Absinthe- Not for the Faint of Heart

[Chuck Jackson]

Ok,

Last night my wife and I went to a friends house and he said "I have a treat for you". He procedes to pull out a bottle of Absinthe.

For the uninitiated, Absinthe is a standard anise tasting drink that has been fermented in wormwood casks. I has been illegal in the States since the 20's because wormwood has been found to be highly (sorry for the oh so bad pun) hallucinegenic. Well, about 2 months or so ago, the embargo was lifted and you can now buy the stuff.

So my friend procedes to pour the stuff over a sugar cube, which mellows the taste and turns the stuff blue. I made the serious mistake of drinking it a little too fast. Immediate, intense buzz that didn't go away for about 2 hours. And this is just one. Supposedly Van Gogh was high on Absinthe the night he cut his ear off.

Beware if someone offers you this or you are in the mood for something different. It will knock you on your ***, and a bottle will set you back @ $150.00 (that's the price I saw at a very famous "discount" liquor place in Vegas). If you can gracefully bow out, do so. It was wierder than anything I have ever ingested.

I'm going to stick to beer. Lot's of cheap beer and Tullamore Dew.

Anyone ever play the movement of a band piece named "Absinthe"? You will know if you have, I think the composer was on this stuff and didn't like tuba players.

Chuck"totally wierded out"Jackson

[djwesp]

Ahh, Chuck, YOU ARE SETTLING DOWN in your old age. You surely had a little fun, no?

I've had the "green fairy experience" once before and it is interesting and enjoyable... but NOT something I'd want to frequently.

I've also had a tincture made with Wormwood. (tincture is a chemical rendering process in herbal medicines) I enjoyed that experience a lot more because it wasn't a "drunk" feeling. Most of the absinthe effect is because the stuff is high in alcohol, EXTREMELY high.


wes "would have loved to see chuck bouncing around strung out on absinthe" pendergrass


p.s.- since it is supposed to help people be "artistic", did you try tooting your horn a little bit chuck?

[Chuck Jackson]

p.s.- since it is supposed to help people be "artistic", did you try tooting your horn a little bit chuck?

I can't imagine doing anything except the obvious after drinking it. Talk about a heightened sensory state. My wife abstained, settling for a very nice Merlot.

Wes, mine turned blue and my friend said "Be prepared to commune with the little blue genie". Same strain of stuff or was it the actual wormwood extract that made it that color?

And, yes, I didn't feel drunk, just very, very buzzed, not hyper, just everything was crystal clear with no whopping headache afterwards. The buzz went way in stages, which was nice. I really can't imagine what it would be like to have more than one glass. I can see why the French Impressionist painters along with Marcel Proust, Debssy, and Ravel swore by Absinthe. You do get an incredbly heightened state of color and sound (I was listening to Bach) that seems to be prevelant in that periods music and painting. Yes, things were blurry on the edges, quite like impressionist art and music.

I guess this is what some psycho-tropic drugs do, just with Absinthe I never felt out of control nor out of touch. Nor will I probably drink it again. It really has quite an awful taste. Water back helped, but not much.

Chuck

[sc_curtis]

Aren't you supposed to dilute it with a little water before drinking it?

[Chuck Jackson]

Aren't you supposed to dilute it with a little water before drinking it?

Purists say no since you are diluting a sugar cube when you pour it over it. That is what gives it its distinct color and flavor. I don't think anything is going to cut the taste, but water back helped for me.

Chuck

[Doug@GT]

Aren't you supposed to dilute it with a little water before drinking it?

Purists say no since you are diluting a sugar cube when you pour it over it. That is what gives it its distinct color and flavor. I don't think anything is going to cut the taste, but water back helped for me.

Chuck

According to Wikipedia

Traditionally, absinthe is poured into a glass over which a specially designed slotted spoon is placed. A sugar cube is then deposited in the bowl of the spoon. Ice-cold water is poured or dripped over the sugar until the drink is diluted to between a 3:1-to-5:1 ratio. During this process, the components that are not soluble in water, mainly those from anise, fennel, and star anise, come out of solution and cloud the drink. The resulting milky opalescence is called the louche (Fr. "opaque" or "shady", IPA [luʃ]). The addition of water is important, causing the herbs to "blossom" and bringing out many of the flavors originally overpowered by the anise.

Of course, I keep in mind a) i've never tried it and b) this is Wikipedia.

[Chuck Jackson]

Of course, I keep in mind a) i've never tried it and b) this is Wikipedia.

Wow, maybe that's why I had the reaction I did!!!!

If you don't like anise, don't go near this stuff. Phew, what a stink before it was sugared up.

Chuck"learning"Jackson

[greatk82]

http://www.absintheamerica.com/index.as ... =291739693

[ZNC Dandy]

My second week at the radio station I used to work for I was pulled into the FM station's studio across the hall for a moonshine taste test at 7:15am. I was presented with a small glass or homeade absinthe. Pulpy, grainy, greenish brown liquid from Transylvania. Not Kentucky, Romania. It is quite possibly the foulest tasting thing I have ever ingested. It was so bad I could have sworn it made my sack shrivel. Absolutely disgusting. I immediately went to my desk and washed it down with a shot of Talisker from the sample pack of Scotch that was given to me for ingesting that. Needless to say, the rest of the day was very interesting.

[NickJones]

wow a shock to hear Absinthe in the states is a $150..
it's interesting to know that the pastis ( 40% version ricard / pernod ) became popular due to the banning of Absinthe..

try the la fee absinthe ( http://www.lafeeabsinthe.com ), price is much cheaper for a brilliant quality product - it's the one I drink over here...

best drunk with a melted sugar cube , one part water ( just to cloud it up)..I would say it's not a strong aniseed taste , more similer to cough syrup
might explain why I like impressionist art and music so much
vive la absinthe..

[lgb&dtuba]

It was so bad I could have sworn it made my sack shrivel.

tell him what he's won …

[sungfw]

It was so bad I could have sworn it made my sack shrivel.

But what we REALLY want to know is, is it true, as the saying holds, that ...

[wait for it]

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[it's a doozy]

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.
.

[y'all ready for this?]

.
.
.

[all together now]

.
.
.

"Absinthe makes the fart go 'HONDA!' "????

[JCalkin]

"Absinthe makes the fart go 'HONDA!' "????

I personally dislike Hondas that fart.

[OldsRecording]

It was so bad I could have sworn it made my sack shrivel.

That line just had to be featured in a quote. I have nothing else to add.

Scooby, tell him what he's won …

I would suggest a carved Wormwood mouthpiece.

My question- does a carved wormwood mouthpiece play itself?

[Kevin Hendrick]

That line just had to be featured in a quote. I have nothing else to add.

Scooby, tell him what he's won …

I would suggest a carved Wormwood mouthpiece.

My question- does a carved wormwood mouthpiece play itself?

That would be a reasonable assumption, in the absinthe of any evidence to the contrary ...

[OldsRecording]

I would suggest a carved Wormwood mouthpiece.

My question- does a carved wormwood mouthpiece play itself?

That would be a reasonable assumption, in the absinthe of any evidence to the contrary ...

BWAHAHAHAHAHAH!

[Kevin Hendrick]

That would be a reasonable assumption, in the absinthe of any evidence to the contrary ...

BWAHAHAHAHAHAH!

I think he meant evidenth to the contrary …

Yeth, he thertainly did!