with people tripping their brains out.

For many years, absinthe's sensationalized "secondary effects" were erroneously attributed to thujone -- a component in wormwood. However, modern chemical analysis has turned up only trace levels of thujone in nineteenth-century absinthe. It is now believed that the drink's subtly "alert" intoxication is due to the stimulating effects of various herbs used in distillation (although if "alertness" is your goal, you're better off grabbing a cappuccino from Starbucks).

The best modern absinthes are not "absinthe lite," as some would have you believe. They replicate, in composition and methods of distillation, absinthes made before the ban. Vendors who hype "high-thujone" absinthe as being more authentic are pedaling myth and misinformation for profit. Let the buyer beware.

Sites such as the Wormwood Society, The Absinthe Museum, and Fee Verte are good sources of up-to-date, level-headed information on absinthe -- modern and vintage. You'll find history, the latest research on thujone (sans hype), reviews, and a list of reputable vendors:

Wormwood Society


Wormwood Society's "Top 10 absinthes" poll


The Absinthe Museum


Fee Verte


Cheers!

The fascination for all things Absinthian in the US is also a stark demonstration of the power of prohibition to do exactly the opposite of what it intends.

When the marketeers started pushing it around Europe again* there was a brief interest and now it has largely disappeared into the background again.

*Don't know where you're from, Brooks, so you I don't know where your perspective lies.

Welcome to Plime, BTW.

Thanks for the welcome. I'm in NYC.

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"The fascination for all things Absinthian in the US is also a stark demonstration of the power of prohibition to do exactly the opposite of what it intends."
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Ain't that the truth!

Absinthe has been legal in the US for less than a year, so we're still nudgy-giggly about it. In Europe, the hoopla has pretty much died down.

Which is good. Once the novelty wears off, we'll all be able to see absinthe for what it is: a complex spirit with an incredible back-story.....and a happy addition to the bar!